The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Educational Trust is delighted to announce that Connor Tilston, student at Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), has achieved a £1,000 award.
The CISI Educational Trust Awards 2016 celebrate the highest standards of work amongst students studying CISI accredited courses or CISI exams around the UK.
Awards are given this year to the Best Performing Undergraduate and Postgraduate students at 16 CISI accredited UK universities. Each student is nominated by their university on the basis of excellence in an item of work or examination. Financial awards are made to support ambitions for a financial services career.
To achieve his award of £1,000 Connor, who is studying MSc Financial Management at LJMU, had to achieve the best mark for the LJMU programme Corporate Finance Module presentation.
Of Connor’s achievement, James Charlton of Tilney Bestinvest, Education Secretary and Vice President of CISI’s Liverpool and North Wales Committee said: “Connor has demonstrated that he is an extremely bright student and we are delighted to be working alongside LJMU to attract, develop and hopefully retain the best talents in the region. Connor has the aptitude required to forge a successful career in financial services and I look forward to seeing how his career progresses over the following years.”
Karl Roberts, Senior Lecturer at Liverpool Business School at LJMU said: “Connor showed a good application of the investment knowledge gained on the programme through his ex-ante trading decisions, ex-post divestment/holdings, application of the empirical research and presentation of each of these findings. We have had a successful year in working with the CISI and we anticipate strengthening this relationship on the programme in the years ahead.”
Below are Connor’s responses to some key questions on his award:
What does being a winner of a CISI Educational Trust Award 2016 mean to you?
It has focused and heavily influenced my future career plans. The equity simulation assessment for which I received the LJMU Award, provided significant confidence in investing on the London Stock Exchange. In winning this award, I would hope to be able to further promote the CISI in the North-West and Nationally.
What are your career ambitions?
My objective is to be a CISI qualified investment manager taking responsibility for a range of North-West private client, trust and charity portfolios in both client discretionary and advisory investment management actions. I aim to be attending CISI conferences, courses, CPD seminars and networking events to help promote the CISI.
What was the main challenge you faced during the Awards process?
Due to the short period of time given to invest, it was important to determine the method of investing that worked best for me. Other than theoretical knowledge, I had no experience when it came to investing on the London Stock Exchange. My portfolio began to grow early on, giving me greater confidence in my ability. By the allocated deadline my starting portfolio of £10,000 has grown to a final portfolio value of £13,165, resulting in a 32% profit over the 7 week module period.
What do you hope to get out of the award going forward?
Undertake the CISI Chartered Wealth Manager Qualification whilst pursing a trainee investment manager career with a North-West investment and financial planning firm. I would hope to be involved in the Liverpool & North Wales CISI committee to encourage students at all levels to follow a career in investment and finance.