Testimonials

My name is Afroditi Kazana and I work as a junior trader at Keyridge Asset Management. I joined the firm approximately two years ago through the Graduate Programme after finishing my master’s in finance at Trinity College Dublin.

I was drawn to Keyridge because of its strong reputation and its focus on long‑term, responsible investing. The Graduate Programme offered the opportunity to gain insight on how an asset management company operates.

From my first day, the culture felt collaborative and intellectually curious, with a strong sense of equality and respect across teams. I attended an onboarding event that helped me connect with other graduates and start building my internal network. Throughout the programme, I also had the opportunity to join various networking events and team building activities, which made it easy to get to know colleagues across the business. Some highlights include the farewell lunch when I rotated departments, as well as a warm welcoming from my new team that made the transition feel smooth and supportive. I was also assigned a buddy who helped me settle in, whether that meant a lunchtime companion or a helpful source of information for company procedures. The firm is open to flexible working and provides the opportunity to work from abroad for some days throughout the year, which is especially important to me given that I am not from Ireland. Overall, the firm’s wellbeing resources and inclusive networks have made it easy to be myself at work.

Throughout the programme, I rotated to fund management and investment risk departments. These experiences gave me a clearer view of my strengths and interests and ultimately helped shape my decision to move into trading. Keyridge actively supports personal development, including my ambition to gain the CFA qualification, and provides the tools and encouragement needed to achieve my career goals. When permanent role applications opened, I was supported to speak with different departments, understand the opportunities, and apply to the position that best suited me.

For future candidates, I would suggest being curious, asking questions, and saying yes to opportunities, even if they feel challenging. I wish I had realised earlier just how much support is available; you are not expected to know everything on day one. I would recommend the Graduate Programme to anyone who wants real responsibility, structured development, and hands-on experience on how it is to work in a leading asset management company.

My name is Dónal Mangan and I am a fixed income indexation analyst in ILIM. I joined ILIM in September 2024 through the BTS Graduate Program where I completed rotations in client reporting and reconciliations. Prior to this I studied business and economics in Trinity College Dublin.

I chose the Keyridge graduate program due to the prestige and reputation of the company within the investment management industry. During college, my interests developed aligned with a career in the investment management space and after some research it was clear that ILIM was the perfect fit. The size of the firm means the graduate intake from an early point in their career are given responsibility and exposure within various parts of the business. For example, during my time in client reporting I interacted with multiple teams including distribution, fund management and performance. In reconciliations, I was given responsibility for a project with IT looking to streamline and automate one of the daily processes. This experience and knowledge has been invaluable when transitioning into a full-time role. Another benefit has been the study support. I am currently studying for the CFA Level II exam having completed Level I last year. The knowledge within the company along with study leave has proven vital in this journey.

Overall, the graduate programme is the ideal launchpad for anyone looking for a career related to financial markets. The high degree of autonomy given over your work along with expert oversight from the highly experienced teams within the firm provides the perfect learning environment. The rotational structure also enables the graduate to build a broad understanding of various parts of the business. The ability to quickly progress early in your career is another major enticement.   

The growing graduate community within the business is a major attraction to any potential applicants. This support network will be highly beneficial to incoming graduates in their journey. My one piece of advice for future applicants and new joiners would be to maintain curiosity and stay informed about developments and trends across global financial markets.

My name is Kyle Walsh and I’m currently working as a Trainee Actuary on the Annuity Pricing Team. Having joined the company initially as an intern in 2024 for my third-year college placement and I was then lucky enough to be offered a place on the graduate program thereafter. I studied Actuarial & Financial Studies (BAFS) in UCD.

As an avid runner, Irish Life’s sponsorship of various running events including the Dublin Marathon was certainly an attraction to the company culture. My first impression of the pricing teams was that it is a very warm and welcoming group where I could ask as many questions as I needed to help me grow and learn. This supportive culture made it clear to me why there are so many ‘Lifers’ in the company who have happily spent their entire careers within the company across various roles.

Despite having less than two years’ experience under my belt thus far, I’ve had the opportunity to work in all the group pricing areas: Group Risk, Group Pensions and Group Annuities. The chance to gain exposure to each product has not only helped develop my technical skills in Excel, Access and Prophet but also to develop a commercial awareness with regular broker communication. I’m looking forward to my upcoming rotation next year where I will be moved to an entirely new area of the business to learn even more new skills.

Notable interesting pieces of work I’ve done include pricing group life cover for Ireland’s largest companies, assessing the impact of Auto Enrolment (AE) on the group pension book and more recently being involved in the launch of the Deferred Annuity product which is the first time the product has been sold in Ireland. The most rewarding part of the job is seeing your pricing work pay off when Irish Life win schemes.

My managers have always been extremely supportive to be both professionally and personally and are always fair to me.

The breadth of skills I am learning and will learn on the Graduate Program is invaluable for my career. It’s clear to see that hard work is rewarded within the company as there is lots of potential for internal promotion so I’m confident that Irish Life is an excellent place to progress my career.

A tip I would give to new joiners would be to get involved socially as much as possible. It’s easy to get sucked into staying at home to work remotely but going into the office to socialise with your colleagues is nice.

I joined Irish Life as a Trainee Accountant after completing my MSc in Finance at Trinity College Dublin. I was looking for a role that would expose me to different areas of Finance and help me develop early in my career and I found the rotational programme to be the perfect opportunity.

From my first day, everyone was incredibly welcoming and thanks to the buddy programme, settling in was smooth. My team has always been supportive and approachable, which made me comfortable asking questions and learning from those around me. The trainee forum has also been a great source of support, giving us the opportunity to connect, share tips and learn from each other’s experiences.

Over the past year and a half, I’ve had the opportunity to work across a range of areas, including Irish Life Health, Irish Life Corporate Business and Solvency II Reporting. Each area has given me a different perspective on the business and has helped me develop both technically and professionally. I’ve also had the chance to work with systems such as SAP, Oracle and Power BI while building skills in communication, collaboration and problem-solving.

One thing I’ve really valued is the support for professional development. I joined Irish Life as a part-qualified ACCA student with four exams remaining and I was able to complete them while working because of the flexibility and encouragement from my manager and team. Having my efforts and progress recognised along the way made me feel valued and reinforced me that my growth and development were genuinely supported.

Looking back, I’ve learned a lot in a relatively short period of time and I’m looking forward to continuing to learn and grow within Irish Life. I’d definitely recommend the programme to anyone looking for a supportive environment where they can learn, develop and gain experience across different areas of the business.