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SANNE, an Apex Group company, is a leading global provider of alternative assets and corporate services, with a large network of global offices and over 300 employees based in Jersey alone.
We are a global team of professionals who take great pride in our professionalism, innovation and quality. At Sanne, we recognise that it is our people who deliver the exceptional service we are known for.
Sanne has an established professional training programme, and we are looking for talented graduates and students to join our training programme in Jersey. We offer full study support towards a chosen professional qualification such as ACCA, ICAEW or GCI, exam success bonuses along the way and fast-track progression to management. Meet Mark Grenyer and Michael Pih who share more about life at Sanne.
Mark Grenyer, head of real assets, Jersey
Tell us about your team
The real assets team has grown to over 100 people this year across Jersey alone. The team works closely with its talented colleagues in South Africa, meaning there is a great mix of people across both offices and a high proportion of professionally qualified, or part-qualified, individuals covering a broad range of skill sets from accountants and governance professionals to lawyers and paralegals.
What kind of clients do you have?
We have a wonderful blend of clients, predominantly institutional in nature, ranging from blue-chip global multi-strategy, multi-jurisdictional asset managers, to boutique single-strategy first-time managers.
Our clients cover the full spectrum of real assets sectors from large infrastructure projects and renewable energy investments to retail and leisure facilities, logistics parks, life sciences campuses, commercial and grade-A offices and high-end London residential properties.
Every client, structure and transaction has its own nuances, which means there’s enormous variety in the roles we undertake for our clients.
What do you love most about your job?
The people I get to work with every day, both in Jersey and our colleagues around the world. We have an incredibly diverse workforce across all locations with whom we work closely on lots of our client relationships.
I’m obviously biased towards my team but, as well as being extremely technically gifted, they are genuinely a great bunch and it really is a joy coming to work every day and having the opportunity to spend time with colleagues who I also regard as friends.
What is your career highlight so far?
It is difficult to pick one, as there have been many, so I’m going to name a couple.
The proudest moment of my career was watching a colleague in my team sit on a Jersey Funds Association panel with other industry professionals and lead technical discussions on a new piece of legislation for Jersey, having only been in the role for three years. It was the culmination of unwavering commitment and dedication to learning their craft.
Most recently, it’s been fabulous to see one of our hugely talented individuals, Oliver Beresford, win the Jersey Finance Rising Star award for CSR and employee morale.
What advice do you have for someone considering a career in financial services?
Financial services is a great industry for someone looking to have a professional career which can offer variety, personal challenges, growth opportunities, travel, cultural diversity and lifetime friendships.
It’s important to pick the correct firm for you, with the right culture which will support you in your career and help you to achieve your goals and aspirations.
What do you and your team look for in a trainee candidate?
The right attitude is fundamental. This includes the desire to be part of a team with a collective vision of wanting to be the best we can be individually and, more importantly, collectively.
How do you support your trainees and employees?
We appreciate the huge commitment that studying while working full time is, so we check in with our trainees regularly to make sure they have the right balance of work, study and, of course, personal life. We also take the same approach with our employees whether they are studying or not. Our people are our biggest asset and we want to ensure they are being supported.
Michael Pih, senior administrator, private debt and capital markets
What was it about Sanne that made you apply for a position on the training programme?
After returning to Jersey from my previous job in Manchester, during the middle of a pandemic, finding a job wasn’t easy. After looking for a couple of weeks, I spotted a trainee vacancy on social media and applied straight away. I’d heard a lot of good things about Sanne from friends and family and thought ‘why not?’.
From the application stage right the way through to the interview stage, I knew that Sanne was exactly what I was looking for. Everyone was so friendly and any questions I had were answered without fuss. Two years later, I am still really enjoying my time at Sanne.
What qualification are you studying?
I am studying towards my ACCA accounting qualification. I started in September 2020.
How are your exams going?
So far, I have completed nine of the 13 exams and recently became part qualified. It’s a really tough qualification and a lot of time has to be devoted to studying and revising. Having said that, I have really enjoyed learning about the different areas of the syllabus and applying my learning to my day-to-day job.
What do you do on an average day?
A typical day will start at 9am and, of course, the obligatory morning coffee. I will make a plan for the day, identifying any tasks and deliverables outstanding. I will communicate with my fellow colleagues so that we can work together to achieve the tasks. As a trainee accountant on the client services team, my day-to-day role involves bookkeeping for several structures, preparing financial statements, preparing monthly accounting reports, dealing with client queries and liaising with auditors. No day is ever the same.
What is life at Sanne like?
At Sanne, the culture is like nowhere I’ve worked before. We are a relatively young office so having people of a similar age to myself really does make my job so much fun. The work-life balance is great. We have had some brilliant social events while I have been here and there are so many more planned for the remainder of the year.
Why would you recommend Sanne to someone looking for a beginner role in the industry?
For someone looking to get into finance, Sanne is a great company to work for. The people are amazing. We all get along and everyone is willing to support you every step of the way. We have a great office which is modern, with great facilities. The company has supported me during my studies as well, both professionally and financially. To anyone looking to apply to Sanne, I would say just go for it.
