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LPPI supports the #10000BlackInterns programme for a second year
In 2022, LPPI is providing three internships for the programme, including one returning candidate, Hannah Shewan (pictured below), who shares her experience of working with our investments team in the summer of 2021.
LPPI supports the #10000BlackInterns programme for a second year

Last year, LPPI was keen to support the #10000BlackInterns programme and welcomed Hannah Shewan, a student of computer engineering at Imperial College, into the investments team during July and August 2021 as our first placement.

Hannah shares her experience of working with our teams.

How have you found the internship? 

My six weeks with LPPI flew by. I started my internship with the infrastructure team, spending three weeks with them, and then had a whistle-stop tour working in the operational due diligence, investment strategy, responsible investment and global equities teams. It was great to have a high-level overview of a variety of asset classes and disciplines and see how they all come together to help clients. 

What stood out the most was the culture of the company, which I caught a glimpse of during my interview and witnessed first-hand during my time with the business. I was able to sit down with and learn from the investment team, all of whom being very knowledgeable and generous with their time.

As someone who has been studying engineering at university, the work contrasted with what I typically spend my time doing and I really enjoyed getting involved in more qualitative analysis. It became clear to me that a great deal of investment management is an art rather than a science, which made for interesting discussions.

What are your top three learnings about the world of investment management?

The first is that investment management can be more of an art than a science. It was often said that it’s important to see things holistically before coming to a judgement, whether that be in forming an ESG profile of a company or interpreting a balance sheet.

Second, I came to appreciate the importance of ESG when making investment decisions. It’s a vital aspect of being a responsible steward of the client’s money and has financial implications. Specifically, I saw an example of this when making ESG factsheets for one of the infrastructure assets where their environmental profile affects company revenues. I’m interested to follow how the sector develops in the coming years.

As cheesy as it might sound, another important learning was the value of collaboration across LPPI. This particularly came across when I was learning about the strategic asset allocation for LPPI's clients and seeing how the asset classes need to come together to meet their liabilities. Another instance is how the entire investment pipeline comes together to execute an investment. 

What’s next for you?

I enjoyed learning about the world of investment management. During my six weeks with the business, I amassed a very long reading list, which is helping to bring context to what I was learning and expose me to some contrasting investments philosophies. I’m also excited to get stuck into the investment society at university and try my hand at the Queens Tower fund!