I Left Fund Management to Teach Maths—Here’s What I Learned

Peter Saacke, a long-serving manager at Artemis, stepped down at the end of June 2024 to begin retraining as a teacher through the charity Now Teach. Here, he reflects on the reality of changing careers.

The first thing I noticed was the noise. It was so intense that, after school, I would spend 30 minutes lying in a dark room just to recover.

This was pressure of an entirely different order. As a fund manager, I had spent years scanning the horizon for the proverbial bus that might flatten my portfolio.

In the classroom, the risk felt more immediate: up to 30 teenagers watching, judging and testing me — and not all of them inclined to make life easy.

Almost overnight, I moved from being a seasoned professional to a complete beginner. Yet that challenge was energising, and the long days took me back to the early, demanding years of my career in finance.

A major reason for making the switch was the acute national shortage of maths teachers, alongside the wider problem of weak numeracy and financial literacy skills.

There is strong demand in economics too. Recruitment targets for Business Studies were missed by 70 per cent last year, and schools are eager to bring in people with real-world experience in relevant fields.

Financial education is one area where people from finance can make a real difference. It is also something I care deeply about. There is a clear need for teachers who can make money feel practical and relevant, linking personal finance with the wider economy. After all, that is what many of us in the industry do every day.

In mathematics textbooks, ‘real life’ maths is often very far-fetched and  rarely resembles real life problems. 

My background helps me come up with actual examples, not least in statistics (correlation versus causation, spurious correlations, realistic investment scenarios, etc.)

I have recently been tasked with developing a course on financial literacy at my school, which I’m very excited about.

There’s a lot of transferable skills one can take from the boardroom to the classroom, number one is being very organised and used to being under pressure. 

The experience of dealing with all kinds of clients, fellow workers and externals helps make split second decisions when dealing with parents and colleagues (diffusing situations, avoiding confrontation etc).

Our ilk is wanted and needed by society and can have a huge impact on the lives of a young student.

After completing my teacher training last year, I’m just finishing my first year in a permanent position at a central London boys school and I teach a lot of A-level students. 

It has become known that I had a previous life and quite a number stop me in the corridor asking for advice on what to study, the pros and cons of one degree versus another etc. 

All those hiring interviews over the years have also helped me prepare my students for Oxbridge interviews.

One of the things I always try to do is remove self-imposed barriers to what students think they can achieve. Some think that some jobs, universities or careers are only for certain groups of people, but I know from experience that this is far from true.

Back in the City, I recall colleagues on the edge of retirement saying they want to ’give something back’ to society. 

Many had selfless side-hustles volunteering, supporting charities etc. In my case, it was the Access Project, helping disadvantaged teenagers get places at top universities. 

It reminded me how much I enjoyed teaching and passing on a few of the things I have learned in the last 35 years, which often goes beyond just the subject I teach.

However, just one in three fellow career changers who apply to become a teacher, make it onto a training course, compared to over half of young prospects. 

A charity, Now Teach, helped me and is currently seeking support for a campaign to get  600 STEM  focused career changers into schools in disadvantaged areas. 

If you were my client thinking about your next chapter and were not sure what the transition entails or where to start, I’d advise you to give them a call.

Much in my life has changed since the City, but I’m still in bed by 10pm on a ‘school night’, up at 6am and at school at 7.30am having checked what happened in world politics and markets before heading in. I guess some habits die hard.

My career journey is not for everyone. Those with children can attest to them at times being quite annoying. But they also bring refreshing energy and curiosity, which makes spending time with them energising and rewarding. 

The pension is very generous with a 28.6 per cent employer contribution and guaranteed lifetime income, and there’s those long summer holidays to reset. 

I have not regretted my decision to change careers for a single day.