Half of Artemis youth scheme participants now working in or pursuing finance careers

An investment training programme run by Artemis Investment Management has helped open up careers in financial services to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, new research has found.

Each year, the Artemis Profit Hunt takes 60 year 12 students through a five-month investment programme, with teams managing a simulated £5m portfolio and receiving mentoring from Artemis staff, including fund managers.

A survey conducted by social impact consultancy Arrival, which runs the programme, found that 49% of former participants in the scheme are now working in, or actively pursuing, careers in finance, investment or wealth management.

Meanwhile, 73% are already working in professional occupations and 74% said the programme had made a significant or transformational impact on their lives.

The survey covered participants from the first three cohorts, who took part between 2018 and 2021 and are now aged between 21 and 24. Many came from lower-income backgrounds, with 66% having been eligible for free school meals, 57% coming from households with combined parental income below £30,000 and 71% growing up in households receiving means-tested benefits.

And 59% said they had also invested their own money since completing the scheme, with a further 37% planning to do so. Of those who had invested, 83% were the first investor in their family, while 65% had encouraged or helped another family member to invest.

Arrival is now seeking more investment firms to adopt the model and has already launched a similar programme with Jupiter.

Emily Shenton, co-founder of Arrival, said: “The young people who take part in the Artemis Profit Hunt are ambitious and capable. They’ve simply lacked access to opportunities that many others take for granted. The programme gives them the chance to experience investing for themselves and, in doing so, opens the door to a world that had previously felt beyond their reach.”

Derek Stuart, co-founder of Artemis Investment Management, added: “It’s exciting to see how many participants have gone on to build careers in investment management. That matters – not just because our industry needs a stronger and more diverse talent pipeline but because broadening participation in investing is good for society.”

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