Name: Lynsey Petterson
Job title: Lynsey Petterson, Institutional Securities Finance Associate, Morgan Stanley

Company history
In 1977, Morgan Stanley opened its European headquarters in London, where it now has over 5,000 staff. More than 3,000 further people are located in the firm’s other European offices in Amsterdam, Athens, Budapest, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Stockholm and Zurich.

Both in the UK and in Europe generally, Morgan Stanley is one of the pre-eminent financial services firms, with longstanding client relationships and a leading role in many landmark transactions. It offers a full range of services covering mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, fixed income and equity financing, as well as secondary trading, research, foreign exchange, commodities, securities lending, asset management and prime brokerage.

Lynsey’s job
It is not uncommon for degree students to change courses midway through their studies, having decided their chosen specialism no longer holds the attraction for them that they first envisaged. Choosing a broader degree course allows for flexibility as students map out their studies in line with their career plans.

For Institutional Securities Finance Associate Lynsey Petterson, taking a business degree in marketing and management sciences offered a range of opportunities.

‘It was a deliberate choice,’ said Lynsey, ‘as I hadn’t quite decided what I wanted to specialise in.’

After graduating with honours from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Lynsey spend a year in Australia, following which, she got some work experience with the financial institution National Australia Group in Glasgow.

‘I decided I wanted to work in finance and needed to get an accountancy qualification,’ Lynsey said and, when she came back from her travels, she embarked upon the next stage in her career planning.

Work and study
She decided to apply for a job in investment banking that would allow her to work and, at the same time, study for a professional qualification. Lynsey advises against a blanket approach to finding a post. ‘I didn’t want to send out a pile of applications and hope some of them came home to roost. I was very selective in who I sent my CV to.’

‘I honed my preferred options to pinpoint the kind of firm that would be supportive in my studies, that would offer the chance to gain experience in various departments and that had a global presence with the possibility of overseas opportunities in the long term.’

‘Morgan Stanley ticked all of those boxes for me. It is a respected brand, and is known for its supportive approach to employees’ career aspirations. I was impressed with its technical training programmes and by the mentoring scheme. So much so that I would like to train as a mentor myself.’

‘It was also good to be working with other graduates who were going through the same kind of study programme.’

‘That’s important when you’re having problems or just need someone to talk to that’s on the same wavelength.’

In the four years she has been with the bank at one of its support offices in Glasgow, Lynsey has worked in various departments, and now leads a team of seven in financial control supporting the bank’s equity products. She recently qualified as an associate chartered management accountant (ACMA) with CIMA.

Working and studying in her own time, over three years, Lynsey completed her studies earlier this year, but it wasn’t an easy option.

‘Much of my formal studies took place on a Saturday,’ she said, ‘and, since I had no accountancy qualifications, I had no exemptions, so it took three years of study to get through it all.’

‘As well as this, I have undergone training through the company’s in-house programme which focuses on people management, coaching, negotiation and influencing – what they call the soft skills.’

‘They are also keen that employees have a healthy approach to the work life balance.’

‘There is a focus on finding more flexible ways of working. They don’t go in for the all-work-and-no-play school of business. And they offer a rewards system for high performers.’

Commitment to development
Lynsey is happy with the way her career is progressing at the moment, but she admits that getting to where she is has taken a lot of work. She advises anyone thinking of combining working with studying for a professional qualification to be clear about what they’re getting into. She added: ‘I often give presentations to students. I have given presentations for CIMA as well as to Stirling University undergraduates and, last year, I was on the Morgan Stanley stand at the graduate fair in the SECC in Glasgow.’

‘One of the most important pieces of advice I can give on working while studying is not to underestimate the commitment. ‘It takes up a lot of free time. The studies are intense and the standards are high. For me, it took three years. It’s no small undertaking, so it’s important to have an employer who is supportive.’

That said, the rewards are not inconsiderable. An accredited professional qualification opens doors of opportunity and widens the scope of options. Scotland has an enviable reputation in the world of financial services, with Glasgow being primed as a key location for big hitters in the global financial sector. Many of the world’s largest and most influential banking institutions have a base in the city’s specially designated International Financial Services Area.