Life after PM: One hero's journey

There are many journeys in life. As the medieval knights of days gone by struggled through muddy battlefields for king and country, so the heroes of performance measurement wade through torrents of spreadsheets and analytics, exhausted, bruised and bloodied yet still delivering the data required accurately in a timely fashion.

But after the excitement of working in a performance measurement team, where does one go? When - or if they do - leave, what boon do they take with them? Was it an agonising decision or one greeted with relief? What does a position in performance measurement prepare you for later, or do you die on crusade? PMR chronicles the life and pursuit of financial glory of this issue's adventurer, Iain Buckle.

Our hero's journey begins at Heriot-Watt University, where he knew all along he was destined to fight the battles of a financial career. Armed with a fresh degree in economics, he approached the first challenge with the enthusiasm of youth and emerged victorious with a job at WM.

As medieval defenders were slapped upon taking their oaths of fealty and knighthood, a reminder of what a difficult path it was they had chosen, so Iain found out about the hard slog - the seasonal peaks and troughs of quarterly reviews, and the ever increasing demand for daily data.

Yet... he enjoyed it. He was introduced to the wider world, an eye opening experience so distant from the theories acquired at his learned university. From this panorama there was no better way to learn about pensions, units trusts, what types of returns were generated from different types of managers - a bird's eye view of how investment conducts itself. What's more, he found great comrades in arms. People that today he still relies on as he pursues yet another path in the investment domain. For Iain was determined to keep moving, see new sights, crusade further afield. So he strode forward to Baillie Gifford, where he found himself at the fixed income investment desk.

From there he traversed to fund management where he swore new oaths of allegiance at Aegon UK. As a fund manager, he found a people-friendly environment and enjoyed the experience of more spontaneous action, relying on his colleagues in a new and different way. Yet, he acknowledges chivalrously, without the initial grounding of a performance measurement team he would not have the understanding, nor the friendships he has today. Nor would he have the same strategic communication skills for when he confers at the round table with fellows from the performance measurement team.

As he looks back on the journey so far, he sees it will be much more difficult for those coming behind him. To these hopefuls, he gives sage advice: it is an excellent way to learn quickly about the ebb and flow of investments. Yet it is more difficult in these modern times to make the journey he has because competition is tougher, you must prove your skill set and sharpen the analytical mind. If this is the path you seek, you must be aggressive.

Has our hero found happiness? He has. He enjoys the title of fund manager and the responsibilities that are his immensely. Whether he finds his happy ever after will, of course, depend on fate and the new challenges that are ever on the horizon.