Sessions on the day
• A day in the life: working in the Jersey finance sector
• Impact investing as a fund manager
• Digital assets: a new breed
• Speed networking with practitioners
• Interactive portfolio construction game
• Greenwashing and transition companies
• Global mobility of labour markets in a digital age
Those in years 11, 12 and 13 can sign up by speaking to their careers teacher. For more information please email Leigh Hanna at leigh.hanna@standardbank.com
Our Insight days give school students an opportunity to consider if a career in the sector could work for them. They listen to presentations by experts on various topics around financial services and gain an understanding of a day in the life of a working professional. We have been holding Insight days for several years and they have received positive feedback from students.
Highlands College in St Helier is hosting this year’s event, which will be held in conjunction with Skills Jersey and is open to all schools across the island. Leigh Hanna MCSI, CISI Jersey branch committee member and relationship manager at Standard Bank, explains that we have done this "to make knowledge around finance more inclusive". We recognise that not all students can or want to go to university, so we want to highlight alternative options for those looking to step into the field.
In this short preview, we will cover greenwashing and transition companies.
Greenwashing and transition companies
The session will be hosted by one of the co-founders of Affinity Private Wealth: Russell Waite,Chartered FCSI, or Ben Stott. Greenwashing is a hot topic in responsible finance, falling under environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns. It is a form of misrepresentation where companies focus more on marketing their products as environmentally friendly instead of meaningfully reducing their environmental impact.
"The opportunity to speak to practitioners is invaluable to gain an understanding of the career paths available"
Russell or Ben will discuss transition companies – organisations in industries that currently have high emissions but a pathway to meaningful reduction – and how they work. Ultimately, the aim of the session is to show that finance sector professionals can contribute to ensuring that companies mitigate their impact on the environment. The session will also encourage a need to be mindful of greenwashing, while revealing some potentially surprising investments they consider to be sustainable.
Session speakers
Russell Waite, Chartered FCSI
Russell says that a career in finance was an unlikely choice for him while he was at school. He went from wanting to be a vicar to a chiropodist to a scientist. "Finance is a very broad sector" he says, "and the opportunity to speak to practitioners is invaluable to gain an understanding of the career paths available. This is why supporting an event like this is important to us."
Russell joined Lloyds Bank as a graduate trainee developing their client base across the UK, Europe, and southern Africa. This experience propelled his interest to specialise in investment management services. He says that "the global economy has a pivotal role to play in mobilising capital to support a greener environment". He also emphasises the importance of "providing a suite of services and products aligned to the ambitions being set by governments" to contribute to this vision.
Ben Stott 
At school, Ben wasn’t made aware of the possibility of a career in the finance sector, but says that curiosity and a thirst to learn are key to starting a career in it. He studied for a business degree at Manchester Metropolitan University and became engaged in capital markets, choosing to join Coutts private bank. He then went on to run an investment team at Equity Trust (Jersey) and has provided financial advice to expatriates.
Ben is experienced in financial planning and advising. "The best practitioners are those that challenge consensus and think differently" he says. A drive to make changes for the better is also what spurs him on in his profession, as he "would like people to know that the financial sector can be a genuine force for good".
Upcoming previews
Our speakers agree that they would have appreciated an event like this when they were at school. Our next preview of the day will look at digital assets.
We would like to thank SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank Limited, Jersey branch for sponsoring this event.