Business School students visit 7IM for Justin Urquhart Stewart competition
Five undergraduate students from Southampton Business School who were shortlisted for the 2017 Justin Urquhart Stewart competition visited the offices of 7 Investment Management (7IM) on 15th June, as part of their prize.
Toby Sayers, Mazier Shakibaii, Mustafa Boriyawala, Nellie Jones and Ritesh Puttur (who is a BSc MORSE student) all wrote a Financial Times style article on issues relevant to the financial world. They did this for a chance to win a £1000 scholarship for their final year of study. Toby Sayers and Lisa Veiber were the eventual winners. Lisa’s article title was “where are all the women managers?” and Toby wrote about predicting the next financial crisis.
During the visit to 7IM the students were greeted by Justin, who as well as being a University of Southampton alumnus is co-founder of 7IM and a regular on BBC news.
BSc Accounting and Finance student Mazier Shakibaii reflected on the visit, “This was an invaluable opportunity to meet some of the brightest investment minds from 7IM in their london office. Justin, Ben, Chris, and the rest of the team made us feel at home, sharing their knowledge and expertise. Justin's feedback on our submissions was incredibly insightful, and the group discussions we had were fantastically engaging. I'd like to thank the Business School for organising what turned out to be a priceless day”
Students were given the chance to talk to Justin about their Financial Times submission and he was very impressed with the range of topics they covered. Students also had a tour of 7IM’s offices and found out about the ethos of the company. The students also met Chris Darbyshire, Chief Investment Officer at 7IM and Ben Kumar who is an Investment Manager and 7IM’s first graduate hire.
Chris Darbyshire encouraged students to avoid solely consuming other people’s opinions on social media but to avidly read books stating that this would enable students to form their own opinions and stand out. Ben shared some insights into working after graduating and encouraged the students to ask any and all questions when taking their first job. He also said they should ensure they say yes to as many opportunities as possible – in doing this during his own career, he is now regularly heard on LBC and BBC radio.
Justin has generously donated this prize for three years in total so Business School students in their second year of study for 2017/18 will have the chance to enter this coming academic year. More details about how students can win this prize will be announced soon.