In our business, reputation is everything.

Asset Management is about taking the long-term view. Not for us the quick-fix or the knee - jerk reaction. We have over USD 1.2 trillion as at 31 March 2008 (or $1,187,006,000 to be exact) to invest on behalf of some of the world's biggest institutional clients - pension funds, governments, insurance companies, as well as private individuals. So we're not governed by short-term shifts in the markets. We're never erratic, nervous or short sighted.

Our point of view is longer. It's more considered. Income is linked to annuity streams rather than transaction fees. This means that our results are measured over three- to five-year periods, or sometimes even longer. So that must mean the pace of change is so slow that nothing much ever happens, and what little does happen happens slowly and sedately, right?

Well, no. Our aim is to become the world's biggest and most successful investment management business in the world. So reputation is everything. And we aim to ensure that we can boast a reputation for being faster than any of our rivals, for being cleverer and more responsive. In fact, the long-term nature of our business means that any mistake we make would be massively magnified. We simply don't make mistakes.

You'll need that same commitment to excellence to join what we believe is already the world's finest investment management team. We expect you to bring us a mature attitude and a mind that's as analytical as it is academic. Your training and development will be intensive, specialised and backed by continuous mentoring. Your progress will swift - provided you have the requisite expertise and knowledge, you'll soon move to full portfolio management. In short, you'll thrive within a business area that's as fast-moving as you want it to be, and as dynamic as you make it. We have opportunities in the following areas:

Currency

A market leader in Currency Overlay for almost 20 years, this team of 21 dedicated specialists is responsible for the currency management of over $80 billion of our clients' international assets. We manage passive portfolios designed to manage currency risk, and we manage active portfolios designed to add return through buying and selling developed and emerging market currencies. We aim to rotate our graduates through the following currency specific roles: portfolio management, quantitative research, trading and client service.

Equities

The aim here is to grow the value of client's assets by investing in the equity markets utilising a disciplined, risk-controlled investment process. We typically manage these products on behalf of institutional pension funds, insurance companies and pooled funds for individual investors.
Fixed Income

The Fixed Income team manage portfolios of bond and debt instruments on a truly global scale. They invest in markets ranging from Japan to the U.S., via Australia and Argentina, with a varied client base that ranges from Central to private banks from all over Europe. Functions within the group include quantitative research, portfolio management, as well as trading and product or client specialisms.

Investment Operations and Client Services

Investment operations provide an essential service to the institutional asset management business. Teams such as Trade Support, Data Management and Fixed Income Middle Office & Transactions cover the trade flow through to cash management for all portfolios under management. No mean feat. Client services, meanwhile, are the people who look after the immediate needs of our retail and institutional clients. They're fonts of knowledge on all manner of subjects, from funds, market views, performance and account activity, as well as other more general issues.

Client Infrastructure (Sales, Marketing, Strategy & Planning)

Sales, Marketing and Strategy & Planning form part of our distribution group. The wide range of opportunities within this group means that you'll be ideally placed to develop both your product knowledge and understanding of the business as a whole.

Finance (Accountancy)

A world-class business deserves its world-class finance function. Our accountants provide an essential service. They ensure that investment management legal entities are well controlled and have financial integrity; their financial information helps to drive management decisions; and their infrastructure improvements keep pace with business developments.

Real Estate

The group consists of functions such as acquisitions, asset management, finance and control, research, product development and client service. Together, they manage those funds which invest in direct property such as office buildings, shopping centres, warehouse parks and hotels.

To find out more about Asset Management in association with TARGETjobs City & Finance, click here