Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Dear Old Analyst,
Not to offend you but if you were referring to Mr HWS then I think u're giving the wrong advice. He cant afford to start in MO at 37, nor can he afford to wait another 15 years before making analyst (I doubt it, since 99.99% of the hires are 18-25, most likely an associate). Being from a top-tier school he can jolly well waltz into any BB he wants providing his networks are strong and his basics are not lacking. There would be absolutely no reason for him to work in equities research. The $ he makes there is 'Mrs Goh' compared to what he can potentially earn if he lands up in FO.
And again, no offense intended, you're probably the few lucky ones who managed to xfer from MO to FO. for the others who do not have 15 years of relevant experience and who can scarcely afford the equivalent amount of time and patience, they should aim directly for FO, either at boutiques or at MMs. Even if they burn out within the 1st few years trying to get in or trying to survive, hey they're still young. There is no recourse if they fail to make analyst after 15 years of training and planning in MO/BO.
Also, I'm talking specifically about M&A. ECM/PWM is considered much less prestigious than M&A and they command less pay. Deals only apply to M&A and analysts dont care who votes for them as long as they are involved in as much closed deals as possible.
I mean seriously, I'd rather put 'Prepared precedent transaction and comparable multiple valuations for the US$1.2 bn sale of a 'public listed company' to a PE and was successfully used in raising asking price to 250% of its market share price' than 'Voted star analyst in 2010 by fund managers'. Seriously. I might be purposefully lacking about the star analyst part but seriously.
I wont be posting anymore as that is all I have to say. For aspiring bankers go and read the previous posts and draw up your game plan. Always remember that deal experience >>>>> brand names. Go for a boutique with solid deal experience instead of big names like Big4 CF who serve 0 purpose but to support the BBs (and exciting due diligence work of course).
|
If you look across the top rated analysts today, say in Asiamoney or Institutional Investor, how many started off in their early/mid 20's in investment banks. I know many of them and can only think of one chap. Most of the top analysts came in from the industry. These days, even if you are from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, its still very competitive to get into graduate programs at BB investment banks so you can't waltz in.
I assume you are talking about CF (M&A just being a small part of CF) being the most prestigous place to be. I don't agree. Most of the analysts there are quite invisible and its a real slog. I know, because I worked with them on deals. Deals happen because of the firm's reputation, distribution capability, quality of research etc rather than the skill of the CF analyst in putting together the pitchbook. I don't find that very satisfying at all even if there is a big paycheck. There is some skill in structuring deals, but quite frankly, I've met so many people that can structure well, its not exactly a unique skill. As a sellside analyst, it may be an intense job, but there are the fun parts... the long broker lunches, playing golf with corporates, winning in the polls etc. As a top ranked analyst, you are respected by corporates and your peers.
When you put 'Prepared precedent transaction and comparable multiple ....', how much was it really your work that secured the deal vs your firms reputation and other high level management manuvering? Very little I suspect. I was often dragged in during the beauty parade to convince the client that we have an analyst that can influence the stock price. When I put "Top ranked in internal polls by Capital, Fidelity and
GIC", people would hire me because of my ability to get voted by the largest and most important fund managers in the world.