Do I have any chance to secure a grad scheme (Asset/Portfolio Management)

Hello everyone,

I am currently in my second year of studies doing my Bachelor's (Honours) in Business Management (Economics) degree, and I will graduate in the summer of 2024; the university is in the Uk, and the business school is triple-accredited; I have done some extracurricular activities by being Student Experience Link at the Students Association, and I was also a member of a political party where I participated in elections and other activities. Currently, I am part of society. I have some relative experience from 2019 to 2020, where I did an internship as Management Assistant for Insurance and Finance while I was at a vocational school for economics and trade for a year (Germany). I also have some unrelated work experience from working at a local factory. Sadly I couldn't secure any insight programme or a summer internship at an Investment bank since I had to work to support my family.

I plan to get the Micro-degree "Portfolio Manager" from Financial Edge since It seems to be well respected by financial institutions and finish it by this summer so I can then immediately start doing the CFA Level 1 and finish it before I graduate; I will also try to get some finance experience this coming summer at some commercial bank. I also have a certificate for Microsoft Office proficiency and I speak four languages English, German, Russian and Bulgarian.

Can I secure a Grad Programme, and if I don't, should I do the CFA Level 2 and get more relative experience by doing free internships and then apply for graduate programmes the following year?

Any advice/opinions, or tips will be helpful.

5 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 11 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”