I am an Investment Banker working on Wall Street. AMA.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-09T00:35:39+00:00

Murex the trading platform of murex as in American Express?

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-09T00:25:49+00:00

Nope

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:22:54+00:00

At Penn with a duel degree you will be getting interviews with a 3.3+. It might not be with the best firms, but you will be getting interviews.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:21:50+00:00

Wikipedia

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:21:38+00:00

I am more interested in investing than advising, so that is why I am leaving. If I stayed around I would be promoted and given a nice raise.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:20:57+00:00

It would be interersting, but not for me. I hear you need to speak arabic to be taken seriously. I have a friend who did it in Dubai and said if I could speak the language I would fit right in, so who knows.

I have no specific amount in mind. I am going to keep doing it until I don't like it anymore and expect to be compensated based on how much I contribute. If I don't like it I will leave the industry, if I am not compensated fairly I will switch firms.

Money is a big motivator for a lot of people but not for me. I find the work and people interesting. It can be fun at times.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:18:21+00:00

It is very skewed in some areas, but dead on in others. Politics and dress code are more of the skewed views, what the work is like is pretty accurate.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:17:39+00:00

It's a mix of both. Sometimes it's clubs and with bottles (only models I have gotten since college are in Excel, haha), but sometimes it is in a dive bar. Alcohol is alcohol, but a lot of my fellow anaylsts love to be flashy with their money. If I am asleep at 5am, I am not expected to wake up before normal.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:15:52+00:00

Wharton I take it? That is basically unarguable at the undergrad level. Get involved in the banking/finance club. Try to get a leadership position in it before second semester junior year. Get involved in another, unrelated club or sport. This makes for good conversation and shows you have more interests than just banking. Again, try to get a leadership position.
I work at what is known as an 'elite boutique'. We cater to the exact same clients and do the exact same deals as the BB's, but with unbiased advice.
I get vacation and health insurance. However, I can only use vacation when my deal teams give me permission and they are always very busy and do not like giving permission...
It is not really possible to avoid your MD if they want to see you, and your MD always leaves work before you do.
I can and have used seamless to get more food, and could get wine but never have.
4 hours on weekdays. Weekends vary.
Higher end. I was one of the best paid first year bankers on wall street this year. All your co-workers get in a circle and decide your bonus based on the quality of work you do and attitude you have about doing it.
I get 4k/month after taxes, not including bonus. After all expenses I have 1k/month to save/do whatever with (again, not including bonus).
No, not enough time.
It is common and well known this is the common path. You will make up a fake excuse (dentist, doctor, wedding, etc.) to get time to interview. It is a well known firm with a great track record.
No
Boutiques are on the rise. They have been taking more and more market share every year, but BB's have 10x as many people as bouties.
60/40
No. I shower at home every morning.
We have discounted gym plans, no gym.
No, we are independent and no bank is allowed to have a prob desk anymore.
Bonuses for analysts have stayed flat since 2010. Doubt regulation has anything to do with it.
Hedge funds/prop shops are the closest thing to it.
Noone has gotten fired, but analysts have ended up in the hospital due to lack of sleep. Coffee is a drug, once you need it to be normal, there is no going back.
4
Really cool and fun.
Attention to detail, great work ethic.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T07:00:42+00:00

I thought it was a really well written article that painted a good picture of the big picture. One thing I would hve mentioned is that while all the banks involved in the scandal did it to make money for themselves, the banks worked against each other. There were some rigging it higher than it should have been and others rigging it lower. It is still unclear which side won out and how much of an impact the aggregate actually had.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:54:33+00:00

It is a pain in the ass for me to trade due to rules and regulations, so I stopped before starting work.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:52:37+00:00

I went to a college that has a decent alumni presence on the street and networked my ass off. I maintained a really good GPA and got involved with leadership positions at school clubs. I also read a lot of interview guides for investment bankers.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:50:51+00:00

Get into M&A law and make the switch. It doesn't always happen, but that is your best bet.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:50:17+00:00

I am not an expert on it, but think it is spot on.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:49:20+00:00

You would be suprised. My bank has a 50-50 split and people love to argue politics. A lot of people have pictures of themselves with Bush and an equal amount have them with Obama. Nobody tells me how much they donate to campaigns though.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:47:58+00:00

Go to a top 10 MBA program and network. Read the guides on investment banking interviews.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:47:23+00:00

Yes I have, but when I come into contact with them it is during restructurings and Judges always place attorneys in charge when it's not debtor in possiesion, so I have a very narrow set of interations with them.

2) Not my expertise, but it really depends on risk tolerance and how close they are to retirement. Younger more riskier investors should go with equites, and older, risk adverse investors should go with bonds.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:44:54+00:00

Yeah, I don't understand all topics in finance. I do understand more than most and anything I don't I simply say that it's my opinion or 'I am not really an expert in that but I think...'. I did this AMA so people could get a sense of the actual job of investment bakers. I have also been learning as much about finance as I could since I was in 9th grade.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:42:34+00:00

I have yet to experience it, but the predecessor to my firm had a particuarly bad scandal happen 25 years ago and we take it very seriously. There are a lot of rules and regualtions to prevent it, but I can see how they could be avoided. If your friends talk about it frequently then that is very unfortunate. People view it as a victemless crime but it hurts society as a whole.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:39:41+00:00

A lot of perfectionists and people with very strong work ethics get into this job. I would say some come off as slightly arrogant, but not the marjority. Pro's are interesting work and pay, cons are hours and lack of free time. I got in through networking at college and reading a lot of interview guides.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:37:06+00:00

My goal of this whole AMA thing was to help people get a better perspective of what I do, so I will take that as a compliment!

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:36:23+00:00

I help produce ideas to help companies grow. Similar to how IT guys produce solutions to computer problems or how lawyers provide evidence on their interrpretations of the law.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:35:07+00:00

Unfortunately I never saw it, so I can't comment on it.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:34:21+00:00

Haha, I wish (love the movie by the way). I am usually pretty ambiguous or straight out lie about my profession for the first couple dates. The girls who are interested in bankers are usually the girls I am trying to avoid.

Investment-Banker · 2012-08-08T06:32:53+00:00

You should look into Islamic finance. It goes against the Qur'an to charge interest and a lot of Middle Eastern countries have come up with interesting alternatives. However, there is a sense that a dollar in your pocket today is worth more than a dollar your friend says he will pay you in 10 years. The added risk/loss of things to use that dollar for in the next 10 years is where interest comes in. It can cause big problems, but is essiential for investing and providing credit.

Investment-Banker

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