Ryan Naidoo's intern experience

Graduating with a degree in Mathematics with Actuarial Maths led me to pursue work in the investment or actuarial sector. Having gone through 2nd year of university during Covid, the number of internships offered were significantly reduced, if not cancelled all together. This caused me to start 3rd year lacking experience.

My initial encounter with Hymans Robertson came through the 100blackinterns programme. The programmes’ purpose was to diversify the financial sector by integrating a wider variety of people from different backgrounds. This provided the opportunity for those who otherwise would have been disadvantaged by current or past circumstances. The programme trained up the students and then sent out their CVs and cover letters to multiple companies, and fortunately my application was sent to Hymans Robertson.

Carla, the diversity & inclusions business partner, was the first correspondence which I had with the company. She spoke through the interview process with me as well as providing more information about the company for me. Going through the interview process really sparked my desire to work for Hymans due to the friendly nature of everyone who I encountered. As luck would have it, I was taken on as an investment analyst for the summer at the end of my 3rd year.

Due to COVID still being prevalent during the internship, I completed my 3rd year online. After this I spent the first couple of weeks completing a crash course into what sort of work I would be doing, as well as training sessions on the different type of content I would encounter.

The manner in which Hyman Robertson structured their help scheme aided me immensely. The presence of a People Manager who tackled larger issues coupled with a buddy who helped on a day-to-day basis was greatly beneficial. To try and get to know people, I set up calls with as many people from the DB investment team as possible during the internship. Even though this was a bit nerve racking, everyone I spoke with was very cordial and receptive. Along with client work, I also had a project to work on, which I then presented at the end of the internship. My project was a research project looking to update the market data the company used to compare fund managers.

After finishing my internship, I was given the opportunity to come back and work for the DC team. I have now been working for the DC team for a few months, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

The best thing about being at Hymans Robertson is that everyone wants to help you get better and improve, this continuous support makes me truly blessed to have started my career here.