Financial company target list
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This blog is to show you how immense the Financial Services sector is from a career perspective.
Investment Banking may be interesting, but it is only one of a dozen or so financial sectors to consider. As you leave school, you are encouraged not to be daunted but rather excited by the multiple possible career options.
How on earth do I choose, you may ask? Well, your first year at university, including perhaps some spring week applications, can be crucial to help identify your initial career direction. You don’t necessarily have to identify one sector to target for internships and graduate jobs; two or three are quite acceptable. At university, certainly at Lancaster University, you will receive considerable assistance to help you with this process from your first week of university life.
Investment banking
Major investment banks - Tier 1
(Will receive tens of thousands of applications)
- Goldman Sachs
- Morgan Stanley
- JP Morgan
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Deutsche Bank
- Citigroup
- Credit Suisse
- Barclays
- UBS
- HSBC
- Nomura Holdings
Investment banks - Tier 2
- Baird
- Banco Santander
- Berenberg
- BNP Paribas
- BBVA
- BMO Capital Markets
- BNY Mellon
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC World Markets)
- Canaccord Genuity
- Commerzbank
- Close Brothers
- Crédit Agricole
- Daiwa Securities
- DBS Bank (Singapore)
- Jefferies
- Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking & Markets)
- Macquarie Group
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)
- Mizuho Financial Group
- MUFG
- Natixis
- Nomura
- Rabobank
- RBC Capital Markets
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Société Générale
- Standard Bank
- Standard Chartered Bank
- TD Securities
- UniCredit Group
- Union Invest
- VTB Capital
- Winterflood Securities
Investment banks - Tier 3
(Unlikely to have UK graduate/internship/spring week programmes)
- Sberbank
- Scotiabank (Scotia Capital)
- State Bank of India (SBI Capital Markets)
- KBC Bank
- Bank of China
- China Construction Bank
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
- Generali Group / Banca Generali
Banking: retail and commercial
- Lloyds
- HSBC
- Barclays
- RBS
- Handelsbanken (UK)
Note: Also in the Retail banking sector, explore the ‘Challenger Banks’, e.g. Virgin Money, Metro Bank, etc...
Custodian banks
- State Street
- Bank of New York
- Northern Trust
Also search for London Boutique Investment Banks (Mergers and Acquisitions bias so comes with a highly competitive application warning sign).
Investment management
Investment management - Tier 1
- Allianz
- Aviva Investors
- Baillie Gifford
- Blackrock
- Blackrock Aladdin (Technology)
- Blackstone
- EFGHERMES
- Fidelity International
- Franklin Templeton Investments
- Henderson Group
- HSBC Global AM
- Invesco Perpetual
- Investec
- Jupiter AM
- Man Group
- M&G Asset Management
- PIMCO
- PGIM
- Rothchilds
- Royal London Asset Management
- Russell Investments
- Schroders
- Standard Life Aberdeen
- T Rowe Price
- Wellington Asset Management
- Investec
Note: Most major banks additionally have Asset Management arms, e.g. JP Morgan Asset Management, UBS Asset Management, Deutsche Bank Asset Management, etc.
Global ratings agencies
- Standard & Poor's (S&P)
- Moody's
- Fitch Group
- See also Kroll
Interdealer brokers
- Tullett Prebon
- BGC Partners
- GFI Group
- Tradition
- Tradeweb
- MarketAxess
- NEX Group*
- EBS
*The largest Interdealer Broker graduate recruiter
Wealth management
(Note: Most investment banks also have wealth management arms)
With graduate programmes
- Coutts
- Evelyn Partners
- Wells Fargo
- Heartwood
- Fischer Investments
- Russell Investments
- Baird
- Hargreaves Lansdown
- Schroders
- St James’s Place
See Appendix 2: Wealth management firms without official graduate programmes.
This sector is particularly interesting if you want to ‘stay local’ and not work in London!
Investment consultants
The consultants below have been ranked by size
- Hymans Robertson
- WTW
- LCP
- Aon Hewitt
- Mercer
- Cardano
- Reddington
- KPMG
- Bfinance
- Alpha
- JLT Employee Benefits
Financial consultancy
- Boston Consulting Group
- Capco
- Parthenon-EY
- Strategy Consulting-EY
- AlphaSights
- FTI Consulting
- Solon Management Consulting
- DealGlobe
- Informa
- EY
- KPMG
- Deloitte
- PwC
Economic consultants
- Continuum Economics
- Economic Consulting Associates (ECA Ltd.)
- NERA Economic Consulting
- Economist-Capital Economics
Vendors
The 10 largest vendors have graduate/internship programmes. Others will have positions – a direct or networking approach required)
- Bloomberg (2nd European language required)
- Broadridge Financial Solutions
- CQG
- Dealogic
- Deutsche Borse Group
- FactSet
- Fidessa
- FIS
- Fiserve
- ICE
- ITG
- IRESS
- Markit
- McGraw Hill Financial
- Moody's Analytics
- Morningstar
- MSCI
- Progress
- RELX Group
- SIX Financial Information
- SunGard
- SS&C
- Refinitiv (Part of the London Stock Exchange Group)
Bloomberg and Refinitiv are the largest.
‘Bob’s guide’ has details of 300+ FinTech companies
Vendors: Electronic Trading
- Tradeweb
- MarketAxess
- Neptune
- Symphony
- ION Trading
Commodity firms/energy trading
- Genscape
- Duferco Energy Trading
- Trafigura
- Vitol
- RWE
- Centrica
- Energy Aspects
- BP
- Shell
Insurance
Most large insurers have graduate and internship programmes but not spring weeks. The large insurers include:
- AIG
- Allianz
- AXA
- Chaucer
- Gallagher
- Hiscox
- Lloyds of London
- Markel
- Miller
- THB
- Zurich
- WTW
There are many more insurance firms in the UK. This sector is also particularly useful if you want to ‘stay local’ and not work in London!
Accountancy
Regarding leading accounting companies, the Big Four—Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young, and KPMG—are usually the first names that come to mind. But who are the other major players in the world of accounting? Below is a list of 20 of the top accountancy firms in the UK, but there are many additional firms to consider.
- BDO
- Grant Thornton
- RSM
- Smith & Williamson
- Mazars
- PKF
- Moore UK
- Haines Watts
- Saffery Champness
- Crowe UK
- MHA MacIntyre Hudson
- Begbies Traynor Group
- Kingston Smith
- FRP Advisory
- UHY Hacker Young
- Menzies
- TaxAssist Accountants
- Buzzacott
- Kreston Reeves
- haysmacintyre
Miscellaneous (but interesting!)
- Bank of England
- Financial Conduct Authority
- Seabury Capital
- JCRA
- Rational FX
- Smart Currency Business
- Centrica
- Catalyst Financial Services
- WISE
Appendix 1
Investment management: Tier 2
(A minority run graduate/internship programmes. The majority would require a direct or networking approach)
- CANTAB
- Algebris Investments
- Alliance Trust
- Alphadyne
- Ardian
- Artemis
- Artisan Partners
- Aspect capital
- Aviva Investors
- Azimut Holding
- Baird
- Balmoral
- Baring Asset Management
- BNP Paribas Investment Partners
- Boufonds
- Brunswick Real Estate
- Canada Life Investments
- Canaccord Genuity
- Capita Asset Services
- Capital Group
- Cavendish Asset Management
- CCLA
- Cheyne Capital
- Eden Tree Investment Management Ltd
- EnTrustPermal
- GIC
- Grosvenor
- Guiness Asset Management
- Heartwood Investment Management
- Henderson Group
- Henderson New Star
- Hermes Investment Management
- Insight Investment
- Invesco Perpetual
- Investec
- ICG
- LaSalle Investment Fund
- Legal & General Investment Management
- Legg Mason
- LetterONE
- LGT Group
- Liongate Capital Management
- Lombard Odier
- Lyxor Asset Management
- Marathon
- Mercury Asset Management
- Norges Bank (Norway)
- Odey Asset Management
- Old Mutual
- Orbis Investment Management
- Panmure Gordon & Co
- Permal Group
- Pictet (Switzerland)
- Prudential Property Investment Managers
- Rathbone Brothers
- RBC Brewin Dolphin
- Robeco
- Rockfire Capital
- Royal London Asset Managers
- Rubrics Asset Management
- Ruffer
- SEI Investments
- Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust
- Skagen Funds
- Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (Netherlands)
- Smith & Williamson
- Temasek (Singapore)
- USS Investment Management
- Sun Life Financial
- Superfund Group
- SVG Capital
- Zurich Financial Services
Appendix 2
Wealth Management without spring week, internship or graduate programmes(A direct or networking approach required for work experience). There are many more firms not listed.
- Amicus Wealth
- Arbuthnot Latham
- Ashcourt Rowan Asset Management
- Barclays Bank Plc
- Bordier & Cie (UK)
- Brewin Dolphin Ltd
- Brooks Macdonald Asset Management
- Brown Shipley & Co
- C Hoare & Co
- Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management
- Cazenove Capital Management
- Charles Schwab UK Limited
- Charles Stanley and Co Ltd
- City Asset Management Plc
- Close Brothers Asset Management
- Coutts & Co
- Davy
- Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management
- Duncan Lawrie Asset Management Ltd
- Hargreave Hale Ltd
- Heartwood (Heartwood Wealth Management Ltd)
- HSBC Investment Services
- IG Group
- IM Asset Management Ltd
- Ingenious Asset Management
- Interactive Investor
- Investec Wealth & Investment Limited
- J M Finn & Co
- Julius Baer International Ltd
- Killik & Co LLP
- Nutmeg Saving and Investment
- Odey Wealth Management
- Pershing
- Quilter Cheviot
- Rathbone Brothers
- Raymond James
- Redmayne Bentley LLP
- Reyker Securities Plc
- Rothschild
- Ruffer LLP
- Sarasin & Partners LLP
- Smith & Williamson Investment Management LLP
- St James’s Place Wealth Management
- Standard Life Wealth Ltd
- TD Direct Investing (Europe) Ltd
- W H Ireland Ltd
- Walker Crips Stockbrokers
- Waverton Investment Management
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