Forty Rising Stars in Financial Services Sector Recognised at Mansion House Ceremony

“

The Securities and Investment Institute (SII) is delighted to welcome more than forty of the brightest stars of the financial services sector to its awards ceremony on the 6th of February.

The ceremony is to acknowledge their excellent achievements in recent exams in which they all achieved outstanding marks. Amongst the speakers are the Lord Mayor, Alderman David Brewer and Hector Sants, Managing Director, Wholesale and Institutional Markets, FSA. Included in the ranks of companies that are represented by the winners are Goldman Sachs (with three winners), Royal Bank of Scotland (also three winners) and two candidates each from Lehman Brothers Ltd, UBS Investment Bank, Barclays Capital and Smith Williamson Securities Ltd.

International Appeal

To demonstrate the widening participation that the SII encourages, this year will for the first time feature a candidate based in India. His name is Aamod Gokhale, and he is a Systems and Business Development Manager for Cognizant Technology Solutions in Pune, India. He is flying in especially for this event after beating more than four hundred candidates to gain the best mark in his Certificate in Investment Management paper. He joins other candidates from outside London, with three from Glasgow, and others from Harrogate, York, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham.

Other winners include Adelaida Curelea, who works in Derivative Sales at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London and who beat the greatest number of candidates (over 10,000) in her Financial Regulation Certificate in Investment paper and received the highest aggregate mark. The Overall Diploma winner, which is the SII’s most advanced professional diploma, was shared between Mark Mansley of Rathbone Investment Management Ltd and Annie Mills of Standard Bank.

Introduction to Investment Reflecting Growth of FE Involvement

Another area of work being celebrated is the innovative qualification, the “Introduction to Investment” recently profiled here at FE News. A new award category has been announced for this, the Introduction to Investment, Further Education College Award, to celebrate that FE colleges both in London and increasingly further a field are training candidates for the SII Introduction to Investment examination.

Alongside the Regional Diploma winner – who was Graham Shaw of Hathaway Investment Management in Birmingham, beating more than 800 candidates to achieve his Diploma in Securities and Investments ““ therefore, Nilay Singh will be celebrated for his achievement after studying for his Introduction to Investment Award at Tower Hamlets College, London. He achieved the highest score amongst all of the FE college candidates.

The Most Important Date in the Calendar

The Managing Director of the SII, Ruth Martin, was at pains to emphasise the importance of the ceremony, saying: “The Awards ceremony is the most important date in our calendar as it is the opportunity to reward our very best candidates for achieving excellence in their field. These Award winners are the ones to watch in the ever competitive world of wholesale financial services and we wish them all the best in their future careers.”

At a time when the Government are encouraging as much employer engagement as possible in skills training, Ruth Martin took the time to acknowledge the benefit of the support of their employers for these high achievers, saying: “These achievements would not be possible without their dedication and the unending support of their firms. This year we recognise a candidate from India for the first time ever and a whole new Awards category for Further Education College candidates.”

Jethro Marsh

Stay right here at FE News for all your SII news!

“