Following a rigorous Graduate Trainee recruitment process, Argon Asset Management announced that they have offered eight highly intelligent graduates a place in their Graduate Investment Trainee Programme for 2016. Out of the eight new graduate recruits, six of them are female. The eight incumbents begin their training in July at the head office of the independent owner-managed investment management firm in Cape Town. The training takes place over three years where the Graduate Trainees will learn about investment management, financial modelling, trading and investment valuation. During the course of the programme, the trainees will have an opportunity to rotate within the entire investment management function, spanning equities, fixed income and multi-asset class. Unlike other Graduate Trainee programmes in the industry, these trainees will immediately get hands-on experience in investment management.
Although this is only the second time Argon has conducted their Graduate Investment Trainee Programme, the company received an overwhelming 674 applications due to their social media marketing strategy. “We were pleasantly surprised with the large volume of CVs received and even more so with the high calibre of candidates. The recruitment process unearthed some highly intellectual and motivated individuals from small South African communities. As a result, we employed eight new recruits instead of the four we had initially intended to bring on-board. What made the chosen graduates stand out from the other applicants were their proven strong academics as well as demonstrated leadership potential,” says Mothobi Seseli, Chief Executive Officer at Argon Asset Management.
“What also makes this programme special is that we made sure to not just focus on recruiting from the traditional metropolitan areas of South Africa, but we found amazing talented young graduates from smaller communities such as Orange Farm, Mthatha and White River in the Vaal. Through this programme we will be developing young investment professionals who will be able to work across many disciplines in the investments sphere while contributing positively to the South African economy. At Argon we take our responsibility towards building South African communities seriously and we understand the immense value of youth development today for a better tomorrow,” adds Loyiso Kula, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Argon Asset Management.
The eight new recruits include:
1) Mbalenhle Mthombeni, a 23 year old BCom Financial Accountancy graduate from Three Rivers in the Vaal Triangle. She completed her degree at North West University (NWU). Mthombeni, passed her undergrad with eight distinctions and is currently completing her Honours degree.
2) Litha Madabane from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, is a 22 year old BTech Management (cum laude) graduate from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Madabane majored in Financial Management, Quantitative and Strategic Management and during her undergrad she achieved 12 distinctions and is a member of the exclusive Golden Key International Honour Society.
3) Shiluva Hope Sono, a 23 year old born in Giyani, Limpopo, completed her BCom Finance and Investments undergrad degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. Sono has recently completed her BCom Honours in Investment Management at the University of Johannesburg and is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.
4) Lebohang Mofokeng from Welkom, Free State is a 22 year old BTech Metallurgy (cum laude) graduate. Whilst at the University of Johannesburg, where he completed his undergrad studies, Mofokeng’s achievements include 20 distinctions, being awarded Best Metallurgy Student in South Africa 2015, Top Learner award in Matric (Free State province), Dux Learner recognition, twice winner of the DST Science quiz, and has been on the Dean’s Honours rollover list three times. His past leadership roles include being an SRC president and have led him to receiving a Junior Civil Guard of Honour at the South African Parliament
5) Revival Ramaifo, a 23 year old graduate with a BCom degree in Accountancy from the North West University, comes from Orange Farm in Gauteng. She also holds a BCom Honours degree in Financial Accountancy from North West University. Her past achievements include 15 distinctions in her undergrad.
6) Maitse Motsoane, a 26 year old graduate. He holds a BCom Honours degree from the University of Johannesburg majoring in Investments Management as well as a BCom degree in Financial Management Sciences from the University of Pretoria. Motsoane received 13 distinctions in his undergrad and is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.
7) Neo Mokhesi, at 25 years of age, Mokhesi is a registered Candidate Natural Scientist (SACNASP) and holds two degrees in Biochemistry from University of the Free State. She is currently registered for an MSc in Anatomical Pathology at the University of Cape Town. During her undergrad she attained membership of the Golden Key International Society and obtained eight distinctions.
8) Belardina Zunguza, a 23 year old BCom graduate from Rustenburg. Zunguza completed her BCom degree in Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently studying towards a BCom Honours in Economic Sciences, Insurance and Risk Management also at Wits University. Her past achievements include various leadership roles as well as awards and scholarships including the Morshall Scholarship Programme, Lebone II College Scholarship, Robell Rocher Award and Dux Scholarship.
Through Argon’s exclusive institutional partnership with Schroders Investment Management, four of the newly employed Graduate Trainees will be heading to London for four months of investment management training. The Schroder Global Graduate Trainee Programme takes place in London between August and December 2016 and the four Argon trainees (Mofokeng, Mthombeni, Madabane and Sono) will represent South Africa amongst a group of 30 Investment Management Trainees from other countries.
“At Argon we are serious about investing in the development and training of our own staff. The 2016 Graduate Trainee intake represents the new generation of talent at Argon Asset Management. Through their global exposure and key learnings of investment techniques at Schroders, we continue towards our goal of building a pool of investment professionals that are global in their approach.”
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