ABN Amro graduate training programme, case study

On which divisional training programme at ABN Amro are you enlisted?

I am interested in working in equities.

Which subject did you study for your first degree, and at which university?

I studied German and European History at Edinburgh University.

Did this include quantitative subjects? If not, did you study anything quantitative previously?

No!

List the subject areas covered so far during the graduate training programme.

ABN's training has two stages. The first comprises three months' classroom learning at the academy in Amsterdam. The training there is an excellent introduction to the world of investment banking.

This was followed by a fairly intensive month-long accounting and financial analysis course, which covered every aspect of the balance sheet, income statement, and so on, and taught qualitative and quantitative analysis skills.

I then took the SFA (Securities & Futures Authority) exams before beginning a period of rotations through various business departments. I intend to specialise in equities, thus my rotations are principally focused on aspects of the equities business: sales, sales-trading and research.

However, ABN equities graduates also have the opportunity of rotating around other departments, notably corporate broking, corporate finance and derivatives.

Which subject has proved most challenging?

Learning how to price all of the various types of swap was a little daunting at first, especially for someone who was picking up a calculator for the first time since school... however, I quickly got the hang of it. That I have not graduated in a maths-related subject has not been a problem.

Which subject has proved most interesting?

Analysing new products and trends driving the industry, especially the potential of the European equity market, then presenting our findings was an exciting project.

How have you been taught, i.e. in classrooms, remotely, through mentoring?

ABN offers both classroom and on-the-position training. Use is made of a competitive computer-trading game with specially written software.

Has the training programme reinforced your interest in the area that you applied to, or have you become aware of other (more) interesting divisions of the bank?

The programme has reinforced my interest in equities but the course made me aware of the possibilities and products in other areas, such as derivatives, which I had not fully considered before joining and which I am now glad to have been taught.

For example, the different types of interest rate (IR) swap - such as fixed, for floating swaps in which a series of interest payments calculated at a fixed rate are swapped for a series calculated using floating rates - were a particular eye-opener, as they are a beautifully simple way of creating a huge amount of business.

Have you spent time at off-site training centres? If so, how did this differ from being on a university campus or hall of residence?

As you might expect, time spent in Amsterdam was always going to be fun! ABN put us up in self-catering flats close to the centre, convenient for the academy during the week and close enough to Amsterdam's exceedingly varied night-life not to mean too long a trek at 5am on Sunday morning.

Work at the academy is busy and more focused than at university. Attendance is expected at all seminars and presentations office hours are worked. Homework is given several times a week, which may consist of preparing a presentation or writing up an analyst recommendation.

We tended to stay late and finish such work at the academy, where there is also a well-designed area for relaxing and drinking far too much coffee. The projects were all enjoyable and I found the work more involving and interesting than at university.

Is the training programme proving more or less of a challenge than the final year of your degree course?

The challenge is different from that presented by a university degree. At university I found that it was simply a case of ensuring one had done enough work by the time of the exam. The challenge presented at ABN AMRO, or another investment bank, is different: the work is more intense and comes in a steady stream there is more pressure than at university but the work is more fun.

I am glad to be working on real projects, with real consequences rather than yet another theoretical essay.

The rotation course itself also teaches more than analytical skills. Clearly you must be able to communicate and to build relationships with a range of different personalities. You also know that at the bank you are on show every minute, whether with clients or on the trading floor, and thus the rotations teach an ability to maintain concentration and composure which is never really tested at university.

What would you recommend about ABN Amro's graduate training course?

The ABN Amro training course was certainly one of the main reasons for my joining the bank. The training is thorough, wide-ranging and professionally taught. The course is particularly suited to someone like myself, with a non-finance degree - it has allowed me to attain the same level of competency in the areas required as those who had previously studied finance.

As a result of the training programme, I have been able to get involved in the business quickly while on my rotations.

The rotations were themselves an aspect of the programme that I was interested by. Many investment banks will place you immediately in a team, to the extent that you may not know who is sitting on the other side of the room.

By spending time with most of the sales, research and trading teams, one makes friends and contacts throughout the bank, which may prove invaluable later, as well as getting a feel for how the business as a whole fits together.

The other advantage of the course itself was that ABN Amro employees attend from around the world. We were there with recent graduates from ABN's offices in Brazil, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and US. We not only all made friends but contacts throughout the bank, which is beneficial, both for the bank and ourselves.