Bringing in Deals as an Analyst

Just for background, I will be starting as an Analyst after graduation. The thing is I'm very connected to a number of executives (mostly from personal networking, so I know them personally) at large public companies. I was chatting with one the other day, who I'm on really good terms with, and he has expressed interest in initiating a deal, and semi-jokingly asked me if my firm can pitch him on something. So my question is, is there precedent for Analysts to bring in clients/deals?

Would I be able to convincingly get my team to go to throw something together and go to their office; I'm sure the executive would agree to it. On another note, if I can bring in a deal or develop a relationship with a potential client in this sort of this way, what would be the personal benefits for myself? Haha just curious.

 

Well, you're not exactly compensated at your level for revenue creation, but it'll certainly win you the favor of your bosses if it pans out. I wouldn't go too far overboard, meaning, don't go call all your contacts. At your level, if you bring in just one deal during your entire time as an analyst then that's more than 99% of your peers. So the benefits to you personally sort of top off at one deal. Definitely stay in touch with your contacts, though, and use the knowledge and insight you gain from them to learn and grow.

 
jhoratio:
Well, you're not exactly compensated at your level for revenue creation, but it'll certainly win you the favor of your bosses if it pans out.

I think this depends on where you'll be working. I.e. a BB is much less flexible and its tough to shake the prevailing structure and organizational rigidity so if you land a deal at a BB you'll likely get a fat bonus but not 5x the next highest analyst bonus (which would be justifiable if you bought in a deal large enough for a BB to execute). At a boutique its quite another story... you could easily be compensated much more in line with your contribution. Thats because the organization is smaller and the people who determine you comp have the power to make these types of exceptions. And you would be viewed as someone they would really want to hang on to and incentivize to stick around and to keep the deals coming.

As jhoratio mentioned... there is little benefit to bringing in more than one deal... an astute MD would make sure that there is plenty benefit for you, should you bring in more deals... that can (generally speaking) only be done at a smaller shop really.

One of the MD's at my firm is 29. Even before he had the depth of connections to bring in business on his own, he would tee up warm leads and business opportunities for MD's which had the ability to use them as potential sources of future business. Last year (as a VP) he brought in a monster deal and as a result was co-leading the team with a figure-head type MD. At the end of the year he was promoted to MD (skipped director and the youngest ever in our firm) and he looked like the happiest fuck on comp day. This is obviously a rock star scenario and its not just because he brought the biz in but also because he successful lead the deal from start to finish. Had he not been so well respected, he never even would have had the opportunity to lead the deal he brought in. And to boot, I have very reliable intel that such MD made between 900K -1,200K last year... not too shabby for a 29 year old.

 
Marcus_Halberstram:
jhoratio:
Well, you're not exactly compensated at your level for revenue creation, but it'll certainly win you the favor of your bosses if it pans out.

I think this depends on where you'll be working. I.e. a BB is much less flexible and its tough to shake the prevailing structure and organizational rigidity so if you land a deal at a BB you'll likely get a fat bonus but not 5x the next highest analyst bonus (which would be justifiable if you bought in a deal large enough for a BB to execute). At a boutique its quite another story... you could easily be compensated much more in line with your contribution. Thats because the organization is smaller and the people who determine you comp have the power to make these types of exceptions. And you would be viewed as someone they would really want to hang on to and incentivize to stick around and to keep the deals coming.

As jhoratio mentioned... there is little benefit to bringing in more than one deal... an astute MD would make sure that there is plenty benefit for you, should you bring in more deals... that can (generally speaking) only be done at a smaller shop really.

One of the MD's at my firm is 29. Even before he had the depth of connections to bring in business on his own, he would tee up warm leads and business opportunities for MD's which had the ability to use them as potential sources of future business. Last year (as a VP) he brought in a monster deal and as a result was co-leading the team with a figure-head type MD. At the end of the year he was promoted to MD (skipped director and the youngest ever in our firm) and he looked like the happiest fuck on comp day. This is obviously a rock star scenario and its not just because he brought the biz in but also because he successful lead the deal from start to finish. Had he not been so well respected, he never even would have had the opportunity to lead the deal he brought in. And to boot, I have very reliable intel that such MD made between 900K -1,200K last year... not too shabby for a 29 year old.

Not to detract off topic, but that is the difference between banking and trading/HF right there. A rock star trader at 29 is pulling in $10mm+

 
jhoratio:
Well, you're not exactly compensated at your level for revenue creation, but it'll certainly win you the favor of your bosses if it pans out.

If you work at a BB things are more structured, as Marcus said.

I know from experience (I sourced a deal) that this can be a huge thing for an analyst at a boutique. This is true even if the deal doesn't close, but its a quality transaction. Unfortunatly, we did not close the transaction (too much hair when it came to mgt) but at my year end review it was discussed in-depth.

They recognize when you have gone beyond your call to duty....Also, comp was discussed (assuming we closed the transaction). I would have received a significant chunk of the total fee (well over 100k) as well as a portion of the monthly retainer.

Fucking sucks that it didn't close though...

 

analyst, you are not going to bring in any deals, believe me

you are clueless, and so is the potential executive you know if all he knows is a first year analyst

################################################# I am the Man. I Have the Plan. Follow Me to the Promised Land.
 

I'm not sure about adcom at bschools, but that experience in and of itself is as valuable, possibly more valuable, than an MBA, imo. If you're 25 and have made a name for yourself for closing deals on top of the typical analyst labor, you have no reason to fork over a quarter million to become an associate somewhere else. MBAs don't teach that. $.02

 
CaR:
I'm not sure about adcom at bschools, but that experience in and of itself is as valuable, possibly more valuable, than an MBA, imo. If you're 25 and have made a name for yourself for closing deals on top of the typical analyst labor, you have no reason to fork over a quarter million to become an associate somewhere else. MBAs don't teach that. $.02

First: CaR's comment is very accurate in my opinion. Second, working at a shop like that can be a great experience as long as your expectations are realistic. To be frank, don't expect to move from a boutique like this to a Mega-fund, in fact, moving from a unknown boutique to any size PE Firm would probably be incredibly difficult. If the Managing Partners are fair, you can make some decent money, but again be realistic with yourself. Before taking a gig like this, my advice is to make sure you like the people and that they have a decent reputation.

 

I definitely agree with you as far as the experience being invaluable. However, if you wanted to switch to another firm, wouldn't a more standard b-school route help? Also, he doesn't (neither would I) run the deal/ process. So his experience is going to be seen as more of a cold caller who did some of the duties of an analyst but at a boutique. I think that experience paired with a top MBA might be more of a sale.

 

For some reason, although this an incredible opportunity and experience in my opinion, this is not as valued as it should be by other funds and banks. As if it's better to be an nobody/analyst lost in a pool of 50 but at a BB rather than a revenue-generating analyst at a no-name boutique... I can't understand that, but looks like this is the way it is

 

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