Horizon Women’s Insight Programme Review

Day 1: icebreaker, multiple talks about the culture (wellbeing, inclusion, etc), taking a look at the Rothschild archives, Fitch Learning session about investment banking
Day 2: introduction to advisory (global, equity and debt), chat with buddy, female banker panel, social challenge, project work
Day 3: introduction to wealth management, Rothschild community investment talk, walking through a case study, chat with an analyst, project work
Day 4: tips for having a successful AC process, presenting our presentations

Even in a bank that specialises in advisory, there are so many roles available. It was really interesting gaining an insight into each role available, and I felt we were given enough information to decipher whether it would be a role that we’d excel in. Rothschild did really well at showing us their culture, and I found the archive session fascinating, as few financial institutions have the history that Rothschild & Co do. It was great to hear that so many women have thrived in the Rothschild family over the years, as well as all the female employees working at Rothschild now.

Over the four days I got the opportunity to build my teamwork skills, working with the five other girls in my group on a project - analysing a hypothetical acquisition. I also learned about valuation techniques through the Fitch Learning session, which came in handy when doing the project itself. Although the project seemed a little overwhelming at first, I developed confidence to present to senior bankers and answer any questions that they had for our group.

I thought the company culture was great! All the employees - bankers and HR alike - seemed really friendly, and it meant a lot that so many people were willing to give up their time to speak to us, despite having such intense jobs. We were encouraged to exercise during the programme, were sent workout videos to follow, and had a session on wellbeing, so it seemed as though Rothschild genuinely cared about physical and mental wellbeing.

Although I think the programme confirmed my suspicions that financial advisory is not the career path for me, this was no fault of Rothschild’s. In fact, the depth of the programme is what proved that I would not he able to do the work that Rothschild’s bankers do! However, I really enjoyed the programme as the speakers seemed really enthusiastic, the small size of the cohort meant every session was interactive, and the companies we analysed for our project were really interesting and relevant.

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