Summer Slowdown

So I'm a bit more than halfway through my internship now and things are coming together pretty nicely. I'm comfortable with everyone in the office and I'm getting to know the other interns better, which is cool. As unlicensed wealth management interns we can't really do a lot of work that has a real impact but we help out as much as we're able to.

Things have slown down a fair amount since my last post. Between bosses being out of the office and two other guys starting on the same team as me, the work is spread pretty thin lately. My daily responsibilities haven't changed much, but my longer term projects are wrapping up so I've begun to think about the next step. Rather than just do what I'm asked for the rest of my time at UBS I've been brainstorming projects to work on that would have an impact even after I've taken my last steps out of the office at the end of the internship. When I;m able to start working on it I plan to put together a report for my FA about the local economy and outlook over the next decade or two. If I'm able to identify where the growth will be in this time frame I'll be able to recommend strategies for him to build his group's book of business and tap the market by targeting small business, the lawyers and CPAs who workwith them, and support networks. It's a longer term project but could actually be useful, as my team is constantly in acquisition mode and this would expand the landscape some.

In all, I'm a little surprised by how laid back this segment of the finance industry can be, but that's turned out to be a good thing so far. Rather than spending all my time sitting behind a computer staring at excel all day, I'm able to do things like chat at the coffee machine for a few minutes without feeling guilty or go out to lunch and strengthen some of the new connections I've made. I've found a good balance between work and socializing, and I hope I'm able to continue to approach my internship in the way I've done up to this point.