Since the end of January, Max Beijer has been travelling to Stratfield every day instead of Windesheim, because he’s doing an internship there until the end of June this year. The 4th year Finance & Control student is very happy about this, he says. ‘I certainly am! The atmosphere here is open and informal, you could almost say easy-going, although everyone is too hard-working for that. I can say this on the basis of my own experience because they allow me to take a look behind the scenes and join in with meetings and discussions with clients. And yes, I’ve learnt enormously from this. I would even go so far as to say that I have learned at least as much at Stratfield during the past two months than in all my years at school.’

Apart from gaining practical experience, Max is also carrying out an internship assignment. ‘That’s right. I’m doing some research into whether it would have been wiser for company shareholders to keep their shares rather than sell them. When the company was sold, the liquid funds released were reinvested again in a specific portfolio. I now need to compare the return ratio between the two scenarios. I have already completed the research model, so I now need to fill this with variables to arrive at an informed conclusion. A great assignment, with an interesting final result for Stratfield.’

And what are Max’s future plans? ‘After my graduation, I would like to do a Master in Economics & Finance together with some friends in Italy – in Padua to be precise. This ambition is really high up on my wish list. Just like my secret dream of setting up my own boutique-like corporate finance office.’ A bit like Stratfield? ‘Now that would be really great,’ laughs Max.