On Friday 16 September a group of 19 Sixth Form students visited C. Hoare & Co. in Fleet Street – the oldest privately owned bank in the UK, which is still family owned and run. This was part of a series of ‘Insight Days’ in which students learn about different sectors.
After receiving training sessions from investors on the bank’s low risk approach to investment management, the students were divided into teams. First they had to decide if they would lend £1 million to a high-net worth client who wanted to invest in a start-up, before playing a trading game in which they had to decide how they would invest between Equities, Bonds and Commodities over a three year period.
The teams investment portfolios were then analysed to see how they would have performed against real life past data, including data from the financial crisis – a surprising and shocking insight for all involved!
The afternoon culminated with a tour of the banks facilities by James Hoare – an Old Sennockian, who talked fondly of his time at Sevenoaks and explained about the history of the bank and his family’s intriguing past. It was an interesting and fun day which gave the students a rare insight into the challenges and work involved in private investment banking.
