In this article, Emmanuel CYROT (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021-2026) shares his professional experience as Junior Consultant in Marketing & Finance Studies at Eres Gestion.
About the company
Eres Gestion is a leading independent player in the French employee savings (épargne salariale) and retirement savings (épargne retraite) markets. The company is part of the Eres Group, which offers a unique open-architecture approach, allowing them to select and combine the best investment funds from various management companies. With over €7 billion in assets under management (as of 12/31/2024), Eres is known for its expertise in designing and implementing profit-sharing schemes, employee share ownership plans, and individual retirement solutions (Plan Epargne Retraite or PER). Eres Gestion places a strong emphasis on socially responsible investing (SRI) and solidarity funds.
Logo of Eres Gestion
Source: the company.
My internship
I worked as a Junior Consultant in charge of Marketing & Finance Studies at Eres Gestion from September 2024 to February 2025 in Paris. I was within the company’s dual-focused research team, bridging the gap between deep financial analysis and market strategy. My role involved quantitative modeling, competitive benchmarking, and the creation of strategic content aimed at supporting sales and marketing efforts. I was reporting to Mirela Stoeva, Head of Studies and Offer at Eres Gestion.
My missions
My primary technical mission involved comprehensive Regulatory Intelligence and Data Analysis, specifically leading the update of the L’Observatoire Européen des Retraites study. This required consolidating data to quantify the evolution of retirement savings assets focusing on the post-Loi Pacte growth of the PER (Plan d’Épargne Retraite). I also conducted crucial Competitive Benchmarking by analyzing various third-party funds based on their retrocession rates to optimize Eres’s offerings. Finally, I supported the firm’s thought leadership on Employee Share Ownership (SBF 120 companies) by drafting expert articles and maintaining all key analytical supports, including the Le panorama de l’actionnariat salarié. I was tasked by the Marketing Director to conduct an internal study on the Retail’s Structured Product Environment in France.
Required skills and knowledge
My experience as a Junior Consultant in Marketing & Finance Studies at Eres Gestion was characterized by a high degree of autonomy and a constant curiosity, which were essential for navigating the complex sector of employee savings (épargne salariale) and employee share ownership. The role required me to conduct in-depth studies on the Pacte Law (Loi Pacte), fund performance analysis, and the valuation of unlisted companies. The intensive work on Excel to model these assets and flows cultivated methodical rigor and discipline, enabling me to become perfectly fluid with numbers and ensure the accuracy of strategic deliverables for the teams.
What I learned
This experience provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the French employee savings and retirement ecosystem, particularly the strategic implications of the Loi Pacte and the development of value-sharing initiatives. I significantly enhanced my skills in quantitative market analysis, competitive benchmarking, and translating complex financial information into accessible, strategic content for both internal and external stakeholders. Working closely with both the finance and marketing teams offered invaluable insight into the product life cycle, from regulatory impact assessment to market positioning.
Business and financial concepts related to my internship
I present below three business and financial concepts related to my internship: The French Retirement Savings Reform (Loi Pacte), Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs), and Structured Products.
The French Retirement Savings Reform (Loi Pacte)
The 2019 Pacte Law (Plan d’Action pour la Croissance et la Transformation des Entreprises) is a major French reform aimed at simplifying the country’s complex retirement savings landscape. Its main component is the creation of the Retirement Savings Plan (Plan d’Épargne Retraite or PER), a unified and portable product replacing previous schemes. The law aimed to channel more of the French population’s savings into long-term investments, including unlisted assets like private equity, to support corporate financing and economic growth.
Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are incentive programs that allow employees to acquire shares in their company. In France, this is a key component of the employee savings system (épargne salariale). The benefits include aligning the interests of employees and shareholders, increasing organizational commitment, and strengthening the company’s capital structure. Recent French legislation also focuses on developing and simplifying various value-sharing and profit-sharing schemes.
Structured Products
Structured products are complex financial instruments whose performance is linked to an underlying asset, index, or basket of assets. They are typically issued by banks and are essentially a combination of a “riskless” bond (to provide capital protection) and one or more derivative instruments (like options) (to provide market exposure and enhance return). They are customized to offer a specific risk/return profile, but their complexity necessitates thorough internal analysis, which was a core part of my mission.
Why should I be interested in this post?
The experience provides unique Business Intelligence training: you won’t just be supporting one study but rather working on at least two of the four major annual publications, such as the L’observatoire Européen des Retraites or the Le panorama de l’actionnariat salarié. This direct involvement gives you a unique, 360-degree insight into the strategic data, market trends, and competitive landscape of French employee savings and share ownership that few junior roles offer. Furthermore, the requirement for high autonomy and rigorous Excel work on fund benchmarking and asset modeling forces the development of methodical discipline and fluency with numbers necessary for demanding quantitative roles after graduation.
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About the author
The article was written in December 2025 by Emmanuel CYROT (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA), 2021-2026).
▶ Read all articles by Emmanuel CYROT.