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Susannah and the appliance of science
INVESTMENT is a second career for
Susannah Lindey, IMC. She has a BSc in biochemistry from Aberdeen University, a PhD from University College London and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Edinburgh University before switching to the financial world. She is now an investment manager with
Walter Scott & Partners Limited, a comparatively small investment house in
Edinburgh.‘I was on maternity leave with my second child and I realised that science was not fulfilling my ambitions and that I wanted to do something else,’ says Susannah, 35. ‘So I had a hard think about the alternatives.’
And she came up with investment management in which she could use the skills she had already learnt. ‘If you are a scientist you are good at lateral thinking and analysis – both vital tools in the investment world,’ she says.
Susannah won a scholarship to do a one-year MSc in Investment Analysis at Stirling University and then started work with Walter Scott & Partners Limited.
‘I’ve just joined the Japan team where my job is to look for new investment ideas and monitor stocks already in the portfolio.There is a lot of analysis, but I also attend meetings with company management and will be travelling to Japan soon. I still use the same thought processes that I used as a scientist.’
In her previous career Susannah was used to working in small teams and enjoys the intimate atmosphere of a close-knit company. ‘Going to a small firm suited me.Within a company the size of Walter Scott & Partners Limited, it’s very easy to get to know everyone. The training programme involved rotation through several departments giving me a good understanding of how the firm works.’
The move has paid off for Susannah not just financially but she is also far more fulfilled. ‘This job is a lot more rewarding, I really look forward to getting to my desk each morning,’ she says. ‘One of the sad things about science is that the job is undervalued.’
Susannah passed the IMC in April 2003.
See also:
CITY FOCUS: Edinburgh
CITY FOCUS: Glasgow
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