Financial Analyst Review
at Bloomberg
Higher Level Apprenticeship
Finance
London
Review Submitted: February 2021
Overall Rating
5 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
5/5
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
5/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
5/5
I myself am a Fixed Income and mortgage investment specialist in the Analytics department – my main focus is assisting clients with fixed income products such as credit default swaps, interest rate swaps, options, government bonds and etc. My reactive responsibilities include;
1. Creating and modifying formulas through Bloomberg’s own application programming interface with its BQL, BDH and BDP formulas i.e., pulling the yield of a bond in excel whilst customizing its bond price, yield type and various spreads on excel.
2. Interpreting in-depth analysis on financial securities i.e., pricing over-the-counter derivative contracts, so traders can accurately quantify market exposures for a wide range financial product
3. Compare the price levels of credit default swaps from different sources, so users can identify investment opportunities and easily assess an issuer's credit risk (SAB1.1)
4. Identify and fix human errors in a timely manner using the appropriate escalation methods i.e. When the wrong prices are shown on our historical prices function, we immediately escalate this to our Global data team.
1. Creating and modifying formulas through Bloomberg’s own application programming interface with its BQL, BDH and BDP formulas i.e., pulling the yield of a bond in excel whilst customizing its bond price, yield type and various spreads on excel.
2. Interpreting in-depth analysis on financial securities i.e., pricing over-the-counter derivative contracts, so traders can accurately quantify market exposures for a wide range financial product
3. Compare the price levels of credit default swaps from different sources, so users can identify investment opportunities and easily assess an issuer's credit risk (SAB1.1)
4. Identify and fix human errors in a timely manner using the appropriate escalation methods i.e. When the wrong prices are shown on our historical prices function, we immediately escalate this to our Global data team.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
5/5
The apprenticeship aspect as a data analyst i am able to use multiple tools to create my analysis, be free and be creative, it is also rewarding when your able to recommend solutions to stakeholders using the skills i have built. As for my day to day role as a financial analyst it is super exciting to speak to new people everyday from different regions, you learn more about financial players and markets. Bloomberg is an amazing experience as you have an opportunity to be part of something cool, whether its a new project release or being part of a community i.e LGBT, Black Professional Community, Disability, Hispanic/Latino Community.
This apprenticeship experience was above my expectation, being supported by an amazing line manager, multiple mentors for different parts of my job and a great coach
This apprenticeship experience was above my expectation, being supported by an amazing line manager, multiple mentors for different parts of my job and a great coach
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
Throughout the apprenticeship I have attained 2 BCS Certificates which are known as Data tools and Data Concepts. These qualifications involve technical skills of programming languages/analytical tools such as SQL, Python, Tableau and R . knowledge of these tools has made me develop my communication skills which enable me to story tell to stakeholders. Aside from the apprenticeship element i have developed analytical skills from my day to day role. I am able to create and maintain client relationship as well as handle conflict. As there is a lot required of this role it is important to prioritize and manage time effectively.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
5/5
VERY organised.
The initial start of this apprenticeship we were given a timeline as to what was expected and when, So far we have managed to work ahead of schedule. As mentioned earlier i was assigned mentors for different part of my jobs which has provided great support. Whitehat has also given us objectives to meet with a deadline daily. Stephanie from whitehat is VERY supportive, willing to use her free time to go over assignments, extend deadlines (if reasonable) and provide very useful resources to go over.
The initial start of this apprenticeship we were given a timeline as to what was expected and when, So far we have managed to work ahead of schedule. As mentioned earlier i was assigned mentors for different part of my jobs which has provided great support. Whitehat has also given us objectives to meet with a deadline daily. Stephanie from whitehat is VERY supportive, willing to use her free time to go over assignments, extend deadlines (if reasonable) and provide very useful resources to go over.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
My Manager is amazing, when off job hours are not enough for me to sometime complete an assignment or revise for an exam she is always willing to accommodate extra time.
HR team is perfection, Sophie is always requesting updates on the apprentices progress to ensure we have the right support. she also goes a step further by arranging "Lunch and Learn" sessions. Lunch and learn sessions are when different departments within the organisation have lunch with the apprentices and discuss what they do on the daily basis (like a networking event)
HR team is perfection, Sophie is always requesting updates on the apprentices progress to ensure we have the right support. she also goes a step further by arranging "Lunch and Learn" sessions. Lunch and learn sessions are when different departments within the organisation have lunch with the apprentices and discuss what they do on the daily basis (like a networking event)
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
5/5
Stephanie could not have done any better, as someone with a learning disability (dyslexia) she manages to create weekly catch ups with myself to see how i am doing, not only with the apprenticeship but my day to day role. When having zoom meetings she records the meetings, sends it to my email along with the relevant resources i.e powerpoint presentations, fact sheets or R codes.
When Steph is unable to assist me with something she always refers me to a colleague who can and her colleagues are equally as nice!
When Steph is unable to assist me with something she always refers me to a colleague who can and her colleagues are equally as nice!
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
5/5
As a company who deals with big data, the organisation will always be looking for ways to handle and analyse different parts of data, not only for clients but as an operational objective. So far i have been able to assist my manager with creating a dashboard both on Tableau and Qliksense that actually looks at the performance of teams globally. This qualification has actually allowed me to network more with people from our IT team and data team and allowed my manager to create more strategic decisions.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
We have A LOT of extra curricular activities, we have;
1. BOB - which allows employees to volunteer for upcoming event externally. when volunteering we are are given money to donate to a charity of our choice. I have been involved with playing table tennis with under privileged children's.
2. Communities- mentioned earlier we have a range of communities which is a safe haven for colleagues
3. D&I events - i myself am a d&i ambassador and hosted/organised multiple events such as "BCulture" ( bring food around the world)
There are sooo may things to do!
1. BOB - which allows employees to volunteer for upcoming event externally. when volunteering we are are given money to donate to a charity of our choice. I have been involved with playing table tennis with under privileged children's.
2. Communities- mentioned earlier we have a range of communities which is a safe haven for colleagues
3. D&I events - i myself am a d&i ambassador and hosted/organised multiple events such as "BCulture" ( bring food around the world)
There are sooo may things to do!
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Bloomberg to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Highly welcoming and healthy place to work, although the work hours are a lot, the colleagues, free food, opportunities and events compensate for this . They are interested in every colleagues development and do what they can for every colleague to reach their full potential. it is really up to you
Bloomberg exposes you to speak to different market players from different regions working in different asset classes- which helps improve communication skills and how quick you are able to adapt in any given situation which is a very useful life skill!
Bloomberg exposes you to speak to different market players from different regions working in different asset classes- which helps improve communication skills and how quick you are able to adapt in any given situation which is a very useful life skill!
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Bloomberg?
Show you are passionate and sell yourself, if you can sell yourself you can definitely sell a product/service, also whilst in the interview it is important to have some financial knowledge and an interest in finance. if you do not like finance and not willing to put yourself out there then this job is not ideal.
Research Bloomberg, you can not sell something you do not know
The assessment days requires a lot of analytical skills, so ask a lot and the right question!
Research Bloomberg, you can not sell something you do not know
The assessment days requires a lot of analytical skills, so ask a lot and the right question!
