My internship started off late in April and went on till mid-July, so that is 11 weeks. It was an offline role, and hence I used to travel downtown Mumbai to Lower Parel and back as I stayed in Insti. The firm is relatively new, so I got the opportunity to work in a small team of 3 where I directly reported to the Managing Director which helped facilitate my learning and broadened my perspective .

The firm runs its own Alternative Investment Funds, across the 3 categories as defined by SEBI. I was working under the category 2 AIF, where my project was predominantly research-based in the wealth management industry. In short, I was working to establish the proposed business structure of a Multi-Family Office architecture (do reach out to me if you want to know more)

I started developing an interest in finance shortly after my 1st year got over (at the time we were still at home due to Covid). I initially started off with the stock market and related basic finance and later on, went on to develop a significant interest in asset management and PE. I have not taken up a minor but I would recommend one in Management for someone who wants an extra boost to their learning. I did complete an external certification from CFI - the FMVA® program which helped me to start off, and now I am pursuing the CFA certification and plan to complete Level 2 before graduation.

As PE and asset management aren't roles that you can get through PT cell (at least till now), I targeted an internship by apping. I in total had 2 interviews scheduled one after the other. For PE, candidates should have extensive knowledge of the industry, economics and buyout models. PE firms search for candidates with the ability to optimise investments and portfolio returns, rather than simply being capable of doing the activities necessary for deal execution.

One should go through this for reference -

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/career/private-equity-interview-questions/

For asset management, firms don't generally hire undergrads but for reference, in interviews, much time is spent fleshing out your understanding of markets and the nature of the job as it contains a wide array of roles that one can go for. Talking about the atmosphere, the intern season is obviously one where you can get a bit enervated and stressed about your own situation but you need to choose one direction (your chosen domain) and start working towards it before the sem starts. Talking to seniors actually helps a lot here.

I was staying on campus throughout and used to travel to and fro using the local train (sometimes cabs when it rained xd). In general, the experience was really good, our team used to have frequent in-office treats and engagements on the completion of milestones. Life besides work was also interesting, I did go on trips with my wingmates and also paid a visit home to have some days off. All in all, I would say a solid 9.5/10 summer.

Over the course of the summer, there were certainly a few important takeaways -

1. The work I did amplified my interest in asset management and made me decide to go for higher education in the domain

2. It gave me a holistic view of the wealth industry in India and how it is reshaping itself in today’s dynamic scenarios

3. It helped me develop a strong network of people in the industry that could be really helpful going forward

4. Lastly, it strengthened my problem-solving skills and multitasking abilities

5. NOTE - there are several other takeaways that one gets throughout the period of the internship (I can't mention all of them here). But one’s journey is always unique and you should try to squeeze out the maximum that you can during your tenure .