Paths into the Investment Industry and Opportunities Post-Competition

Former Growing Future Assets Competition Winner!!
There are only a few weeks to go before the Growing Future Assets Competition submission deadline – we hope you are enjoying learning about your chosen company and putting together your report and pitch. Any last-minute questions, we are here to help!
For this week’s blog post, we’d like to introduce you to one of our Growing Future Assets competition judges, Ailey Porter. We hope you are inspired to hear Ailey’s journey – from starting in the Future Assets competition in 2020 to one of our competition judges!

Growing Future Asset Competition – 2020 Winner:
Ailey entered the Future Assets competition in 2020 in her sixth year of high school with her team from Auchinleck Academy (now Robert Burns Academy). With limited knowledge of the investment industry, the team thought they would enter the competition to gain valuable skills and learn about a possible career path. From no knowledge of investment, Ailey’s team researched their company, analysed its investment potential, and finally created a great investment pitch – this won them the competition!

University:
After enjoying the Future Assets competition and becoming motivated to continue building on the skills she was developing, it became clear to Ailey that applying for a degree in Business would be the right choice for her. In fact, she enjoyed researching a company and watching the markets so much that the competition influenced her choices of university subjects – now taking both Economics and Business Analysis as courses.

Additional opportunities: 
Building on her enthusiasm for the investment industry during the Future Assets competition, Ailey has now been involved in multiple opportunities to build her experience and knowledge of the sector:

• Through her teams’ investment mentor, Ailey was able to visit the Stewart Investors offices and shadow a client meeting.
• As well as being a panellist at the Future Assets celebration event in 2022, Ailey was able to meet the finalists from that year and attend a tour at BlackRock before the event.
• During the summer of 2022, Ailey took part in a two-week internship with Rathbones Investment Management, including week-long visits to both the Edinburgh and Glasgow offices.

Future Asset judging panellist: 
Using her experience in what makes a good investment pitch as a previous competition entrant, Ailey is now one of our Future Assets competition judges! As a judge, Ailey is inspired by seeing the hard-work and creativity in each competition entry.
We hope that you are inspired by Ailey and her journey during and after the Future Asset competition. Ailey’s journey is an example of the opportunities that are available to teams by taking part in the competition. If you are interested in the kinds of opportunities that are available beyond the competition, please get in touch!

Our main takeaway from Ailey’s journey – find something that inspires and challenges you. When you enjoy the opportunities that you are given, you’ll know you are on the right path!