Programme applications are welcomed from intellectually curious young women and non-binary students who are interested in the industry, regardless of your previous experience.

We welcome applications from all degree disciplines. Everyone’s degree and individual background offer different skills and ways of thinking – this is very important in business as research shows that diverse teams make better decisions.

When applying to the programme think about highlighting skills you have which are relevant to the role.

The technical and soft skills training included in the programme is designed so that all interns enter the workplace on an equal footing, no matter what degree they are studying.

51% of our students studied economics 2025.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK and be able to prove they hold a visa that gives them the right to work full-time during the internship period. Participating firms are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

Applicants need to have, or be predicted, a minimum of a 2:1 university grade.

Internships run over summer for a minimum of 4 weeks but could run up to 12 weeks, depending on the firm. Many firms offer flexibility with the internship duration and start date. Please note all internships are full time positions.

The purpose of the internship is to equip students with knowledge, industry experience and an expanded network to support them in applying to graduate and entry level roles.

While many of our intern alumni have been fast tracked onto graduate programmes, please note there is no guarantee of a job offer at the end of the internship from the firm you are interning with.

We welcome applications from penultimate and final year undergraduate students, Masters and MBA students. The programme is open to talented and dedicated young women and non-binary students studying any academic discipline who have the right to work full time in the UK during the internship period. UK citizens studying abroad will also be eligible to apply provided they will be in the UK at the time of the internship.

The average salary paid by our partnering firms in summer 2025 varies depending on location and investment management area.

London:

Average weekly salary of £700–799 p/w was paid to Private Equity and Venture Capital interns.

Average weekly salary of £400–499 p/w was paid to interns in any other area of investment management (asset management, family office, hedge fund etc.)

Other UK locations:

Average weekly salary of £600–699 p/w was paid to Private Equity and Venture Capital interns.

Average weekly salary of £500–599 p/w was paid to interns in any other area of investment management (asset management, family office, hedge fund etc.)

The average salaries are lower outside of London, but reflective of the cost of living in those cities. You may wish to consider internships in other locations (Leeds, Edinburgh, Birmingham etc.) but you should only apply to cities you can commit to living in full time.

The GAIN Bursary can support with associated costs. For student eligible for our Low-Income Household Bursary we can support you with:

• Contribution of £150 for the first two weeks of travel for your internship
• Contribution of £150 for office attire
  

To check eligibility for the GAIN Bursary and submit a Bursary request, please visit here.

Congratulations on completing your application! Whilst the Programme team screens your application we have some things we suggest you do.

Read our guide on getting assessment ready.

Check your digital footprint. Firms will often run background searches on their employees’ (and interns’) social media accounts, so consider how you are presenting yourself online and if necessary, adjust your privacy settings and profile pictures.

Read our guide on preparing for an interview.

Yes! Granted that you still meet the eligibility criteria for the programme, please submit an application and highlight what you have learnt from your previous internship.

In 2025, one in every six candidates allocated to a participating GAIN internship programme firm was offered an internship.

We understand that candidates may also want to apply for internships outside of the GAIN programme. If you accept an offer outside of the GAIN programme, please contact programmes@gainuk.org as soon as possible to let us know. If you are already interviewing with a GAIN firm and have a contact at the firm, please notify them too.

If you are in the fortunate position of being offered an internship via the GAIN programme and eventually, please do take into consideration the additional benefits the GAIN programme provides as you make your offer acceptance decision.

Every firm in the programme follows their own assessment process. Some firms conduct interviews only, while others may ask you to complete a numerical test, case study, presentation or in some instances, an assessment centre. Please visit the GAIN “Get Assessment Ready” page on our website where you will find some useful resources to support you.

We are unable to let candidates know which firm is currently reviewing their CV as this could change within the space of a few days if the firm decides not to take a candidate forward and is then reallocated to another firm.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the capacity within the team to keep candidates informed of who their application is with.

All firms in the programme have been selected to give you reasonable notice if inviting you to an interview so you have time to prepare.

Once we have received your application, applicants will be reviewed by GAIN and if they successfully pass the screening, will be allocated to one of the participating firms. The firms will then select the candidates that they would like to take through their assessment process. Each firm will have their own assessment process, which may include interviews (virtually or in person) and/or testing and will be looking for smart, hard-working and intellectually curious individuals. The following skills are considered advantageous: ability to collaborate and build strong relationships, differentiated thinking and independent initiative, strong work ethic, curiosity, self-motivation, maturity, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Refer to our interview preparation resources.

You are very welcome to apply directly to our internship host firms in addition to the GAIN Empower Investment Internship Programme. In our application form, we ask whether you have applied to internships elsewhere and with which firms. This has no negative impact on your application, but helps us ensure we send your application to different firms, maximising your chances of securing an interview.

All we ask is that if you are interviewing with multiple firms, you remain respectful to all parties: reply to emails, attend interviews that you have accepted and keep us up to date if you secure an internship outside of the GAIN Empower Investment Internship Programme.

We will contact all applicants to the programme from 30 October 2025. In this communication we will let you know if:

• You have successfully passed GAIN’s internship programme screening and will be allocated to one of the partner firms in our programme for review.
  

Or

• You have been unsuccessful with your application to the programme. Please note due to the large number of applications we receive, we are unable to provide feedback on why your application has been unsuccessful.

You will shortly receive two invites from GAIN for online events which will help you prepare for an interview if a GAIN partner firm invites you to meet with them. These events are:

• A 60 minute virtual introduction to Smart Works with general interview advice taking place at 5.30pm on 10 November 2025.
• A mandatory 75 minute virtual interview skills workshop with investment professionals from the GAIN network. You will be allocated to one of 2 dates. These are taking place with our intern: 11 to 13 November 2025 at 5.30pm.
  

When applying to the programme think about highlighting skills you have which are relevant to the role.

The technical and soft skills training included in the programme is designed so that all interns enter the workplace on an equal footing, no matter what degree they are studying.

51% of our students studied economics 2025.

Internship programme firms will receive their allocated candidates to review on 10 November 2025. If a firm would like to invite you to take part in their assessment process, you could hear from them at any point from this date. Please check your emails (both primary and secondary provider in your application form) including your junk folder as well as your voicemail for any missed calls.

We have a range of firm sizes participating in our programme from boutique to global investment firms and their candidate review process can differ, with some taking longer than others, so please don’t worry if you are aware of another candidate receiving an invite to an interview but you haven’t yet heard from anyone.

Please also be assured that GAIN are following up with participating firms regularly to check the candidate review process is moving forward.

Due to the number of candidates in the programme, we are unable to let you know which firm we have allocated you to. If a firm would like to take you forward in their assessment process, you will hear from them directly.

We do this to anonymise the process and to provide a level playing field of who they are and what internships they have applied to. When the firm contacts you, search for the firm and their interview process as part of your interview preparation.

GAIN will make every effort to take into consideration any location and area preferences you have stated on your application form, however we are unable to meet these requests if the preference does not align amongst the GAIN candidate pool or the same firm.

Every firm has their own assessment process however we ask firms to make their process as long as 3 rounds. Examples of assessment experience by former intern students included:

• Virtual interview (this could be with an HR team first then the investment team)
• In-person interview (this could be with an HR team first then the investment team)
• Case study
• Numerical test
• Verbal reasoning test
• Presentation
• Assessment Centre

• Attend the GAIN interview skills workshops and work on your own answers to the commonly asked interview questions covered in the sessions
• Research your own additional interview questions and practice answers to them
• Practice numerical reasoning tests (you can find these free online)
• Review the free ‘get assessment ready’ resources on the GAIN website

You will only be allocated to one GAIN partner firm at a time within the GAIN programme.

If a firm doesn’t take you forward in their assessment process, we will look to allocate you to another firm in the programme.* If you have completed part of the firm’s assessment process but they tell you they are not taking you forward, we have asked the firm to provide you with some brief feedback. If you are not provided with this feedback, please request it from your contact at the firm.

*Subject to feedback from the firm where you were last allocated to. For example, if you fail to attend an interview with a firm we will not reallocate you to another firm in the programme.

Unfortunately, we are unable to update your CV or make any amendments to your internship programme application. If there is something significantly different about you when you interview with a firm from when you submitted your application to GAIN, please highlight this in your interview where appropriate to do so.

Your details will be shared with Smart Works shortly after applications close on 26 October, provided your application has successfully passed GAIN’s screening. They will send your details to the centre you have informed us is closest to you and they will be in touch over the coming weeks. They will most likely phone you so please check your voicemail.

Please contact paige@gainuk.org who will discuss this with Smart Works.

Firms must make internship offers by 20 December 2025.

The firm will send you an internship offer by email. Some firms will contact you before they formally send this email to let you know they intend to offer you a place. Once you receive the formal offer the firm will then send you a contract to review and sign with the terms of your internship. GAIN will also contact you at the start of January 2026 to share a Welcome Pack and to provide you with more detail of our Internship Programme Agreement to review and sign.

GAIN will notify unsuccessful candidates when the programme is officially closed in January 2026.

One in every six candidates who were allocated to a GAIN partner firm secured an internship offer in 2025.

If you have a question that has not been covered here, direct your questions to the question box in our Instagram story @gainuk_org and a member of the programmes team will get back to you.