Marshall Wace Interview Guide

As of October 2026, Marshall Wace is a British hedge fund headquartered in London, founded by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace in 1997. It runs quantitative, systematic and fundamental strategies, mostly long/short equity.

As of October 2026 it manages around $85bn and has over 700 employees across London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi.

Students and graduates join as quant researchers, quant developers, technology engineers or Business Operations graduates. For quant roles the firm wants highly numerate, lateral and independent thinkers who also work well in a team.

Quant Research Internship

The internship runs 28 Jun to 3 Sep 2027 in London. The dates are fixed: the firm cannot offer other dates or a longer placement.

It is for students in the penultimate year of a STEM master's or PhD who finish in 2028. Interns get accommodation for the length of the internship.

Quant Associate Programme

The programme has a Quant Research track and a Quant Developer (Quant Implementation) track. The 2027 postings for both give a flexible start between January and September 2027, in London or New York, and the research track has significantly more openings in London.

You need at least a master's or PhD. The research track welcomes recent graduates and early-career researchers with up to 3 years of relevant experience. The developer track expects a broad understanding of quantitative finance and some previous exposure to it, through industry, academic research or projects.

Quant Developer Intern, Hong Kong

The 2027 posting, for the Quant Implementation team, asks for master's or PhD students in a quantitative subject and lists no dates or length.

Technology internships

The 2027 dates are London 28 Jun to 3 Sep, New York 14 Jun to 22 Aug and Singapore 17 May to 25 Jul. Hong Kong runs between May and August, with exact dates agreed with you.

Apply to one office only, because more than one application slows the review. London takes penultimate-year students only, except in exceptional circumstances, and is fully in the office.

Imperial MEng Computing and Maths & Computing students can do separate 4- or 6-month UK placements, advertised only through their department, and should not also apply to the standard internship.

Marshall Wace aims to turn its best technology interns into graduate hires.

Technology Early Talent Programme

This is an 18 to 24 month rotational graduate and early-careers programme in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, across up to six engineering teams in your office. The 2027 Software/Infrastructure Graduate role in London starts on 6 Sep 2027.

Business Operations and Fundamental Analyst

The Business Operations Graduate Programme is a 24-month rotation through the non-investment teams in London, starting 6 Sep 2027.

The two-year Fundamental Analyst programme is not currently hiring and takes no direct applications. Agency partners source its candidates.

With the research internship and the Quant Associate Programme expected to fill by December, apply now rather than at the internship's 12 January deadline. Tests have run since 21 September, and later stages are rolling.

On the Quant Associate Programme, candidates who pass the test move on first come, first served, so a later interview slot gives you no edge. The firm also says its question bank is very large.

If you fail a Quant Associate stage, you cannot be reconsidered in the same cycle. You can apply for the next year's programme if you are still eligible.

The technology written answer asks: outside AI and ML, what technology, tool or project has caught your attention recently, why, and have you tried it out?

The technology internship process is rolling, and the firm aims to reply within 10 days of an application or a round. It also aims to email technology candidates feedback within one working week of each test or interview. If you are rejected at any stage, including Codility or the screening call, you cannot reapply for roles starting in 2027.

Quant: the Pearson exam

For the research internship and the Quant Associate Programme, your first test is an exam at a Pearson test centre near you, and it cannot be taken virtually. Quant Associates take it on a computer with a live invigilator, and Pearson emails them the booking invite.

The Quant Associate exam is 2 hours on core mathematical and logical reasoning. Depending on the version you get, it may include probability theory, statistics, regression analysis, algebra, matrices, optimisation and algorithm design.

As of September 2026, the Pearson exam for both programmes has 18 questions, scores 2 for a right answer, minus 1 for a wrong one and 0 for a blank, and gives you no score breakdown at the end.

As of September 2026, you get a reusable notepad and a marker, your belongings go in a locker, you sign an NDA before the test, and you can get 30 minutes' extra time for a diagnosed condition such as dyslexia if you declared it on your original application.

You get one rebooking. The Quant Associate guide asks for 72 hours' notice; as of September 2026 the Pearson page asks for 48 and closes your application if you miss the test or cancel with less. Give at least 72.

As of November 2026 the length and topics of the internship exam are unconfirmed: the 2-hour length and the topic list above come from the Quant Associate guide.

An intern guide from August 2025, still on the firm's site, describes three online tests: Codility, a Correlation One technical exam and a data exam on CSV files. The 2027 quant processes use the one in-person test instead.

Published example questions

Marshall Wace has published these initial-test questions from earlier Quant Associate rounds:

• The expected average IQ of a sample of 25 students when the first one scores 150.
• The average time complexity of quicksort.
• Every solution of (x^2 + 7x + 11)^(x^2 + x - 30) = 1.
• A digit-substitution arithmetic puzzle.

Technology: Codility

Technology interns and graduates start with an online Codility test on general coding aptitude, error handling and sequence processing. You have 7 days from the invite. Some questions make you use a specific language you may not know, and that is deliberate.

Business Operations: numerical reasoning

If your CV passes screening, you get an online numerical reasoning test and one week to finish it. After that come a Human Capital video call, a video interview with the hiring team and a London assessment day of interviews, group tasks and presentations.

For the Quant Associate technical interviews, Marshall Wace says it does not expect much extra preparation. The questions dig into what you already know.

Human Capital call

The research internship and the Quant Associate Programme both have a Human Capital screening call after the test. On the Quant Associate Programme it is a 15-minute Zoom: expect a "why this role" question and competency questions about past experiences, built around the firm's values.

The six values are Entrepreneurialism, Innovation, Clients First, One Team, Complete Integrity and A Force for Good. Have a past example ready for each one.

Lab interview (Quant Associate Programme)

The Lab is a one-hour practical research exercise on Zoom. You get 15 minutes to read the question, 40 minutes working through it on a video call with someone from the Quant team, and 5 minutes for your own questions.

You are given a dataset to explore, so be comfortable handling large datasets in Excel, Python, R or MATLAB. The interviewer watches how you work with the data, how you reason and how you explain it.

Technical project presentation

The research internship and the Quant Associate Programme both have one, and for interns it is a separate stage before the onsite day. On the Quant Associate Programme you present a past project for about 15 to 20 minutes, and questions fill the rest.

No devices are provided for the Quant Associate presentation, and slides are not expected. You can bring a laptop or tablet, but bring printouts too, or send your material at least 3 working days ahead for printing.

Technology interviews

A good Codility score gets you a 15-minute Zoom screen with a recruiter. The process also has an Online Lab: about 60 minutes alone on a locked-down VMware Horizon desktop, reasoning about and debugging code (language-agnostic, with examples in Python), then a 20 to 30 minute debrief with one or two engineers about your approach.

The virtual technical interview is one hour on Zoom with two members of the Technology team, usually without a live coding environment. You get one or two questions that grow harder, covering areas such as data structures, algorithms, object-oriented design, systems architecture, data processing or complexity analysis.

Quant Associate assessment day

The day is always in person at one of the firm's offices, usually starting at 9am. Marshall Wace reimburses flights and a hotel night if you need them.

You are booked for four interviews, and the firm may end the day after the first two if they have not gone well. The interviews include:

• Brainteasers: two puzzles. The firm wants your thought process and approach as well as the final answer.
• Programming: on a laptop or computer, you review written code and answer questions on core programming principles.
• Case study: Quant Research candidates build a trading signal with the interviewer. Quant Developer candidates get a system design case study instead.

The published example brainteaser: two players take turns rolling a die and cross out each number from 1 to 6 the first time it comes up. Whoever crosses out the last number wins. Would you rather go first or second?

The published programming example is the minimum-cost staircase: given a cost for each step, climbing one or two steps at a time from index 0 or 1, return the minimum cost to reach the top.

Management stage and offers

Where possible, the management stage is the afternoon of the assessment day. You usually meet three managers at a time for an informal introduction, and you shadow someone in the Quant team to see the job day to day. Marshall Wace aims to make offers within two weeks of the management interviews, usually on a Zoom with Human Capital that covers which team you join.

Quant Research Internship onsite

The onsite day has a programming test, a brainteaser interview and a manager interview.

The August 2025 intern guide described the London brainteaser interview as 50 minutes with two mathematical brainteasers.

Technology onsite

The technology internship always ends in person. On-site, graduates have up to five interviews and interns up to four, because the Senior Leadership interview is for graduates only. These are knockout rounds, so the day can end early.

• Technical interview: 45 minutes with two engineers, usually one or two programming questions solved while you explain your working.
• Project presentation: present however you like, but you must show actual code you wrote.
• Manager and cultural interview: one hour with two senior members of the Technology team, on competency questions. The firm suggests answering with STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Women in Quant Investing Insight Day

This London day is for women on a STEM master's or PhD who are interested in a career in quant research. You must finish or defend before summer 2028, be based in the UK and be able to get to London.

Apply with a CV and cover letter. Shortlisted applicants have a call with Human Capital, then one with a researcher.

Technology Insight Day

The London day is by invitation. Marshall Wace invites people from hackathons it sponsors, partner university societies and its other events, so go and talk to the team when you see them.

Sponsored hackathons so far include IC Hack, Hack Cambridge, NUS Hack 'n Roll, DurHack, DivHacks, Do you have the GUTs? and Hack the Burgh.

Introduction to Quant Investing talks

These run at selected universities, usually in October, for STEM master's and PhD students there only.

Does Marshall Wace have a graduate programme?

Yes. Quants with at least a master's join the Quant Associate Programme, starting between January and September 2027. Engineers join the 18 to 24 month Technology Early Talent Programme, and Business Operations graduates join a 24-month programme in London.

What is the Marshall Wace online assessment?

For the Quant Research Internship and the Quant Associate Programme it is an in-person exam at a Pearson test centre. As of September 2026 it has 18 questions with negative marking, and the Quant Associate version is 2 hours of mathematical and logical reasoning. Technology candidates take an online Codility test, and Business Operations applicants an online numerical reasoning test.

How many interview rounds does Marshall Wace have?

The Quant Associate Programme has up to five stages after CV screening: the test, a Human Capital call, a Lab interview, an in-person assessment day and management interviews, held on the assessment day where possible. The Quant Research Internship has a test, a Human Capital call, a technical project presentation and an onsite day.

Where are Marshall Wace internships?

The 2027 Quant Research Internship is in London. Technology interns apply to one of London, New York, Singapore or Hong Kong, and there is a Quant Developer internship in Hong Kong.

What maths is on the Marshall Wace test?

Depending on your version, the Quant Associate exam may include probability theory, statistics, regression analysis, algebra, matrices, optimisation and algorithm design. Past questions include the expected average IQ of a sample and every solution of (x^2 + 7x + 11)^(x^2 + x - 30) = 1.