Keys to Success as an New Analyst?

Question: I start at a bulge bracket in July. I'd appreciate any advice on picking a product or industry group to join. Also does anyone have any keys for success. How to form good relationships right away? What not to do?

Answer: Attitude is key, especially when you are trying to separate yourself from the rest of your analyst class. You do not need to be cut throat (the last thing you want is for everyone in your class--and the firm--to hate you.) But be prepared to work harder than your peers; get in earlier, stay later, be willing to take on hard assignments, and make sure you do everything you can to make your superiors shine by having all background information on an industry, company or potential client ready for them in quickly-digestible formats. Show meticulous attention to detail (to the numbers, of course, and to all punctuation, grammar and spelling, but also to the little things like formatting and the look of presentations and memos you do). Do win a reputation with at least one or two associates (or VPs or MDs for that matter) as a "go-to" person--someone that is utterly dependable in getting an assignment done perfectly, quickly and with a great attitude.

Keep a sense of humor as your hours get bad, and be willing to take the occasional bursts of anger from your superiors in stride. A sense of humor is probably one of the best weapons in your arsenal as an analyst.

Know accounting and its rules like the back of your hand. Pick up a book like Security Analysis by Graham & Dodd or Financial Statement Analysis by Leopold Bernstein and read and reread them until you know every word. Every analyst class has a person who is the accounting guru--be that person.

As far as product or industry groups, IMHO I would actually avoid specializations that might ultimately turn out to be fads and thus possibly leave you out of a job once the excitement fades (Internet is here to stay, but stay away from companies and technologies that are not built to last; gain an expertise in niche industries that will survive a downturn on Wall Street).

M&A always gives you valuable, highly marketable skills that are valuable across so many sectors (from industry groups to leveraged finance, private equity and LBO firms to the finance departments of large U.S. corporations). Back to Top

Financial Modeling?

Archives of discussions on financial modeling from our message board are now archived on the web site. Click here to see the archived discussions. Back to Top

Discount Rates and Business Valuation?

Question: Are there any other business appraisers out there? I'm interested in new ideas about deriving discount rates.

Answer: Various replies are archived on the business valuation page.Back to Top

Landing a Job in the U.S.?

Question: Let me briefly introduce myself. I graduated with a MBA/Finance and I have a BS in Food Science. I have been trying to get a job in the financial world: both institutional and corporate but haven't been successful. I think there are a couple of reasons: one being that I don't have much practical finance experience (I have more experience in the food industry); the other being that many companies do not sponsor H1 visa for foreigner like myself.

As my visa is expiring I am desperately in need of getting a permanent job in this country. My first question to you: I wonder what I should do or rather how I can capitalize my food science background to get a job in the investment banking industry. I read your comment about checking multex.com or investex.com to get some names. I tried that but could not find any names I can use. I have sent my resume for research positions in the past but did not hear anything from the hiring companies.

Another question: do you know what are the investment companies in NY that often sponsor foreigners. Most companies do not mention the issue of sponsorship on their websites and thus I have no way of knowing which companies sponsor. My job search experience with the financial service companies in Boston has lead me to believe that none of financial service companies here do sponsorship. I am at a loss of what I should do in order to stay in this professions. I am thinking of going into sales professions which might use my bilingual capability.

My last question: What do you think about the Japanese market? I am thinking of going over to Japan to establish my career if I really can't find anything here.

Answer: What country are you from and what language do you speak? Often, you might hear of a firm building out a group that requires bilingual speakers (for instance, when BancBoston sought to expand its Latin American business recently). Follow the news to see what firms might be seeking backgrounds like yours. Yes, the larger firms are going to be more likely to have the resources and inclination to hire you. My guess is that foreign investment banks are going to be even more likely to consider foreigners than U.S. investment banks (i.e. a Union Bank of Switzerland or Deustche Bank).

I think the suggestion to find equity research still stands. I know firms like the Dutch bank Rabobank do a lot in agricultural services. If you cannot find a lot of "food sciences" research, try finding firms that do a lot of business with restaurant companies.

Speaking of restaurant companies, are you solely married to the idea of working in investment banking? You might also want to try the corporate finance groups of some large restaurant and food related companies (i.e. like an Advantica Restaurants)? Don't forget to try corporate banking groups at various firms; sure corporate banking is not as prestigious and does not pay as well as investment banking, but the skills are largely fungible and can be a useful way of getting into the industry.

I do not know a lot about the market overseas these days, but I hear that there has been a lot of hiring in Hong Kong and Singapore for equity research analysts. You might want to try bloomberg.com for some leads there. Back to Top

Training Programs and Job Placement

Question: I would appreciate any words of wisdom for a recent grad starting in a couple of weeks -- with regard to getting the most out the training program, the first few weeks/months on the job, and any thoughts on product vs. industry group placement. Additionally, I would appreciate any suggestions you may have to on how to get placed in a top choice group.
Answer: Well, the first (obvious) bit of advice is not to fall into that pack in the training group who believes that goofing off in the program is some kind of badge of honor. Go in to kick butt. As far as product or industry groups, I would avoid specializations that might ultimately turn out to be fads and thus possibly leave you out of a job once the excitement fades (Internet is one that I can think of). M&A always gives you valuable skills that are valuable across so many sectors (from industry groups to to leveraged finance, private equity and LBO firms). Back to Top

Bulge Bracket for Internship

Question: I have a question for all of you- which job is potentially better for a hopeful in investment banking (I just finished my sophomore year of college)? An internship at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (calling for a financial advisor) or an internship for a lesser-know bank on Wall Street where I will be given more responsibility?

Answer: If you are a sophomore and already have these internships under your belt, you are well on the way. Having done some recruiting last year I can tell you that (at least some) firms definitely like to see people who have demonstrated a keen interest in investment banking. Personally speaking, and I know a lot of people might violently differ with me, as long as the internship at the "bigger" name firm is investment banking, I would definitely choose name over the responsibility. The reason is simply: if I am combing through hundreds of resumes, the first thing that jumps out at me is the name of your school(s) and the name of the firms where you have interned. This does not mean that you should avoid trying to learn a lot of valuation and other financial skills, regardless of whether your internship exposes you to them. You should also be reading general literature on the subject (fun ones that teach you the lingo like Predators Ball, Merchants of Debt, Liar's Poker and Barbarians at the Gate) and harder core books such as Copeland's Valuation. Back to Top

Mezzanine Financing and Its Uses

Archives of discussions on mezzanine financing from our message board are now archived on the web site. Click here to see the archived discussions. Back to Top

Mechanical Engineer Seeks Wall Street Job

Question: I'm interested in a career as an investment banker but I'm already entering my senior year as a mechanical engineering student. Any advice on how to get into a career in investment banking would be appreciated. One question I have is whether I could get a job as an investment banker despite my non-finance degree.

Answer: You probably know better than I do that derivatives groups on Wall Street have been recruiting those with engineering, math and physics backgrounds for years now. Have you explored careers in trading or sales or quantitative analysis in financial derivatives? Or are you set on investment banking? If you are, I know a lot of groups actually like to see some demonstration of your "soft" skills as well (writing and analysis), since a lot of investment banking work surprisingly involves writing and presentation skills. If you have done a lot in this area as well, you might want to make sure that your resume reflects those skills. Back to Top

Project Finance Information?

Question: I am interested in discussing project finance structures for infrastructure projects. In particular, I am interested in examining how different risks are handled by different parties and whether the institutional framework within which project finance deals are made determines the type of financial arrangements used to securitise project cashflows.

Answer: I used to collect information on project finance when I was interested in the sector--and for the life of me it looks like I have thrown a lot of it out! But one of the publications I have held on to is Financing Private Infrastructure Projects, published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment banking arm of the World Bank. It looks like the IFC has posted chapter one of their new book Project Finance in Developing Countries at the following URL on their web site: http://www.ifc.org/publications/pubs/loe/loe7/loe7.html Or just check out the main URL http://www.ifc.org Back to Top

From Corporate to Wall Street?

Question: I am currently working for one of the Big 3 auto companies, but I am now looking for a career change possibly into corporate finance or management consulting. Does anybody have any advice? I have a MBA in finance and some good work experience in various industries. I have only been at this job 1 year, but something just isn't clicking between this company and myself. I want a fast track situation and yet, I feel like just another desk jockey.
Answer: The most obvious route is to use your current background at an automobile manufacturer to slide into an equity research or investment banking group focused on that sector. On the equity research front, you might want to check multex.com or Investext to see if you can find the names of some senior research analysts (and their firms) that cover the auto sector. The reports should have their contact information as well, and you can probably send them your resume and offer to act as a junior analyst or research assistant to them. Perhaps someone here online might have more guidance as to how to find names of investment banking heads of various (automobile) manufacturing groups. Back to Top

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