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Morgan Stanley Smith Barney internship prestigious or not?
 

RGTrader's picture
(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 6/13/11 at 3:03am

Hi Everyone,

I was offered an internship by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which would involve working at a retail branch. It is with the global wealth management division, which serves clients with net worths of under 20 million. How does this internship stack up perhaps against some of the more well known internships like PWM at some bank like UBS, RBS, Morgan Stanley, Lazard, etc? Thanks!

Tags:
asiamoney's picture

In terms of PWM internships,

(King Kong, 1,117
 
Points)
 on 6/13/11 at 4:24am

In terms of PWM internships, I think MSSB is a great option. Good brand, large firm, etc. I did a PWM internship at UBS once and it wasn't all that great so I'd assume the MSSB one would be at least as good if not better.

mindovermatter44's picture

Great place to gain

(Chimp, 10
 
Points)
 on 6/13/11 at 10:16am

Great place to gain experience and good brand name. Comparatively any large bank whether it be ubs or merrill lynch they are all the same in terms of reputation.

88888's picture

I interned at smith barney

 
Points)
 on 6/13/11 at 2:12pm

I interned at smith barney before it was MSSB, if you do a good job you need to specify to them how they can help you. You probably dont want to start off in one of those offices after you graduate, but you can try and get them to network your way into MS.

rjcip331's picture

It's one of the most

(Chimp, 10
 
Points)
 on 6/13/11 at 3:45pm

It's one of the most recognizable names out there, clearly its a good internship. The fact that you were able to land this type of position without having the wherewithal to know its good is what baffles me.

RGTrader's picture

Hey guys, thanks for the

(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 6/14/11 at 5:07am

Hey guys,

thanks for the response. The reason I was not sure where its relative "status" was is that it involves working at a branch in a smaller city, which I assume isn't as "prestigious" as working in a corporate setting.

Roxborough's picture

88888: I interned at smith

 
Points)
 on 5/21/12 at 5:49pm
88888:

I interned at smith barney before it was MSSB, if you do a good job you need to specify to them how they can help you. You probably dont want to start off in one of those offices after you graduate, but you can try and get them to network your way into MS.

I hate to post on year old thread but I had to say something. @8888 you say that RGTrader can use this internship with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to "network your way into MS". What you are failing to realize is that MSSB is a part of Morgan Stanley so there is no reason to use the internship to network INTO Morgan Stanley. MSSB is just a sector of the huge financial service firm that comprises Morgan Stanley. MS is organized into Institutional Securities, MSSB and Asset Management, including S&T, IBD, GCM etc.

So RGTrader, you are already in Morgan Stanley. This experience would allow one to network throughout the firm to other sectors such as IBD.

skdude's picture

not true. Know many people

(Monkey, 55
 
Points)
 on 5/22/12 at 12:26am

not true. Know many people who have interned at Smith Barney and it essentially operates as a separate division. Yes, you can get introductions, but its not at all easy to transfer to IBD. You will need to go through the same extensive interview process as everyone else. Minimal advantage, except for being some finance experience. I know a few people who were rejected for their summer internships in IBD after working at smith barney for a summer

Roxborough's picture

skdude: not true. Know many

 
Points)
 on 5/22/12 at 2:03am
skdude:

not true. Know many people who have interned at Smith Barney and it essentially operates as a separate division. Yes, you can get introductions, but its not at all easy to transfer to IBD. You will need to go through the same extensive interview process as everyone else. Minimal advantage, except for being some finance experience. I know a few people who were rejected for their summer internships in IBD after working at smith barney for a summer

When you say that you know people who have interned for Smith Barney are you talking about before the 2009 merger of Smith Barney with Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group that created MSSB?

I know that getting into IBD is not an easy task even with a finance related internship. Although I would think that doing a Wealth Management internship within Morgan Stanley would make it a whole lot easier to network through MS for IBD opportunities as compared to applicants with experience in outside firms.

I'm only interested in this topic because I am actually doing a Wealth Management Internship with MSSB through their National Program this summer. I also happen to have hopes of getting an IBD internship next summer. Any advice/information would be greatly appreciated.

KingJayk's picture

Roxborough: When you say that

 
Points)
 on 6/4/12 at 1:53pm
Roxborough:

When you say that you know people who have interned for Smith Barney are you talking about before the 2009 merger of Smith Barney with Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group that created MSSB?

I know that getting into IBD is not an easy task even with a finance related internship. Although I would think that doing a Wealth Management internship within Morgan Stanley would make it a whole lot easier to network through MS for IBD opportunities as compared to applicants with experience in outside firms.

I'm only interested in this topic because I am actually doing a Wealth Management Internship with MSSB through their National Program this summer. I also happen to have hopes of getting an IBD internship next summer. Any advice/information would be greatly appreciated.

I hate to rain on your parade but it's going to be hard to transition from WM to IBD. They are two different divisions of the company that require two different skill sets. WM at the end of the day is mainly a sales position. You don't really do a lot of financial computations. In order to transition to IBD, you would need more solid analytical skills with an established finance background. (DCF, Valutions, etc.) The main thing you will be doing at MSSB in WM is cold calling and the most math you will be doing is counting the number of calls you make and divide that by the number of people who hang up in your face.

I speak as someone on the inside who has started out right after college. Don't get me wrong, it's great experience if you team up with good FAs. But, as far as going from WM to IBD in one year...only in your dreams.

KingJayk's picture

On a side note, I have been

 
Points)
 on 6/4/12 at 1:58pm

On a side note, I have been able to network with people in the capital markets side and some other high level executives. But the firm currently has a hiring freeze except for FAs. But, what ends up happening is that someone goes into the FAA programs. Then, they are required to bring in $3mil in their first year without any real training. But, most FA don't start right out of college. You should feel lucky if you make it to MSSB right after college. The key is to join a team or FA who has $100+ in AUM and leave as much as possible. Eventually, as more assets come in, you will be able to help manage the smaller clients.

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