Christian Beddoe

For Christian Beddoe, spending much of his childhood growing up in different cities and countries not only opened his eyes to the world but has also made him adaptable to changing environments. And in the fast-paced and constantly evolving financial services industry, that ability to constantly adapt and think on his feet have been serving him well.

Christian has been enjoying putting those skills and many others to the test in his graduate role as Wealth Analyst with the E&P Financial Group. Here he takes us through a typical day: 

5.30 AM

Once I’m awake I browse my phone for 10 minutes and have a quick flick through the AFR app. Then I’m out the door and off to the gym.

After a good workout I head back home, shower, pack my bag and grab my food from the fridge. The last job before I start walking to work is making a protein shake to have during my journey.

7.30 AM

I’m lucky enough to live about 15 minutes’ walk from work. I spend most of my walk thinking about what I want to achieve that day and what order I want to do my tasks in. I kick off the day by checking my calendar and emails. I like to plan out my day although my intentions often get interrupted as tasks such as market orders from clients pop up throughout the day. 

8.00 AM

I jump on the morning call with the research team. These calls are critical as the team runs through their sector views and the latest market news. The whole investments team will listen in on the call and asks questions to the various speakers.  After the morning call, I get started on my first tasks for the day. 

10.00 AM

When the ASX opens, this is our first opportunity to have market orders executed for clients. I collect the orders that have come through and ensure the order instructions are explicit and clearly understandable. I’ll then prepare for the next client meeting to make sure all the client portfolio information is ready and spend time answering client emails.

11.00 AM

A typical meeting can last for an hour and a half after which I return to my desk to finalise notes, recap with my adviser and agree on what tasks need to be done. At this point I’m rather hungry so I head to the kitchen and heat up my food. I have a chat with my co-workers while I do this and catch up on what they’ve been doing during the morning. 

2.00 PM

After a busy morning I now have some time to focus. I often have a few different administrative tasks on the go at once. I check through the progress of each of my tasks through the client management portal. This is how I speak with different divisions of the business and keep track of work. 

It’s common for a fund manager or CEO to host a call to discuss the prospects of their investment. The investment team gets on the call and listens as the host discusses strategy, performance and their outlook on markets. Members of the team ask questions. 

I’ll then spend time with my manager to discuss a piece of advice the firm is preparing for a client. 

4.00 PM

When the ASX closes for the day I check the unfilled orders report and reach out to clients who still have orders on the market to check what they’d like to do. I’ll also look though the next day’s calendar and ensures all the necessary documents are ready for the following days engagements. 

6.00 PM

After a busy day it’s time to shut the computer down and head home. I like walking home as it gives me a chance to wind down and think about the day, then I’ll usually whip together a nice dinner and sit down in front of the TV to relax.