Graduate Assistant Investment Consultant (Intake 2025)

XPS Group is a leading UK consulting and administration business specialising in the pensions and insurance sectors. At XPS, our vision is to create a vibrant place to work where difference is recognised as a good thing and where talented people can flourish and achieve their highest potential.

Are you a recent graduate or a soon-to-be graduate in 2025, excited to kickstart your career in finance? Your search ends here, with XPS Group! As a rapidly expanding leader in the industry, our Investment Consulting team is growing rapidly, and we're inviting talented graduates to become part of our thriving team. The role will be based from our vibrant Manchester office where we offer a blend of office-based and hybrid work arrangements.

We are on the lookout for graduates who possess outstanding communication and relationship building skills, are keen to learn and are willing to voice their ideas. If you're someone with exceptional communication skills, unafraid to share your thoughts and genuinely interested in solving problems and mastering new concepts, we want to hear from you. At XPS, we believe in nurturing your potential and helping you become the best version of yourself.

When you join XPS, you embark on a diverse and exciting journey. We provide comprehensive on-the-job training that accelerates your skill development and knowledge . Additionally, we are committed to supporting you through an apprenticeship program, guiding you toward achieving your Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams or Actuarial (IFoA) exams. We'll supply you with study materials, dedicated study time, a study mentor and an attractive salary and benefits package.

This opportunity isn't just a job; it's a chance to grow and thrive as you build a successful career in the Financial Services sector.

A FTSE 250 company, XPS combines expertise and insight with advanced technology and analytics to address the needs of over 1,600 pension schemes and their sponsoring employers on an ongoing and project basis. With around 1800 employees, we undertake pensions administration for over one million members and provide advisory services to schemes and corporate sponsors in respect of schemes of all sizes, including 88 with assets over £1bn. We also provide wider ranging support to insurance companies in the life and bulk annuities sector.

Join us at XPS, and together, we'll shape the future of financial services while nurturing your career aspirations.

Your journey starts right here...

The Team

XPS Investment is an area of rapid growth for XPS. We build relationships and provide valuable advice to our clients which include defined benefit, defined contribution institutional pension schemes, charities, and endowments. Our independence is critical to being able to provide well thought through investment advice to our clients. Our advice has our clients at the centre of it and all members of the team are encouraged to undertake some manager research, in an area which interests them. This means that our research is focused on clients’ needs.

We are a growing team of around 100 professionals and as part of our 2024 graduate cohort you will have lots of opportunity to learn and develop with others.

What’s it like to be a Graduate in our Investment team?

The Role

Discover more about the role below – we seek people who enjoy communicating and have a personable nature. You’ll be supported by on-the-job training, resulting in you developing your knowledge and abilities quickly. Working within client teams you will be assisting with analysis, reporting, client interactions, and relationship nurturing.

As a Graduate Assistant Investment Consultant with XPS, no day will ever be the same, but you will:

• Assist clients with solutions and best meet their objectives including but not limited to:
• Building relationships and communicating within the team, other departments in XPS, investment managers and clients
• Drafting written advice to clients on a wide range of topics
• Effectively delivering that advice to clients in meetings
• Helping to monitor funds, managers and their performance and reporting to our clients how their strategy has performed
• Risk analysis and modelling to help our clients better understand and manage risks relative to their return and other objectives
• Assisting with implementing investment strategies including asset transitions support alongside our specialist asset transitions team. (Note: we do not manage any money for our clients or undertake any trading.)
• Contributing to the continuous debate about how we do an even better job for our clients (e.g. new investment ideas or ways to communicate investment concepts).
• Working as part of a team, initially to assist more experienced team members but progressing to communicating directly with clients at the appropriate time for you
• Involved in manager and fund research in an area which interests you
• Opportunity to be further involved in other areas of personal interest (e.g. Environmental, Social and Governance / modelling)
• Regular training opportunities alongside your graduate intake cohort
• We will support you with either Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams or actuarial (IFoA) exams. We know that it’s a really hard work completing professional qualifications whilst progressing in a new job, so we’ll help you every step of the way - we’ll equip you with study materials, tutorials, a mentor, and time off to study. We also award salary increases for exam success.

Your Profile

To thrive in this role, we would expect the most suitable candidate to be interested in investments or keen to learn more about investment, with a desire to provide the best solutions for our clients and be/have

• Conscientious with an appetite to learn and develop skills
• Desire and ability to build great relationships with colleagues and clients
• Outstanding communication skills, written, oral and in presentation form
• Highly organised with the ability to prioritise effectively
• Logical mind-set, with a high level of numeracy
• Ability to problem solve and come up with solutions
• Outstanding accuracy and attention to detail
• Adaptable and a team-player
• Good computer skills, particularly Microsoft Office
• A graduate with a good academic background ideally in economics, mathematics or a finance related field but we are open to considering other fields to
• A level Maths (or equivalent Highers)
• Desire to study professional exams – Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams or actuarial (IFOA)

What We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Participation in annual discretionary Bonus Scheme
• 25 days holiday plus ability to buy or sell holiday
• Adaptable Bank holidays
• Pension scheme, matching contribution structure
• Healthcare cash plan
• Adaptable Benefits Scheme to support you in and out of work, helping you look after you and your family covering Security & Protection, Health & Wellbeing, Lifestyle
• Life Assurance cover, four times basic salary
• XPS Rewards (offers High Street discounts and savings from retailers and services providers as well as offers available via phone)
• Employee Assistance Programme for you and your household
• Access to a digital GP service
• Paid volunteering day when participating in Company organised events
• Staff referral scheme when you introduce a friend to XPS

What Next:

If you feel XPS could be the next step on your career ladder, please apply directly via the links provided and we look forward to learning more about you. We will consider all applicants and respond swiftly.

Please discuss with the recruitment team, via phone or email, if you require any adjustments to the recruitment process. For example, we can provide materials in an alternative format, or give you extra time in interviews or tests.