Q&A

Student spotlight: Bridie Carrigan

Meet Bridie Carrigan, one quarter of Cicada Capital — the all-female team that made it to the finals of our 2025 Investment Competition. Their presentation caught the attention of Schroders, who invited the whole team to Sydney for a three-day office experience. Here, Bridie shares what she took away from the competition, the Schroders visit, and goals for the future.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m 20 years old and I live in Brisbane Australia. I was born in Sydney then moved to Tokyo when I was four, and came to Brisbane for high school where I met the rest of my teammates! I’m currently studying Commerce and Economics, majoring in Finance at UQ, and I have just completed my second year. Outside of my studies, I love pilates and reading to unwind, and I work in a hotel where lots of artists and DJs stay so on weekends I’m either working, or I snag some tickets to a show or DJ set going on!

How did you hear about Future IM/Pact and what do you find most valuable?

I heard about Future IM/Pact through my team mate Emma after she and I had previously competed together in a case competition. When their team was looking for an additional member, they approached me, and I was immediately enthusiastic about working with them again — they are highly capable, collaborative, and a pleasure to work with. After joining and learning more about Future IM/Pact, I was genuinely excited by how closely its values aligned with those we had grown up with in high school: creating a space for women to foster connection, support, and collaboration.

The most valuable aspect of Future IM/Pact for me has been the opportunity to learn about the processes and decision-making involved in investment management within such a supportive and welcoming environment. The combination of hands-on experience and mentorship has helped me build both my technical understanding and my confidence in a real-world setting.

What interests you about a career in investment management?

The industry appeals to me for a number of reasons, but one is the collaboration and creativity of investment teams. When a team decides on which stock to invest in, there are bound to be disagreements about one company’s benefits over another’s. Whether it’s the earnings quality, management of the company, growth outlook or capital requirements – there’s so much to debate and understand. With a good team around you, I’m sure this process can be exciting and highly rewarding.

Tell us about participating in the Investment Competition

It was the first time travelling out of our little Brisbane bubble for something like this, so it was very daunting at first. It felt like we were being thrown into something a lot bigger than we were used to – but we were actually surprised at how calm we felt at the finals. Everyone who approached us was so easy to talk to, and they were all generous with their advice and ideas.

The Canaccord Genuity offices were so beautiful, and it was such a rewarding experience. I came away feeling a lot more confident that I belong in any room I want to be in, which is important to remember as a young woman in a traditionally male-dominated field.

Would you do anything differently? Any advice for participants?

Push yourself to talk to as many people as you can at finals! It’s one of the only networking events you can go to in your early years in university where you’re there based on merit. Be really confident in your ability, and especially if you’re coming from another city it’s a really good thing to come out with some connections. Who knows, it might get you invited back down!

A huge thing I took away from the experience is just how many roles and specialties there are at a firm like Schroders. I just came out a lot more informed and a lot more confident that I will find those niche roles that really suit me.

Tell us about your 3-day experience with Schroders

It was invaluable. I wrote down everything I remembered or thought about the experience as soon as I got back home – here’s a few highlights:

Stock discussions were incredibly in-depth. The level of detail the team could draw on about each company was impressive. Watching Jennifer Odjugo break down a business unit by unit was a new and fascinating way to think about company analysis — and one that came back to us when we presented our own case to Martin Conlon.
The firm’s structure made sense once explained. Alex Spartel described the support teams’ role as enabling the investing teams to focus purely on investing. It clicked immediately — a well-oiled machine, with everything built around that core function.
The multi-asset conversation brought my studies to life. David Zhou’s approach was systematic and data-driven — concepts I recognised from the classroom, applied in practice. The role of climate change in multi-asset forecasting was a genuine surprise and broadened my view of what investment analysis involves.
The sales team were generous and candid. Simon Mead, Theone Star, Jude Fernandez and Diarmuid Feeney were open about their experiences and gave real, practical insight into building a career you’ll enjoy.
The women in the room left a lasting impression. Jennifer Odjugo’s perspective on navigating the industry as a young woman has stayed with me more than almost anything else from the trip. Sally Warneford’s passion and energy were contagious — it was wonderful to see women leading with such enthusiasm and confidence.

What was the most memorable part of your Schroders experience?

I think it was the little moments in between meetings where you’d be in the kitchen, or walking around the office and one of the team stops you and introduces themselves. There was so much information, so much to take in and these little breaks where everyone was just interested in chatting made me feel a lot more at ease. It was also where they would share little tips and tricks about the industry that they wouldn’t otherwise in an official meeting.

What did you learn from sitting in on real meetings and pitches?

The level of collaboration really surprised me. In high school and university, classes, presentations and discussions were typically one person standing up and talking, and you’d get in trouble for interjecting. Meetings at Schroders are collaborative, conversational and informative. While one person leads the meeting and ensures everything’s being covered, you can barely tell who that is from the pure equal discussion.

What is one key insight or skill you gained from this experience that you didn’t expect?

One insight that stuck with me was in any discussion about AI in the workplace, everybody was sure there was aspects of their role that simply could not be replaced. That was really comforting in this day and age, where everyone is talking about how jobs are being affected. It’s safe to say that Schroders needs people! They are a highly interactive team, and no one we spoke to could fathom a Schroders without this human connection.

How did presenting your case challenge to Schroders differ from the competition setting?

The case competition finals involved us standing in front of a room packed with fund managers, analysts and recruiters, the time limit was very set, and your competitors were watching from another room. It was a big adrenaline rush, and although I actually felt a lot more confident and better than expected, it was nothing compared to how stock pitches are done at Schroders.

Being such a close-knit team, one person brings up the stock they have been working on, which everyone has pre-read and sent in their follow-up questions. The main aim of the discussions is to make sure everyone has a really good idea on what the stock is. Everyone is asking and answering questions, bouncing off each other and adjusting the model for different scenarios. So while it’s on one person to prepare and gather the information, it’s simply a place to discuss, debate and understand. No time limit or scary slide deck.

Did this experience influence your career aspirations? If so how?

Definitely. Every question you ask is going to change your perspective and make you more informed on something. While I’m still not set on a career, a huge thing I took away from the experience is just how many roles and specialties there are at a firm like Schroders. I just came out a lot more informed and a lot more confident that I will find those niche roles that really suit me.

What are your career goals?

I’m not placing too much pressure on having a perfectly defined long-term plan, because I’ve seen firsthand how interests can evolve. Five years ago I thought I would study fashion, and clearly that has shifted quite a lot! However, I am very confident that finance is the right path for me. It’s such a broad industry with so many niche and emerging roles that I’m still learning about, and that’s something I find really exciting.

Looking far ahead, I would love to be in a position where I’m not only successful in my career but also giving back to the industry through mentoring, leadership, and supporting the next generation, particularly other women in finance. There are so many inspiring women I have talked to in the past two years, and being one of them would be pretty special.

Overall, while I’m open to where the journey takes me, I genuinely enjoy what I’m learning right now, I’m excited by the opportunities ahead, and I strongly believe I’m heading in the right direction.

What will you do over the next few years to better position yourself for an investing (or other) career?

The biggest thing that has progressed my career aspirations is learning from others. I think it’s so important to talk to people, and learn as much as you can about not only investment banking and accounting, but EVERYONE. Lawyers, journalists, people in mining, aviation or retail. You’re studying one of the most versatile degrees and you have no idea the scope of things you can do with it. So my plan is to just keep exploring new ideas, keep asking questions and exploring new opportunities, so that when I get out of university, whatever I end up doing is something I’m really confident and informed in.

What topics are you most curious or inspired by? Any great podcasts or books you’d recommend?

I just finished the book Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews, and I highly recommend it. It’s about a girl from Northern England, who meets a boy and follows him to Barcelona. The book switches from past and present, to represent how the character has developed her bad relationship with her body and food, and now how it has affects her relationships and livelihood today. As someone who hasn’t struggled with these issues, her descriptions of emptiness, discomfort and dissatisfaction were incredibly indepth and well put. But also the concept of feeling lost and purposeless in your 20s is a big theme, which I think all people experience at some point. Andrews frames the character’s feelings in a way that is so easy to understand, and really comforting. I think it’s a great read if you’re in that phase of your late teens and early 20s where you have a desire to do well and go far, but haven’t quite worked out how.