FAQ

CUTS covers all areas of finance related to the markets, namely trading and asset management. You can find these roles at investment banks (trading floors), quantitative trading firms, and asset managers (including hedge funds). We do not cover deal-based investment banking.

Learn more on the careers page.

The main difference is that we don’t cover deal-based investment banking. We focus entirely on markets-related roles, which we believe are the most dynamic and engaging areas of finance, and ones which are heavily underexplored at Cambridge.

We also bring a completely different approach to our events and analyst programmes.

Traditional, deal-based banking involves working to help execute deals such as mergers, acquisitions and stock/bond issuances. As an analyst at an investment bank, your day to day involves crawling through spreadsheets and designing presentations, often into the late hours. It’s an interesting but gruelling industry, where the outcome of your work gets realised months after you begin.

Roles in markets/trading involve buying and selling assets that are traded on the public markets (e.g. stocks, bonds, options, commodities). This can be as part of an investment that you think will gain value (buy-side and some quant) or as part of market-making (investment banking and some quant). These are incredibly dynamic and engaging roles, your workday is centred around the market hours in which you’re constantly watching changes and making decisions that you think will help you make money. There are roles of all types in markets, but the common thread is that it’s an ever changing sector where no two days are the same.

Find out more on the careers page.

Turn up to any event and apply to the analyst programme.

Most analyst programmes give you limited guidance and throw you directly into a massive, term-long project. They can be difficult to balance alongside life at Cambridge. Ours has a completely different philosophy, check out the Analyst Programme section on the main page.

Spring weeks are short programmes that firms hold for first-year students during the spring holidays. They range from 1 day to 2 weeks long, although most are one full week. You learn about the firm, meet fellow students, and often have a special opportunity to secure an early offer for your 2nd year internship. You can find a list of them on Trackr.

Our advice: apply to all of them! Spring weeks are fun. Even if you don’t want to work there, it’s a rare chance to experience the firm, visit the office, and meet interesting people, all with no commitment.