About IGM
IGM works with organisations and individuals to improve the world for investors in an industry that is struggling to define itself.
Origin
For over a decade, IGM had been on a mission to identify and recruit top talent to help their collaborating organizations diversify and grow. Despite hiring individuals with seemingly perfect credentials and impressive academic records, these organizations struggled to see their newly-hired employees perform up to their expectations. It was an enigma that confounded the financial market for years: why do so many individuals make poor investment decisions?
Determined to find an answer, IGM launched a groundbreaking study with ten recent graduates. Five of these graduates hailed from the top five universities in the United Kingdom, while the remaining five graduated from mid- to low-ranking institutions. The students were divided into two groups, with the top-performing graduates assigned to a two-year training program that focused exclusively on content. Meanwhile, the remaining students were given a two-year program that combined both content and practical work experience.
After two years, the results were in, and they were both surprising and illuminating. It turned out that the graduates from the middle to lower-ranked universities had outperformed their top-performing peers in every metric. They were able to reduce risk while identifying clear opportunities, work better under pressure, and adapt more efficiently to different market environments. But how could this be possible? Wasn't the quality of the academic institution the primary indicator of success in the financial industry?
The IGM research and development team dug deeper and found that the lack of experience and training was the primary cause of the high percentage of failure in the financial market. While the students had acquired valuable knowledge and skills during their undergraduate studies, this knowledge remained abstract and disconnected from the reality of the financial markets. The senior trader who was involved in the study put it succinctly: "When the graduates first started the program, they seemed very confident; they noticed familiar modules from their university courses. But they failed when they tried to apply what they had learned to the markets because they did not understand how different factors work in the short and medium term."
In the end, the IGM study proved to be a game-changer in the financial industry. It challenged long-held assumptions about the importance of academic pedigree and highlighted the critical role of experience and training in producing successful market professionals. For IGM and their collaborating organizations, the study was a reminder that talent is more than just a piece of paper; it's about the right combination of skills, experience, and adaptability.
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Mission
IGM's commitment to portfolio management education has been unwavering, and it has been our driving force over the years. Our aim is to offer unparalleled support to financial professionals looking to advance their expertise, knowledge, and connections in the field of portfolio management. Our comprehensive syllabus aims to develop highly-skilled chartered portfolio managers, who can seamlessly blend their knowledge of financial theory with practical application in real-world market scenarios.
In addition to our world-class curriculum, IGM has established partnerships with several institutions involved in portfolio management, including public and private proprietary firms, hedge funds, investment trusts, private equity, financial advisors, research analysts, mutual funds, and pension funds. Our vision is to set new standards for these institutions by equipping our students with the necessary skills to work effectively in a diverse range of market environments.
At IGM, we firmly believe that ethics and market integrity are critical components of portfolio management. As such, we strive to instill these values in our students, setting the bar high for practising excellence. By providing our partners with highly-skilled and ethically-conscious portfolio managers, we aim to generate better outcomes for their investors, thus building long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships.
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Values
The world of finance has long been known to be a field that attracts top talent. However, despite the abundance of impressive credentials and qualifications, it is widely acknowledged that the financial industry has been plagued by inefficiencies that have led to suboptimal outcomes for investors. At IGM, we recognized the need for a paradigm shift in the way that financial professionals approach portfolio management.
Our mission is to provide comprehensive education, knowledge, professional development, connection, and inspiration to all financial professionals seeking to enhance their portfolio management skills. Our belief is that in order to achieve superior returns, investment professionals must learn to exploit market inefficiencies. We understand that these inefficiencies arise from the failure of markets to accurately reflect macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. At IGM, we have developed a unique approach to portfolio management that involves integrating informed top-down views with rigorous bottom-up analysis. This approach enables our students to successfully exploit asset mispricing, ultimately leading to better outcomes for our partners' investors.
Our partners are industry-leading firms involved in portfolio management, including public and private proprietary firms, hedge funds, investment trusts, private equity, financial advisors, research analysts, mutual funds, and pension funds. We recognize that our partners have high standards for ethics, market integrity, and practice excellence. Therefore, we have made it our vision to establish new standards in the industry by providing students with hands-on experience that enables them to work in a variety of market environments. Our goal is to set the industry standard for excellence, ultimately leading to better outcomes for our partners' investors.