Smith & Williamson Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Nov 2011 in London, England (United Kingdom) (took 4+ weeks)

FIrst interview was by phone, some predictable competency questions and a few technicial ones. There were also some questions about motivation and what you know about the work that Smith & Williamson does, including out of the division you apply for.
I was successful at this stage and after that there was an assessment day just lasting a few hours at their London office. This just consisted of two tests (numerical and verbal) which were similar to the online ones, but more difficult. Any candidates failing must leave after that. Then follows the written exercise, which is simple if you know the services that the firm provides. Then comes lunch, followed by a group interview where you discuss a list of proposals that the firm could sponsor and you must decide between you which one to go for. You then have to present it as a group over 5 minutes. That was the end of the day, so many of us left feeling like we hadn't been properly tested and that they wouldn't have much information to go on when choosing between us.
I didn't get through to the final interview, but I believe it was only with one director.