Suntrust Robinson Humphrey Investment Banking Analyst Program

Hey all,

I'm a soon to be December 2013 grad at a complete non-target(average state school) Been looking to break into full time IB. I have IB internship and a project management internship at a bioscience incubator locally(Memphis). There is an opening for a Fixed Income Research Analyst position here and I'm wondering is there is anyoen familiar with hiring for this program and could answer a few questions

How does STRH's IB analyst program stack up in terms of exit opps(Associate and/or Good southern business schools
-What is the timetable for recruiting(I don't know the start date, but I think it's fair to assume summer 2014)
-Are the interviews more fit or technical in nature

Thanks for any and all responses

Best,

 

STRH IB is a 3rd tier MM (IMHO). Yes, exit opps are dependent on your candidacy, but they are limited considering -

  1. Its a MM (and not the best - compared to Stifel/Baird etc.)
  2. Its in Atlanta, thus you are geographically limited. You CAN always network your way to other locations, but its going to be tougher.

You will have a decent application for Southern BSchools, however, be mindful of the fact that there will tons of BB and other MM Analysts applying to BSchool with you. As far as internship recruiting timeline, I interviewed with them in February last year (non-target) and got my offer by March. As for full-time, my friend (at a Target) got her offer by October.

With that said, don't let anything hold you back. Good luck.

 
Carnage:

STRH puts a very strong emphasis on fit and their interviews reflect that fact. Do not expect a huge emphasis on technicals (but obviously know them), it will be more personality based

This. Really chill group of guys. You go here for the culture. Exit opps...are meh, but honestly the people there are awesome. I met 2 MDs who spoke to me like I was on their level and I was a sophomore asking stupid questions (now that I look back) and I wasn't even in business casual at their event. I was in JEANS.

 
Best Response
zeroblued:
Carnage:

STRH puts a very strong emphasis on fit and their interviews reflect that fact. Do not expect a huge emphasis on technicals (but obviously know them), it will be more personality based

This. Really chill group of guys. You go here for the culture. Exit opps...are meh, but honestly the people there are awesome. I met 2 MDs who spoke to me like I was on their level and I was a sophomore asking stupid questions (now that I look back) and I wasn't even in business casual at their event. I was in JEANS.

Exactly, everyone I've met who have interacted with STRH people have similar stories. Seems like a great shop in terms of culture.

 

Their OCR interview was 50/50 technical and fit, but generally the technical questions were basic and they were looking to see that you have basic knowledge on the subject.

The superday was super relaxed, I was very pleasantly surprised. The interviews were almost entirely fit and were very conversational. Good group of guys, met a lot of seniors who were former college athletes and many fraternity guys.

 

Thanks a ton for this responses guys. There wasn't any OCR, but they did post this to my school's job board.

Do you guys think I can grab this fresh out of UG? The qualifications seem really really simple.

http://jobs.SunTrust.com/job/Memphis-Fixed-Income-Research-Analyst-Memphis%2C-TN-TN-37501/19613700/?feedId=42500&utm_source=Indeed&utm_campaign=SunTrust_Indeed

I had an internship with a boutique IB firm and a previous one as a financial modeling intern at a bioscience incubator.

 

network....jobs school board isn't enough. yes u can get it fresh out of UG, but you'll need to "click" with the interviewer, essentially be a cool guy, and know stuff about Fixed Income, like duration UST 10 year yield, etc.

if you don't know the Fixed income technicals you're automatically out, and it should be easy to get fit down.

you will need to network to get your resume in front of their face for a first round interview or superday. I'd suggest send an email this tuesday and wednesday. DONT ASK FOR A JOB. ask im really interested, can i speak with you on the phone etc, nice email. at the end of call ask about internship or can you refer me to someone else. use linkedin to get their names and plug it in company formula. don't hit up too many people, try to find people with similarities with you

 
zeroblued:

network....jobs school board isn't enough. yes u can get it fresh out of UG, but you'll need to "click" with the interviewer, essentially be a cool guy, and know stuff about Fixed Income, like duration UST 10 year yield, etc.

if you don't know the Fixed income technicals you're automatically out, and it should be easy to get fit down.

you will need to network to get your resume in front of their face for a first round interview or superday. I'd suggest send an email this tuesday and wednesday. DONT ASK FOR A JOB. ask im really interested, can i speak with you on the phone etc, nice email. at the end of call ask about internship or can you refer me to someone else. use linkedin to get their names and plug it in company formula. don't hit up too many people, try to find people with similarities with you

I was a bit ahead of this a few weeks ago

A VP in their fixed income department is a grad of my uni and my department chair made the connection. I just got the email this morning and he forwarded it to his MD. Actually quite the helpful guy!

He did suggest that the process already started(which is definitely possible), but I applied around the time it was posted(September/October) and the posting has been getting reposted every few weeks, so I dunno.

Thanks again guys!!

 

and don't rush jan start date, talk about starting June/July unless they have an immediate opening...plus its already a bit late for FT, you might have to go middle office, market risk management, and from there move to S&T after a year.

don't discount middle office if you can't land this role. Hit up all the MMs and BBs for market risk management. it deals with fixed income and should feed to S&T later if you have the drive

 

Recruitment has already started. They are evaluating resumes and I'm pretty sure they are doing interviews next week at some places. Full comp is same as street with an adjustment for the lifestyle of course (less hours, lower cost of living,...). Great bank to learn and grow!

-BTW recruitment for them is brutal this year. They aren't hiring as many as they used to and I hear they are now getting applicants from Ivies which makes it harder for their usual target schools applicants.

 

I don't have actual numbers but have heard from many sources that what dew2229 said above is accurate. Good luck. Let us know if you find any.

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

Though old...ER, much of it is still relevant. They are probably considered more of a regional bank, or super regional...but, from my knowledge, the MM is where most of their deals are. Not sure about interviews though I heard their recruiting was getting much more stringent over the last couple years. I've heard/read that the culture is more laid back than NYC but the hours are still doing to be demanding at times. Exit opps will be similar to any other MM bank...with your best options being in the SE because the name is better known, arguably more respected than elsewhere.

Is this your only offer or do you have something to compare it to?

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

I'm assuming this i for SA? I was talking to an alumni at my nontarget who summered there and lateralled into a top group for JPM full time. He didn't mention much stuff about the culture, but got good experience.

So if you summer there and network very hard, you should be able to go for FT at any BB, but I can't speak on exit ops after a FT analyst stint there. I'd imagine regional MM PE firms in the south would recruit out of that class but who knows.

 

Has anyone heard back from them re: SA? They said they have a slow process, but its been dead-air since the first (and only, from what they were saying) round in early Feb.

 

My response consists of two parts. First part was written by me in an email to someone asking me aboiut ST and the second was written to me from someone. Hope they help

1)Here is how SunTrust was on our campus. They interviewed 24 people and 3 of us got called for a final round in Atlanta. So 21 people were cut on first round. In comparison, GS interviewed 24 total (12 for IB and 12 for S&T) and called back 5 out of 24 for a final round. DB interviewed 24 in first round, 7 were called back for a second round and 3 were hired. Barclays interviewed only one round and I heard that like 7 out of 12 got an offer (we are their top feeder). As you can see, out of those numbers, SunTrust is quite selective. Their second round was supposed to be longer even than Goldman's (4 vs. 3 interviews), so that should also tell you something. In addition, with few exceptions, most of the people they called had almost all had at least one other interview and from what I remember, there was a lot of overlapping with Wachovia. I think that their minimum GPA requirement was the lowest, but I really don't think anyone with the minimum got an opportunity to interview. Bottomline is that SunTrust is quite selective (in my opinion) and cannot be used as a backup.

As far as the bank itself goes, I wouldn't ignore it. The MD who interviewed me was head of the M&A and said that the deals they closed were quite large and they seem to be doing a lot of healthcare stuff, which is the fastest growing field in America. If anything, it shows a lot of potential. SunTrust is huge in the South which is a great region for healtcare, so don't underestimate their ability to grow. Furthermore, the MD said that they were pretty relaxed about how many people get offered third year spots. BAsically, the two years and you are out mentality isn't very dominant there, so from that perspective, you could potentially be put on the VP track much faster there than at a BB. I would definitely consider them in the future after my internship, or at a later stage in my career.

2)SunTrust RH is pretty weak in equity investment banking. They hired 5 IBD analysts and like 2 associate. I would rank them among the lower end of MM. They were able to rank themselves among like top 25 in terms # of MM deals (defined by them deals around $50-300millions) but these deals are really small in volumns and fees. In terms of exit opportunity, I would not think too many would make to PE. Hours are pretty good compared to pretty much everywhere else. Management is relatively laid back (SunTrust's culture definitely beats Charlotte's BofA and Wachovia). The Equity IBD department only recruits at a few target schools like UNC, Emory, etc.

What you want to do is you might want to look into Debt Capital Market. They hired about 20 analysts this year and will commit to hire at least that number next year. They also brought in a few associates and VP's. Debt CM is divided amonst Bond Originations (which the private placement group is actually one of the top originators, and SunTrust is focused and good at investment grade bonds), Structured Leasing (an unique group, only a few banks have it), Asset Securitization (CDO, RMBS, CMBS, CDO's etc, doubled in past year), Syndications (grown and doing well), and Derivatives (equity and debt derivatives trading like credit default swaps, futures and options hedging etc). The Debt group is well managed by Beau Cummins, a former Derivatives trader from BofA NYC since mid 2005. A number of groups are essentially ran by his buddies from BofA Securities.

If you want to do SunTrust, I would recommend the debt Capital Markets Group. Equity IB has too few opening spots unless (and it's not that good). My buddy at Lehman said they hired 170 Equity IB analysts. He said "GS and Merill hired more."

Hours mostly 50-60 hours for Debt Capital Market (some groups more). I can't speak for M&A people. Bonus I don't want to disclose but it should be better than before this year. Bonus is definitely less than top MM like Wachovia, Piper Jaffray, Jefferies, etc because we don't work 80-100 hours here. Base pay is solid for a regional bank (not much less than NYC base).

Exit opportunity to a better MM firm like Wachovia - when the market is good, definitely, if you have read Monkey Business, when those DLJ (now Credit Suisse) analysts/associates leave, they replace them with second tiers jr bankers. Essentially at the lower level as long as you work hard and have good excel skills and a positive attitude (and the industry/product experience) you should be able to move to a better MM or even a BB. You will essentially be doing M&A for Joe and Bob's pizza joints vs Cingular & att wireless mergers.

 

Where do you go to school? I also received an offer from SunTrust DCM but I decided to go to another firm. Beau Cummins seems like a really good guy, he came and spoke at our school before recruitment began. The recruiting situation was very similiar at my school with them interviewing 25 on campus and then calling back 3 to come to Atlanta. Out of the two that were interviewed, they gave offers to 2 people including me.

 

Interned at ST DCM last summer and received a full time offer but ended up turning it down for a boutique. Overall, most people there have a very negative attitude and told me to get out and go to NYC because I'll never get paid there, despite the shorter hours. Recently there is a lot of moving around of top positions and everything seems relatively unstable. Recently, Head of Fixed Income Origination who later was head of FI sales as well left for GMAC after only 3 months or so.

Laidback work environment is the upside but I would watch out...

 

I think current base is 60-65k. Bonus is light compared to the street. Kids who graduated with me got 10k 1st year 20k 2nd year, but that was a few years ago and that may not have been top bucket. One dude got 70+ as a 1st yr associate though. They just hired pretty heavily for this analyst class.

Definitely not street hours though, unless you're in the M&A group. I know of a few people who left for BB in NY, but I'm not sure if they're the exception or the rule.

 
aceon:
Keep in mind you can't compare NYC money to Atlanta money. 65k will go a LOT farther in Atlanta... considering you could rent a pretty sick place for $500 - $1000 / month

Let's not get crazy... $500 will get you 2 roommates in a not awesome area. $1k will get you a decent 1 bed room. $1300 could get you close to a sick place though. But I agree with the idea, considering $1300 in NY will get you a cardboard box on 150th st

 

I interviewed with them and go to a target school. If you want to be in the south they are not a bad choice, if you want NY h/w cannot get an offer there, they are not a bad choice either. They are full service, have worked on multiple $BN deals this year and from an exit opportunity angle, people go from ST to NY BB.

fdba Emory Blaine and BBA or otherwise trying to find the perfect pseudonym.
 

Can someone ban jimbojones yet? Fool doesn't even work in banking haha.

They're definitely middle market and won't offer BB exit opps. to megafunds, but if you work in an M&A or Leveraged Finance capacity there (they have a balance sheet), you could position yourself to be a third year at a BB. Know some Wells Fargo/Macquarie people that did stuff like that.

 

MM for sure (e.g. 100-year+ relationship with KO, and STRH doesn't even get involved on their deals any longer) and primarily co-manager roles, but will get bookrunner on some HY energy originations.

From what I've heard, experience there really can depend on what group you land in, but know several analysts from M&A and DCM who recently lateralled to BBs in NYC

 

They like their southern schools. Had two alums forward my resume, but I didn't even get a phone screen (ivy).

Have a friend going there for FT, from what he's told me M&A/LevFin/Energy are their strongest groups. Heard the interview process was pretty straight forward and easy for him. They supposedly don't work as much as the NYC banks, and this is reflected in their bonus.

 

I see. Thanks! I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Duke's a geographically Southern school, but I know it isn't "Southern" like Terry (UGA) or Emory. I'm planning on visiting the Atlanta office soon to talk with some alums. I am from GA and moving to NYC would be awesome, but I would be equally happy with working in Atlanta so I am hoping to get a feel of what it would be like to work there by visiting and getting some info from whoever I meet.

 

They execute, and are a full service IB. I know last year they did a follow on debt offerings for Lowes Home Improvement and some other major industrials of course this was in tandem with few other firms on the deal.

'We're bigger than U.S. Steel"
 

They are broken down between DCM and ECM. There are two offices in ATL (one in buckhead and one in midtown). I think DCM is in midtown and the other office in buckhead is where ECM and M&A reside. I could be wrong or have that mixed up.

They have the standard base pay as any other bank and then they probably a little bit lower bonuses.

They do a lot of underwriting of real estate deals, and small regional M&A in the southeast.

you will get some decent exposure there... don't turn your nose up at it if you get an offer because they typically hire most of their summers full time (unless you suck or get screwed somehow).

 

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