ex cfo during the dot com period late nineties...
The single most important choice you will ever have to really make is the person you marry. She can make you or break you. Don't pay attention to the pop psychology bull. No other investment can be anywhere as significant. And you don't just...
Flesh, you are spot on. It's refreshing to hear this kind of attitude on WSO. I haven't posted on here in a while, because I've become bored with hearing from college kids that are still, albeit unknowingly, wearing their blinders. All they see is "prestige" (I wish this word would die a long...
@Asia_i_banker kudos to you for your drive to get your idea started, and the creative thinking in controlling the pricing database via Excel.
But having been in the startup space for a few years after banking, I can point out that there are better approaches to test your idea with FAR less...
I wanted to be a billionaire growing up too from owning a pizza shop, being a secret agent ala James Bond, playing in the NFL, and being an action packed paleontologist like in Jurassic Park. I also rocked out with Pokemon in my spare time.
Then I turned 8 or something and grew up.
I had...
Are you sure it doesn't make any sense to leave banking for business school and then come right back to banking... Why isn't that a thing people typically want to do?
AsianMonky, I really want to help you out here, and because I care I want to try to explain this more fully than I did above....
Hi everybody.
Which MBA program (Harvard or Stanford) would be a better choice for someone interested in the entertainment industry afterward? In particular I'm interested in movie production.
I know both have alums high-up in the media world but certainly one must have a bit of an edge...
WARNING: Somewhat NSFW if monitor easily seen by peers.
So there's this bartender chick that I have an in with, long story short it's overtly indicative she want's String's D (actually verified, because we hooked up the first evening we hung out without hardly any badgering from me, which is...
First, I'm a little surprised the recruiters didn't weed you out of the Ops interviews. They usually look to avoid the kids that think they are too good for the job. You have a great opportunity here and you go at it like a brat. I can almost imagine your post this time next year complaining...
Oh look - how sweet.
Not all of us are obsessed with having relationships, wives, girlfiends etc. you know. Some of us have other more important interests (which aren't finance!).
I think that's precisely the point of the post. That the majority of those on WSO are obsessed with things like...
I just can't understand why so many Americans are obsessed with this idea of getting married. I mean - why do you actually need to marry in this day and age? Marriage is a contract, after all - and many people lose alot of money through divorce (especially in the United States). From what I hear...
Bad policy regarding the student loan debt bubble? Shocking, truly shocking. I am so shocked right now. I am about to take a selfie on my iphone and post it on this site just so you can see how shocked I look.
I have said this literally on every student loan related thread on this...
AQM:
I remember my first internship on Wall Street was in ER at a small boutique in midtown. My MD told me the most important thing was to make sure that I got everyone's Starbucks order correct.
End.Of.Story.
Is there a second Wall Street in Midtown that I am unaware of?..
"Wall...
Key things:
- Don't send emails to the place your applying to and don't read emails from the place your applying to on your work computer
- Don't edit/update your resume on your work computer
- Don't write cover letters on your work computer
- Assume everything you do on your work computer...
Congratulations on the choice manTgreyman, it is rarer and rarer, as the two schools diverge in culture. In my own experience I see fewer and fewer US-based folks who have the choice.
In any case, for both schools, it's all about culture. And the weather. If you want to do PE, you will have...
I apologize for the delay in responding to a couple questions - somewhat limited on time right now but I'll try to help as best I can. As it relates to exit opportunities in Lev Fin Cap Mrkts: the bottom line is that the opportunities are much better than DCM (in my experience both personally...
Jesus... get your facts right. Schwartzman cleared 230MM+ in a terrible market (2011).
So you're asking if I'd take a 223MM pay cut to work at a shitty (relative) firm?
/dumbest thread of the day
I think people misunderstand the point of math. Even my friends who are engineers do not use even close to 80% of the math they have learned. The point of learning math is to broaden your ability to think critically and logically.
If the CIO and the President don't have an issue with it then who gives a fuck. Its apparent that the PM is just pissed off at what she perceives to be a double standard or violation of nepotism policies. Her opinion in this case is irrelevant.
I wouldn't want to live with you ... my apartment is all guys in S&T/banking and we're still good fits for SF -- and yes, we believe in a supporting a lot of those things ...
You sound like a fucking cunt. You and your roommates can all get 420-friendly with your cat Che (with the little...
sitting on a private jet with just the pilots, flight attendants, me, the CEO and CFO of a large public company and my MD on my first roadshow... definitely felt like a boss
I'm glad the pilots were on the plane, they really make your story.
I no longer work in the corp fi, but there was...
I agree with a lot of what's been said here already. CG's post was damn brilliant in particular!
Without being repetitive I'll just throw in my 2 cents by touching on something that wasn't as mentioned; basically if they say this or any variation of this in social media or within the first few...
AllDay_028:
SirTradesaLot:
AllDay_028:
To retire at 45 you are likely going to need what, ~25 mil at least with a family and in a higher COL city and a good quality of life? Probably more.
lol wut? If you had $25M saved, you could invest everything in SPY and earn $500K per year from...
Hi Everyone,
Has anybody recruited for Mithril Capital? I'm done with summer recruiting, but I'm curious to learn more about them. I do know their basic investment focus and have read all the relevant news articles on them, but I'm wondering if anybody has had any kind of interaction with...
Not a troll. This is a serious question.
I have noticed that there are many people on WSO hoping to do the IBD----> HF/PE/VC route while looking down upon other careers such as PWM, Corp. Fin, IM, and especially Accounting.
My question is how many people actually make it in IBD and...
1) how many investment and trading ideas are you expected to generate each year?
2) what's the biggest negative return can your boss accept before going rage against you? or have you ever recommended a bad stock, what's the consequence? could you share some experience?
3) how long do you...
Care to share any data points around comp? More interested in structure vs. seniority/performance than actual numbers, but always good to benchmark against anything you can sufficiently anonymize.
Is your all-in comp an explicit function of your P&L, or is it more qualitative (good year =...
1. Style of investing (GARP, value)? Favorite screens to run?
2. Not quite in ER - BB strategy research. Advice on making it to the buy-side? Plenty of experience in bottom-up research in high-yield and value equity.
3. Biggest surprise thus far on the HF side?
1) GARP and value are where...
Whats your background? Is there a typical background for the analysts at your firm?
My background is what you would call non-traditional. I came from a non target school and spent two years doing leasing brokerage in NYC at a CBRE/JLL/CW. After about a year doing that I realized leasing...
Drexel Burnham, with 10k employees, was brought down by two instances of insider trading by Rudy Giuliani of all people.
Whether or not SAC shares its culture with the rest of industry isn't the law's concern with respect to SAC. SAC's internal controls and culture have repeatedly failed to...
I don't want that, because I don't trust the private sector when it comes to matters like healthcare, transportation, and military, things that should be controlled by the government.
You realize that practically all of human history shows that this fear is unfounded. The privatization of...
Euro girls love anal. Relax and enjoy it while it lasts.I always thought that guys who were into anal were potentially closeted homosexual or at least bisexual. Agree or disagree?
Yes, men who avoid vaginas.
Gay guys give each other head too. If a girl sucks your dick, you must be a homoYou think I'm not understanding something here? If someone likes to put it in a butt, to me that means they are doing what they want to do to a man but have it be a little more...
Great interview, thanks for sharing man. I was a successful D1 pitcher for a UCLA/Rice type school and shared very similar experiences as you from the group work, to on field success and injury, balancing the sport and school, athlete stigma etc. I remember coming late from practice to a...
Id add a bit of disclaimer to OP's post.
Always focus on the end-goal, getting stuck in the nitty gritty of things and losing sight of what you actually want to do / where you want to go is very very bad.
Whilst in banking just do things to the standard that are needed, but create as much...
Id add a bit of disclaimer to OP's post.
Always focus on the end-goal, getting stuck in the nitty gritty of things and losing sight of what you actually want to do / where you want to go is very very bad.
Whilst in banking just do things to the standard that are needed, but create as much...
shameless promotion/sick of your sob story.
don't get me wrong i'm glad you found what is currently making you happy but several vague statements of how you were "broken", how much ib sucked and how much you've grown with a youtube vid of your song at the end... c'mon man if you want to sell...
I'll give you a few reasons:
- cost of living
- crowded
- terrorism
- hurricanes
- douche bags everywhere
- too hot in summer
- too cold in winter
- it rains more here than in Seattle
- dirty as shit
- bums
- obsession with money
- Mark Sanchez
- horrible place to raise kids (even...
Im surprised more people here aren't into trading currency as they are ideal for speculating purposes...does the infrastructure your bank provide you give you a big edge over a retail trader? I mean obviously, it does..but if you were to take 10,000 quid and trade it from your personal account,...
I had the opportunity to chose between USC and MIT, and I chose USC. It was a hard decision, especially since I am an East Coast guy. The deciding factors were the faculty and the program itself. You get three full semesters of classes at SC which concludes with a comp exam, compared to the...
UFOinsider:
I manage a bar part time and there are definitely all types. Some girls just want to party, others really are wife material. You have to get to know her dude, women are far less defined by their jobs than men.
There are a lot of instances of people first meeting in a...
Brilliant thread. Couple of questions.
What % of your views involve delta positions (if any)? Or do you just trade vol?
How do you trade interbank? Brokers or do you have an active direct market?
When you trade rates do you buy/sell from/to your own desks at the bank?
What differences do you...
Hello, I'm an aspiring commodity trader and had an agri trading intern experience.
Could you please tell me
1) What kind of post-college/graduate-lvl skills is conducive to commodity trading in general
2) In sum, what are the few key differences between energy comm. arbitrage vs agri/metal...
Thanks for this.
- Is Dodd-Frank making your desk place safer bets (spreads and basis)?
- Has it affected the size of your contracts?
I will try my very best to keep my Dodd-Frank hating to a minimum since it is tough to explain and truly understand unless you are in the trenches daily....
As someone who majored in math, here's my two cents: Obviously most people will never need any more math than calculus. Math is very helpful in helping you to think logically, but only up to the level of an intro to proofs or discrete math class. After that, any additional benefits are very...
I'll be interning at a shop (BP/Shell/P66) in Houston this summer. In the past, how have your interns differentiated themselves and directly added value to the firm?
Thanks so much for doing this.
Congrats! best of luck. Enjoy the time for sure. Best way to add value is to first sit back and...
Wow, this is quite a post.
I'll take a crack at responding to it.
First off, I really think that there are two forces at work which are simultaneously holding the entertainment industry back, but at the same time, other things that are helping it along.
In terms of wealth disparity, the...
sorry, i have nothing to add... just found it funny that you would include UCLA or NYU in the same "top tier" category as Harvard.. especially at the undergrad level.
After reading the title, I thought this was going to be a thread by some college kid trying to develop a personality for recruiting or something. Surprised to see a pretty insightful post with decent advice.
Congratulations!
Here’s my take. I've attended one of these schools and have had several close friends attend each (with a mix of preferences). I've tried my best to be unbiased.
HBS:
Pros:
- Incredible brand (amplified with the layperson and internationally)
- More institutional...
sitting on a private jet with just the pilots, flight attendants, me, the CEO and CFO of a large public company and my MD on my first roadshow... definitely felt like a boss
What's up with all the gay posts lately? Parlaying playing ball into doing some work that requires some mental capacity is not impressive. Sure, consulting is a bit better than medical device rep (which is where most of these dumbasses end up). What is impressive is leading a team of men into a...
I'm going to offer a little bit of a different perspective: The Managing Director made a mistake here. The MD should not accept the Vice President throwing you under the bus. That is completely unacceptable. Particularly when the performance in question is that of the most junior person, the...
Read a few books about finance-related events or persons (ie. Madness of Crowds, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, On the Brink, The Big Short, or persons of interest -- J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Marc Rich, Warren Buffett) but make sure to enjoy yourself. Don't get into the technical...
As an analyst i have had 2 "I know I've made it events" 1 being when the people at Starbucks started having my Vente ready for me each day and 2 when one of the people at the copy center opened up on her whole life story at 2AM while binding some pitchbooks for the 5th time. this is the best...
Alright, been in NYC a few years and here's my 2 cents on how to find a "good girl" (marriable) (and yes, I think they exist, there are definitely girls who have the potential to be good and girls who don't have this potential IMO)
1. She needs to be under 27. After this age she's undoubtedly...
@grosse Regarding (1), you definitely cannot just hand this over to a team. We were originally going to hand over the taxi database creation to a company in the Philippines, but we realized that this was an essential part of the product, and therefore we had to ensure it was done with high...
How do you develop trading ideas and/or strategies?
How much math?
I develop trading ideas and strategies through a lot of thought and creativity. Some ideas come from market observations and tons of time in front of the screen. Others come from a more intuitive hunch. People argue that...
Were you formally trained? Or just sat in front of a platform and told to have at it?
I had and still have formal training. I would never ever go to a place without a good training program. The market is way too difficult. I'm telling you, I've never done anything more difficult in my life....
As a day trader, have you ever caught the bottom or taken advantage of a flash crash? If so, how did you handle it?
As a day trader, and particularly the style of trading my firm does, we are very involved in catching the bottom in panics and taking advantage of flash crashes. Despite all...
@lynnventures
Thanks for adding onto my initial posting. I think your aim was to really educate the general readership, and maybe not directed exactly to Rickshaw, but nevertheless I will respond here as an fyi.
------------------------
Does my start up have a very very high chance of...
Not gonna hate on HBS; I got dinged there. But seriously, very few of these profiles are genuinely impressive.
BusinessInsider is turning into business porn. These types of articles are really retarded.
I only read BI when I want to know what Marissa Mayer had for lunch yesterday.
I have managed associate recruitment for years (large MM) and have worked with each of the reputable pre-MBA search firms, each of which have given me stat sheets of associate comp (1st, 2nd, 3rd and sr. associate level, but i'm really focusing on 1st year in this post) at all of the well known...
First, slap yourself. Second, keep working on the grades. Third, try to become a good salesperson, that is the skill that will take you further in life than almost any other.
Yay, my former firm is in that top 5.
I think "Your Personality" may be far and away the most critical thing. You're basically an entrepreneur with group health insurance provided. If you can't be an entrepreneur you can't be a commercial broker or really anything else in real estate.
Always good to have different and fresher opinions. KKS is a smart dude and has done his homework. Honestly, everyone going into an MSF program should have his level of knowledge. It ensures that you've made the right decision.
I realized I made it when I looked out of the 23rd floor window of an office tower at a distant suburb where I worked some really dirty jobs 5 years earlier, and slept on a couch in a basement apartment. I remembered where I started, compared it to where I am, and realized that anything I...
This is fucking stupid. If he/she is a shitty partner, drop him/her. It's not fucking rocket science. Oh, wait, I forgot, you want the guy that makes $100k/year his first year out of college, works 90 hours/week, and still wants to take you out to a 5-course, 2-hour meal on Friday night.
Jackass.
seabird:
Kejsaren:
Why do 7 % of Greek voters vote for an outspoken neo-nazi party? Unlike other far right parties, Golden Dawn doesn't seem to care about "disguising" it (look at for example their party symbol).
Do you perhaps, as a none greek, get an unfair and biased description of...
this is why we have GPAs and classes graded on a curve to filter these kids (and also retarded/unmotivated kids) out
Um yeah, you can cheat on those things too.
In my opinion, you could aim even higher than you have. You could be shooting for Ivy League as well, provided you did well on those AP tests. You have a strong profile for your listed schools.
You have a really good shot at any non-ivy. Ivy is possible but a reach (almost always a reach).
Ivies are a different beast altogether though. As annoying/cynical as it might be for me to say this... being african american will help your chances.
Just about everyone who goes to an ivy...
A couple thoughts:
In this day and age if you get caught cheating you're done. People will overlook rowdiness, incompetence etc., but no one wants to work with someone who they can't trust.
Echo the thoughts on Chinese students cheating in US graduate schools. They don't all cheat, but...
I've learned a hell of a lot, both from the Certified Users and students (mostly how stupid many college students are, but some good info, too). I also figured out what I believe will be my ultimate career goal and that IB probably isn't for me (a couple of exceptions, but for the most part it's...
Kato:
BTW here's the second part of the "Native American story. Cheers:
At first, I was worried about what would happen when I got there - would I be kicked out, or harassed all summer for being the only white kid there? In reality, it was a great summer, none of the other kids...
I'll echo the whole "wish I found it sooner".
WSO has made me simultaneously more knowledgeable and less productive at work.
It's probably the reason I have a job in banking at all.
It's also probably the reason I haven't started studying for the GMATs/caught up on my reading...
I think this happens quite often.
I don't think this happens for everyone.
I think there are ceilings on what is reasonably achievable for people.
I think we do ourselves and our friends a favor when we're not too ambitious. "I am content with what I have." is probably the kindest...
Respond by asking them what their current comp is, then say "I show you mine, you show me yours." :)
All good advice above. In your situation you want them to make the first bid.
A more aggressive move might be to say comp is one of the reasons you're looking to move, bc you don't think...
but in all seriousness... WSO has impacted my life and career quite substantially in the past couple of years. after consulting with people on this board, i decided to stay put in my current corporate finance job and shoot for a top business school instead of attempting to jump into a...
taught me how to network, about recruiting, interview prep, books to read, how to suck other bankers dicks....all essentials that got me my FT offer. i can easily say that w/out WSO i would NOT have gotten a FT offer in IBD (and a pretty respectable on at that :)
Stumbled upon WSO 6 years ago completely by accident, when it was still called iBankingOasis ("iBO"). IB/PE/HF were all on fire, debt was cheap, big deals were getting done, LeveragedSellOut was still actively writing. The good old days -- damn, I miss them. I remember some of the most eccentric...
Thanks everyone...reading these really helps motivate to keep pushing and improving WSO.
I've also met some amazing people through the community and can't wait to meet a lot more coming up at WSOCon 2013!
I think 2013/2014 will see our happy hours grow into mini-events in most major...
It helped me land a F500 FLDP internship as a sophomore from a non target. It taught me how valuable networking is, and I now have about 10 really solid connections that will help for SA recruiting next year. It also helped shine a light on a lot of careers; HF and PE especially, as well as...
Completely changed my life for the better over the past 3 years:
Helped me transition from an unrelated engineering job (with an extremely non-target background) to an IB internship, then to a 1 year graduate program, and eventually to an MM firm. I owe a lot to this website.
This is what I have been sending, please feel free to revise and comment on it! Thanks so much!
Dear Mr. XXX,
My name is XXX XXX who is currently a graduating senior studying economics at the University of XXXX. As a senior, I have given a lot of thought about my career path and realized I...
How about you try building 3-statements out and then showing the others and/or working on models in your spare time? If you don't take the initiative as an intern you're not going to learn much, especially at a boutique.
You will be doing bitch work for much longer than I think you realize, this includes your first fulltime position. Get used to it.
Also, you spin it the way you want so you have talking points in interviews. It doesn't matter what you did on the job, as long as you can talk about it and if...
Although I can't relate at all to the mountain bike scenario, the system 1 and system 2 thinking styles really intrigued me. I like to live in a constant state of system 1 where thought comes to me. I don't like transitioning much and find that it throws me off. I like to live fast and on the...
I have a few questions - ABC fresh out of undergrad and currently working in Shanghai but getting paid shit (6k RMB a month) and thinking of going back to the states to get a real finance job.
1. How did you land your first job in China? I'm looking for a more immersive experience (like...
AndyLouis:
is this a primer to your "I know a lot about "providers", Ask Me Anything" post? pm when it's up :)
Nah my sample size is still too small, wait til I have sampled a few thousand of those from a broader cross section of cities around the world, then I will write up a...
Lots of options outside of consulting...more as you get more senior...
Investment research (buyside) - if you work at an Asia-focused fund in the US, do regional coverage for a fund with a broader mandate, or even if you're a generalist with a couple ideas in Asia that should get you over...
BAML is not experiencing anything different from any other BB IB at this point. First year analysts leave to go to hedge funds, second years start their jobs early. Associates who don't see a lot of opportunity to climb up the ladder (Common at most banks these days, as senior people aren't...
From a pure profit standpoint though, it is arguable that copiers are more profitable then innovators. Maybe China doesn't have it backwards.
I suppose. That is until there is a backlash or you actually need to be an innovator. And how about making a decent copy. Japan started out as a low...
Do you know of anyone who transitioned from a pre-MBA PE associate role into HF? And if so, how did they break in? I am curious how they would best explain why they went into PE after IB instead of going to straight to HF. I am about to start a 2 year PE associate stint and am interested in...
I know you said get IB or ER, is S&T a good path to get into long/short, or would that path focus you towards other types of hedge funds?
S&T typically isn't a great path because you're just an execution guy. Most HFs want a guy who can do fundamental analysis and an S&T role doesn't...
DontMakeMeShortYou:
Marty Wyndham:
Could you briefly explain why the CFA is less desired by a hedge fund compared to a long only fund?
We disagree with some of the material taught (we prefer practical applications over theory), think it's a huge time sink, and also most HF guys haven't...
NorthSider:
someone that's trying to reconcile his thesis with a position that is moving dramatically against him. I think the market has proven his timing to be wrong.
sometimes, that's called falling in love with a position. If someone has a stock go from 35 to 90 and they're short,...
Corporate Banking is a product group responsible for structuring and executing bank loan financing for LBO, M&A, refinancing, and recapitalization deals. This involves huddling with Coverage and Cap Markets to initially hash out structure and pricing for a pitch, contributing to loan related...
I work in finance and the annoyance of having to go home, get undressed and falling on my bed, lapsing in to hours of unconciousness was so degrading and annoying that I stopped sleeping months ago. Why would you need to anyways?
The majority of people, not only who are habitually slothful,...
i am in the business, have been succesful, and i have never been particularly good at math. In fact i think being more a qualitative/non-linear thinker is actually an advantage for me b/c the market is filled with math savants. You need as much math as it takes to get past the interviews,...
Just recently made the move from JPM/BAML corporate banking to M&A at another firm. Hours at corporate banking were pretty cushy, rarely left after 7/730. Comp was significantly less. Will spend less time on this because, honestly, at age 22/23 or whatever, comp shouldn't really be your biggest...
thanks, this is awesome! +1 and bookmarked
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but do M&A analyst generally need to know all the various industry multiples?
This depends. If you are interviewing for say Quatalyst then you only really need to know technology, if you are interviewing for a...
Actually putting the finishing touches on my book as we speak, and I'm finishing the last chapter on this very subject right now. Worst response from a firm when I resigned? Sue me for $14 million and force me to spend the next 13 months of my life on the run in Mexico and the Far East.
I don't find them annoying, just funny and extremely repetitive. We get your point, no need to repeat yourself like a casette every day.
That's how it sinks in. Sorta like watching the Suze Orman show every weekend for three years or going to church every Sunday. We work in an industry that...
Hello Fellow Monkeys,
I am about to start an ER internship (sell-side) this summer at a BB. Could you please give me an insight on the following questions:
1. What type of work will I typically do as an Intern?
2. How exhaustive would the programme be regarding my position?
3. How much...
I do find funny how most of NYS is red, except for the city which skews the state. If NY didn't have NYC is would be Alabama.
please don't say things like this if you don't actually know anything about the subject
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/results/n...
the thing is, new york...
Totally agree with this. Its really nice to know that not all of WSO posters are like that Ryan Allis tool from HBS (see link: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/a-letter-to-the-hbs-class-of-2015).
I was sick to my stomach after reading that post and really lost faith in WSO so I am happy to...
In the long run being behind a couple of years isn't really a big deal, your CC GPA is what is going to hold you back. Just from anecdotal evidence out of my group of friends from high school/college the people who took a couple years to 'figure out' what they wanted to do ended up being able...
Realize that outside of finance, that top 5 degree will carry you a long long way. If you end up at a job you don't like, work a couple of years and go to grad school. Look for stability, don't chase money, trust me on this....later on when you get focused, you want to have some resources...
nonos:
NorthSider:
job.resume:
Just 4 minutes after this was posted (about how long it would take to read the post) there was heavy trading volume in SQM, and the stock has continued to go up since. Probably some megafund BSD looking to WSO for advice.
I do hope this isn't...
If the questions aren't overly personal or specific in nature, just post them here for the benefit of the community. I'll answer what I can and there are a few other guys that work, or have worked, in the mezz space.
For my firm, deals are originated through networking...like most places. ...
OP some constructive feedback would be to eliminate everything you currently have under your Skills section as none of those should really be there.
Under interests you could keep more or less what you have but I would remove the part about being "Greek God" or whatever as it isn't going to...
How prestigious are your coworkers (FO)? I'm under the impression REPE isn't nearly as pretentious as traditional PE (in terms of caring more about "how" you did, versus "where" you did it). Would you tend to agree? Also, any thoughts on CFA in REPE?
I would think of it on a curve. My...
How was that a great read in any sense of the phrase? Unless it had ended with him nailing Lisa Freeman, Senior Personal Finance Editor of CosmoGIRL Magazine (ohh, the prestige) in her office, you just read about someone bragging about themselves from 10 years ago.
Made me think a lot about next year when I will finish my undergraduate :/ At some point you want to pay off your debt from undergraduate studies with working but doing a master's right away is also tempting if you want to stay in the same firm.
Great post!
Doing the masters right away is...
Privco has the numbers wrong. USV invested $350,000 in their first institutional round, $2 million during each of Tumblr's next two rounds, then did their pro rata on the Series D and Series E. Invested about $13M total into the company. Return is still ridiculous regardless, probably something...
Come on guys, bagger = bag of sand= grand = 1,000
Where does it come from? Bag of sand = grand (ye olde english)
While we are on topic, Yard = Billion also from the English, Miliard.
Finally Monkey = 500 as I believe the 500 rupee note had a picture of a monkey on it
Well congrats bro, you have really made some serious improvements there - now we are looking at a proper resume but there is still some way to go...
Coin Doctoring - had no clue about what this was. Googled it and read that it is more or less forgery to make coins look older than they are. I...
Big banks/Major consulting firms/Big 4 don't care that much about visa status -- given the int'l student speaks fluent English, which coming from Singapore you probably do. After that you are pretty much evaluated on the same basis as American students. Of course, ceteris paribus, employers...
If you don't go to team meetings, start going to them. If your team doesn't hold team meetings, find a team that does (which does interesting work) and reach out to someone there to get invited. If you don't know how to get invited, start with the administrative assistant, they will be...
Thanks very much for this AMA CRE! It sounds like we have somewhat similar college backgrounds. I have a strong interest in real estate and research work, so what you do sounds quite appealing to me. My background is somewhat non-traditional, as have worked in commercial construction estimating,...
what type of value add does your real estate background bring to a non profit board? what advice do they seek from you?
It's more my "business sense" that helps.
Specifically, I'm on the board of a city neighborhood redevelopment company and a mental health advocacy organization. The...
I feel like I should chime in a bit here.
By all means. It's great hearing from the other side of things of the table.
CRE brokerage is becoming (or already is) a commodity business. So fees are constantly being pushed lower.
I agree with the comment that seven figure commissions are...
Here's another PM that I got that I'm just going to quote without giving anything away.
Hey, just read your post. Good shit man. You and I are very similar in background. Alright GPA, state school, Poli Sci and Econ, etc. I also graduated and was looking at consulting, still am kind of. I...
So lemme get this straight, in your opinion CRE is going the way of the prestige, douche baggery bullshit that's engulfed IB, PE, etc.?
*takes out list, crosses off CRE*
It is just maturing as an industry. Someone earlier said that "the ivy league's best and brightest aren't going...
Well, as far as paying taxes goes, if you are single and only really have one source of income (your job) it is pretty straightforward. I'd still recommend getting an accountant and just have them deal with it, I know the firm I work for actually reimburses for tax preparation so take advantage...
I am curious to know how to prepare for the high salary lifestyle that is typical in IBD. Let's say you are starting a FT Analyst gig, and you would like to optimize the amount of money you keep in terms of taxes.
Can someone provide some useful information on paying taxes? As students, many...
I can't believe your getting ridiculed for asking a perfectly honest question.
My advice:
- Don't start living large because your money will NOT go as far as you think it will. 70k sounds like a ton of money to a student but forget about buying bottles at the club every weekend or flying to...
You need to get the Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions by Rosenbaum. Great source. I also advise you to get the Technical Questions Interview Guide or Investment Banking Prep Pack. I myself will work as SA this summer but I will also take online...
Keep the GPA up. Internship experience is helpful. Not sure how/why you already have a GMAT score but that's pretty impressive.
The key thing now is to network. Having a partner give you an info. session is a good place to start.
Keep in mind though that most internships are for juniors...
I love what Mark Levin said yesterday, and I'm brutally paraphrasing: "You've got these damn fools that keep saying that Miranda Rights are a Constitutional demand. Nonsense! The Miranda case didn't occur until 1966. Are you telling me that all cases in the 180 years prior were illegitimate?!"...
Awesome post, thanks. +1
Understanding technical skills like DCF, BETA, CAPM etc. are a must as you have previously stated. However, if you do not have the work experience using it, how can you exhibit your knowledge to people reviewing your candidacy? How can someone show they have the...
Let me summarize what's going on.
People need to learn what opportunity cost is and how that applies not only to the the gym and the amount of calories in the bagel they had for breakfast, but how that works with regard to tax dollars and freedom/civil liberties. I mean, it's much safer for...
He was the CEO of the Gekko & Co investment fund that focused on equities. The fund ran a combination of general equity trading, event driven and private equities strategies, although the strategies were more hostile takeover based and less the refined PE strategies we see today with individual...
You don't normally cold-call girls to ask for sex directly. Same thing. Play smoothly unless you really have something amazing to put on the table (you don't need to cold-call for an internship if that's the case then)
yeah, in the movie Gekko was definitely a combination of multiple financiers. What I thought was funny was in the second movie when Shia Lebouf was a trader, but was also an investment banker on the side raising money for some random laser company lol.
do what interests you. I was at a networking event last week with a variety of very successful wall st guys. They majored in everything from english to engineering. Just get good grades. If you want to add an econ major too, that's great. If not, that's also great. Comp sci teaches you how...
Boom!
4 in 1 pack:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Hillman-Group-Split-Ring-Key-Rings-4-Pack-701288/100153460#.UXi0GLXviSo
If you're a dude, you don't need anything more.
I just got an internship in equity research. How would you prepare for the job?
This deserves a longer post.
The general rule for a new person (as noted in point one) is to do your work correctly (speed less of an issue) and to start out simply doing exactly as you are told. With that...
I believe you mentioned previously that in this post you would comment on trying to create your own research report and emailing it to analysts in order to impress them for a job. Thoughts?
Will do a longer post here on this. Do not want to clutter WSO with re-posts so here is the cold email...
Normal users dont have the option to delete posts. Only mods do. All I can do is edit old posts.
I'm done now anyway :)
next time just PM me dude if you're going to bump 100 old threads...thanks
You will get a salary for the first 2 to 3 years (comp package changes all the time) which will run approximately 50K up to about 80K. Then you can generate commission and fees on top of that. After the salary period you will be straight commission so if you don't build a book quickly enough,...
They weren't moving on salary but got a small bump in equity. Total equity at signing is equal to .05%. I know its nothing but during negotiation, I just didn't feel like i had the leverage to ask for more given I only have 1 yr exp and do not code.
It's vitally important that you provide...
The bus works fine in NYC. Also, people have taxi expense accounts.
Actually, in NYC it is nicest to walk to work. Have a pair of sneakers that you can change on after work.
Good to know. How's the subway working out for ya?
I'll be damned. This chick's got it better than most.
Edmundo, Uber is in a similar space, but providing a very different kind of experience. Rickshaw is different because:
- Drivers are community members - maybe even your neighbors. This keeps the platform friendly and casual
- Our diverse drivers have diverse cars, whereas I believe Uber just...
Is your offer an exploding one? If it is, then email HR again and let them know the urgency of the situation.
If you have told them numerous times that you have another offer and they are not accommodating nor are they giving you more information, then more likely than not, you're not...
@Woozy, Singaporean taxi drivers are doing quite alright, relative to international peers. Last year, there was even some discussion in the local media of one particular taxi driver earning SG$7,000/month, although many (including me) doubt the validity of this particular claim.
For cold emails: 9-10am any week day, but sooner in the week better than later.
For cold calls I doubt it matters, since you will basically always get a secretary who will just send you to voicemail.
low GPA.
Completely took college for granted--only cared about partying and chasing girls.
High grades (until now) came with ease, assumed I didn't have to try (fucking terrible mindset). No work ethic/experience with adversity/not used to failing.
Wallowed around like an asshole, in...
Dubya:
CRE:
Dubya:
shorttheworld:
paint me rainbow and put me on a unicorn for enjoying eating a girls ass lol
Yeaaaahhhhh....eating a girl's butt......
obvious troll is obvious
While I'm not a fan of dining on the behind, I'm beginning to think you have a very...
Very interesting, thanks for doing this.
I was hoping you could give more insight into your statement, "working mostly in customer impact and channel strategy and product innovation within financial services." Do your assignments tend to be more qualitative? Are there any IT-related...
Big difference between wrong and early.
How early do you have to be to be before they start becoming the same thing? Like, if I say the S&P is going to 2,000, can I just wait for inflation to send the S&P to 2,000 and call myself correct? Most analyst POs are 12-month objectives. Pretty safe...
I could talk days about this, here are some highlights to address the OPs questions as I have worked in oil/gas CF for a few years.
Exit opps: There a no good exit opps besides the same oil/gas CF job at a different company. Very rare to see someone in oil/gas CF go to...
First, congrats man. But remember, this is only another step. You (we) haven't made it yet, don't take your hustler hat off yet. In the wake of the draft, I think alot of players who start to relax to a degree once they make the team and are in the NFL. You're in a position to work even harder...
I wouldn't panic just yet, but you're getting a little close to being pigeonholed as a corporate finance or back office guy. So long as you keep your grades up and spend your junior year networking your ass off, depending on whether your school is a target or not, you may still have a shot at...
I took a look at their site and also asked my friend about it who works for an analytics company. And its pretty much what I suspected. Its not a Fund of Funds. It's a data crunching analytics company that does analytical work on hedge funds and sells that data to FoF or family office, and other...
@thecoldburns Southeast Asia is a major region within Rothschild, just like Greater China is a major region. Within Southeast Asia, Singapore serves as the main hub of bankers and is fully capable of M&A, ECM, DCM, and general corp fin advisory. There is also a private banking team, although of...
i've been rejected so many goddam times when it came to SA recruitment that i started laughing (insanity) after like the 15th place that said no to me....until i got an unpaid regional boutique internship and chugged along for months and months and networked my ass off and with extensive...
Do you have any plans for post-MBA? Why'd you choose it over an MFin? I'm having this issue at the moment.
Yeah I'm very interested in buyside fixed income research at a major asset management firm such as pimco, fidelity, wellington, t rowe price, capital group, etc. Macro hedge funds would...
Edmundo Braverman:
My answer to that would actually be yes, yes you could. Being that I'm in the position where I'm not really up against it financially, I have the luxury of waiting. I see your point about professional analysts, but when the OP starts throwing guys like Altucher and...
Pretty much nailed it on the head, if you wanted to get more in depth you would also take into effect the excess tax benefit of equity compensation, usually related to stock options, and the impact of the current taxes.
So taking your example again if we had;
(In Millions)
(500) - Total...
Nice post. Congratulations!
NorthSider:
intlbanker153:
Congrat! I'm literally on the same boat as you.
Where are you guys sailing off to?
Haha, nice. "Literally" is literally the most misused word in the English language.
Ok Ted Mosby
@highwyre
I see your point; my logic is that with a no-name undergrad and low GPA, it'll be difficult to get into a top MBA. The possibility is there, but how will I get experience that will qualify me for a top MBA? How did you do it? I'm just hedging my bets here - like TNA said, I'm trying...
Take the S&T role. It is finance, good money and you can leverage it into something else. Your GPA isn't that horrible. Start doing charity work now, build up the EC's and crush your GMAT and do an MBA. No need for an MSF in your situation.
Excellent advice Ovey. I had to learn what you're advising about the hard way.
Do what's in front of / the simple things first and foremost and the exit options will come to you.
Ear, I think you are on the right track. Below is what I have done over the past 10 years (intentionally outlined at a very high level for the benefit of people who may be less experienced):
1) Read as many investment books as you can (Graham, Buffet Shareholder letters, Lynch, etc.). This...
Thanks for the reply NS. As an update, I signed a contract; $53k salary (20%+ more than i am making now) with 12% signing bonus in stock options, health/dental and a new Macbook Air. The 15% signing bonus in stock options is equal to ~6,000 shares. I fully understand dilution in later rounds...
Disclaimer: I dont work in IBD but for the last few months I have been sitting in on interviews with people looking for jobs at the company I work for.
I used to wonder how on earth I could crush an interview and then get rejected. From what I've seen, often, although its cliche, "ITS NOT...
I wouldn't go that far. People use the MSF for a variety of reasons. But if you don't give a shit about finance you are in for one rough year. The level of finance education is going to be well above anything you touch on during UG. Do you need this level of finance for banking? No. This is more...
Just a tip for people looking for ER reports: if you can find the names of junior guys (very easy) on an ER team and Google you can sometimes find research reports freely available
Of course they will. But that wont be a problem for you at that point because theyll already have extended the offer, so if you get fired by your current employer before starting work at the other place, its nbd, because youll already have the offer.
Theyll probably just make sure you worked...
I dont see why that would be an issue so long as youre not currently working with the new firm/having access to any confidential information while also getting payed by the current firm. People do this constantly.
You can have a protein shake regardless of whether you hit the gym; what you should watch out for is the calorie content relative to what your weight loss / mass gain goals are, and whether a shake helps you balance your macros.
Pick a protein powder depending on how many calories it has and...
I've heard protein shakes can cause nasty bloating/gas bc/your body has difficulty digesting it, is this true?
Can be, mainly due to people not reacting well to the milk content (people don't regularly drink that much milk, and a protein shake is just milk with other stuff mixed in). I...
KarateBoy:
TheFix:
This is really helpful. Quick question, but I came across the following when reading the Distressed Debt Investor template:
"While it may be counter intuitive, I like to see management being compensated with restricted and common stock, yet I generally dislike when...
Not a trader here but all I want to say is that it´s such an honor for me to have the privilege of attending Wharton next year with the omnipresent BradyMVP and that hopefully you let me participate in your pussy-slaying marathons
WSO is offering a course for free right now. Signup is probably still listed on the homepage. If you really want an intense deep dive then I'm sure the Wall Street Prep or Breaking Into Wall Street will be suggested.
I'd suggest doing the free course here on WSO as it will help give you the...
You're correct. Going to a school like HYPS virtually guarantees you an interview at a large swath of companies for the rest of your life. You can't buy that anywhere else. Whether or not you are successful after getting the interview is up to you, but you really can't go wrong. Anyone who tells...
Hi, I'm the resident contrarian on the boards, so I have to make some points for Notre Dame.
Two questions:
1.) OP what do you want to major in? A liberal art? Engineering? Chemistry?
2.) What kind of person do you want to be in four years? Do you want to be the well-grounded, scrappy...
“Mad World” Gary Jules
“Bitter Sweet Symphony” The Verve
“Scientist” Coldplay
“Fur Elise” Beethoven
“Adam’s Song” Blink-182
“Hopelessly Yours” Lee Greenwood & Suzy Bogguss
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” Green Day
“Place in this World” Michael W....
This is a very valid concern. Yes, we are expected to stay as late as the males. I work in SF, and we are told to take taxis home, which can still be dangerous late at night. The world is a much more threatening place for women than men. All I can tell you is to be aware of what is going on...
SonnyZH:
2:2? Where to start...
Snobby comment really isn't it, shows alot about yourself
Not snobby, realistic. Large firms have screening processes where the minimum for them even to look at your CV is a 2:1.
UFOinsider:
justin88:
I'm no Cramer apologist but at least he has a history of actually making money on Wall Street.
Historically, yes, perhaps 20 years ago :)
how has his charitable trust done over the last 5-10 years? just curious
I don't know, someone once told me that the...
Lets break things down here since there's a lot to cover...
I might be transferring to NYC for my bank, but just had a few question for you NY/Jersey natives. How much would a decent studio run in Hoboken(650 sqft)? I am guessing washer/dryer is not in the unit, not a big deal about this,...
Nice shameless promo
To be fair MOST posts are some version of sob story, cry for help, or shameless bragging...at least this time there was a solid song and a youtube video.
Once you have some money, its all about the experience. I don't think selling a company for $25M at my age will be a head turner at HBS or Stanford. In fact, my profile will be a dime a dozen among kids 4 to 6 years younger than myself. I only applied to Wharton this year to test my chances and...
Thanks for getting back to me, I'm hopefully attending Warwick University next year so good to see a fellow British alumni on WSO. I managed to find out which uni you attended, I've heard good things about entrepreneurs coming out of there who have done very well.
Yes, definitely does well...
Wow, this is amazing, thank you so much for doing this!
I concur with the previous posts - would like to hear your tips about networking. Also since you've already an MD and are under 30, what do you achieve next?
Hope can see you at the HK WSO social one day :)
Well hopefully I answered...
Here's a crazy drunk night story of my own:
I was drinking and playing Scrabble with my friends in my dorm room. It was pretty late (like past 10 pm or so). Anyway, we decided to light some candles instead of using the overhead electrical lights (crazy, right?). When we decided to call it...
If you are talking about MBB consulting, then there are a couple of good books. I would recommend The McKinsey Mind or The McKinsey Way. They give you a good general overview of what's the daily job is like. If you want something more specific such as how to get into consulting and what the...
Why doesn't "anyone" actually like NYC? Are you kidding me? I love living here, and so do the majority of people here. What a stupid thread. I'm happy to hear that your ability to drive to wal-mart is what makes everywhere else better than NYC.
Btw amazon is usually cheaper and far more...
i think most people who chose to live in nyc love it, myself included. that being said, we love complaining about it. like when people from non-major cities complain about rent, prices or whatever, it's almost like some twisted badge of honor for nycers to retort with a complaint about how...
I'll give you a few reasons:
- cost of living
- crowded
- terrorism
- hurricanes
- douche bags everywhere
- too hot in summer
- too cold in winter
- it rains more here than in Seattle
- dirty as shit
- bums
- obsession with money
- Mark Sanchez
- horrible place to raise kids (even...
it looks like you are getting a bit of a squeeze right now. Most of the shorts are likely hanging on for Q1 earnings, but if that proves to be a non - catalyst then you could see the stock squeeze even more in my opinion. Say Tesla raises money (one leg of bear thesis is that they need to raise...
Promotion is generally up or out - performance based. 2-3 years to senior, then 3 years each for manager and senior manager, although that can occasionally change due to flex schedules.
Very doable if you commit to it and work hard. I have a father and 5 uncles that made partner at big 4 firms (back then it was the big 8). So clearly it's not as random as you might think.
What would be your advice to a person wanted to start trading currencys. I have been trying to trade for the last 2 years but I have not had any luck, I find myself strategy hopping. Thank you.
My advice to a retail trader is that it's extremely difficult. There is so much flow and...
what range of products do you trade? in which products would you express your macro view? what are the major aspects/points/nuances of your product that you think are only learned on the job and cannot be gleaned just by reading papers/on WSO. Thanks for the thread, really appreciate...
Thanks Revsly!
I have a question: how much of your trading and posistions (rough estimate) would you say are just hedges for the rest of the banks exposure and/or what % of your trades are purely proprietary.
In other words, are you working in concert with other desks or are you putting on...
Any interest in leaving to do something else in the foreseeable future or are you in it for the long haul?
Always a tough question. I love the markets, the intellectual challenge I find incredibly rewarding. I doubt I'd be willing to drop everything and do something else now. I would wager I...
how much math do I need to know for you job? whats math did you study in college?
On the options side, most of the math is understanding relationships (like partial derivatives). For example, what happens to your vega position as spot moves or what happens to your vega position as vol moves....
Awesome post!
My question would be what do you find in your industry are the couple of best qualities to have for a potentital candidate, be it school, work experience, etc. Is it possible to "break" into a currency trader position without being recruited from undergrad or with prior trading...
This basically assumes the money you'd put upfront to buy a house would be invested at 8.5% (my personal portfolio return which is FI only so it is sustainable over the near term) Would appreciate thoughts.Where are you getting FI that is yielding 8.5%? That doesn't seem right, to put it...
Awesome thread.
1. Is there a reason you chose to work in London rather than NYC? I know London is the currenty trading capital of the world, but given how bad things are in Europe, do you have a desire to move to NYC in the near future?
2. Long-term, are you trying to transition to a macro...
SB if I could.. Not that I am particularly interested in trading (I don't think I fit well in this line of business) I was wondering;
What are the hours like? I guess it's not purely market-hour since it's FX. Are there even night shifts?
How intensive or not intensive can a day...
Moving up in the big 4 is less a matter of excelling and more a matter of not messing up. You don't need to be a superstar to move up the ranks; you simply need to fully meet expectations.
At my big 4, the track goes like this:
2 years as an associate
3 years as a senior
3 years as a...
watersign:
Im surprised more people here aren't into trading currency as they are ideal for speculating purposes...does the infrastructure your bank provide you give you a big edge over a retail trader? I mean obviously, it does..but if you were to take 10,000 quid and trade it from your...
Thanks for the awesome thread!
What's your take on the Yen?
What sources do you use for your macro news?
I'm the synthetic portfolio manager for my school's investment group and I've taken an acute interest in currency recently. What would you recommend I do/read to learn more about the...
Sure. Lev Fin Capital Markets is a different animal at different firms. First off, some of the mid-size firms that have lev fin groups do both the origination/execution and capital markets work (like the mid-size bank I worked at). The structure even varies at some of the BBs -- when I went to...
How important was the Hull book you sold me to getting this job and to the usefulness to your job? Did you intern in the US and then go full-time to the UK? How much will you pay me not to post your linkedin picture? (just kidding on that last one, thanks for doing this)
You'll learn fast that women in high finance are only as valuable as their sex appeal. That's about it.
While what I said above was tongue-in-cheek, you're going to have to learn fast that you can't go around worrying about being hit on by men in NYC, whether in the office or in the bar....
Hopefully someone else comes in with more to say about the content, but after a quick skim here's my thoughts:
-I don't think the blue is worth it, it has no benefit and the resume reader could dislike it, don't risk it.
-get rid of the attendant line at the bottom
-If you need space later...
BTbanker:
9 months ago it was at $10/share. I think they're a bit late here.
Do you ever say anything useful and not total bullshit?
Go ahead and buy it. I don't give a fuck. It's not going to 36.
SECfinance:
* Wealth source analysis shows the University of Virginia has the highest percentage of self-made graduates at 78 per cent
All you need to know right there. If they're not self made, I could give a shit where a billionaire went to school.
I still don't think it...
Best part about NYC: I know the spots to take a poop where it's quiet. Albeit ... only in the midtown area. It's such a good feeling, taking a dump outside of work in a nice bathroom that is not well known.
Ditch the blue.
Drop the course in the top to activities. You were doing an internship during this. Either the internship or the course wasn't that serious.
Drop "the target" before HNW investors.
Drop "to our clients" after VP pitching the sale. Can be assumed he was pitching a sale to...
As a female, I say you should go, even if it's just you. I've been in your shoes (i.e. invites to dinner, musicals, etc). Just throw out hints that you're taken and suggest the place if possible. I tend to not over analyze these situations because sometimes people really are too busy to get...
Lerg,
Flying to Denver instead of Houston on Thursday, and back to the client on Monday, on occasion (once per month?) wouldn't be a problem at all, with a couple of caveats:
(1) You're staffed on a project. If you're doing proposals or something, then no.
(2) The project you're...
Website focused on finance is focused on finance.
Both when talking about recruiting, and when talking about academic prestige. OP discussed Sloan's academic merits in finance and economics, but not so much other business subjects.
Kellogg owns marketing. Kellogg does OK in operations. MIT...
Go. Act normal and professional. Don't wear anything to fashion forward or revealing. Don't be flirty. Don't mention the whole boyfriend thing unless it gets creepy, otherwise its totally unprofessional and weird - especially if it was literally just a networking dinner.
Downside is zero,...
* The list was compiled by counting up the number of former students from each college who are believed to be worth at least $200million, taking into account their earnings, properties and other assets
I doesn't add up for several universities on this list...Mumbai for example: 370 alumni...
And once again, there is a bias against Asians. Hamurger U in China has an acceptance rate of less than 1%.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-26/getting-into-harvard-easier-than-mcdonald-s-hamburger-university-in-china.html
Boycott McDonald's now.
Dude...relax with the list making. I've gone on dates with a few bartenders, some were cool, some were bitchy. They're just normal everyday people man.
Although I'm sure you don't want to rference your actual previous employer, could you comment on who some of the middle market / mid-size players are in the lev fin space?
Jefferies, GE Capital, RBC
Maybe you did this, but you need to weight the GPA based off of credit hours for your "true" GPA. You simply can't add the two together and divide by two because your CC GPA would obviously inflate the total.
If you are serious, please pm me. I went to HBS and work as a resume/writing coach at the GSB, and I can talk to you off-line about some of similarities and differences between the two.
Hey bud, good thread.
A few more for you:
1- when you need to hedge with an IR product, do you go to your traders working that specific desk or do you have direct access to different products assuming you need to hedge with something not normally in your book?
2- big day this week with ECB on...
My first job out of undergrad was with an investment consulting firm that also owned an RIA practice. My job revolved our trading, asset allocation, and security selection. RIAs are worlds away from the stock brokerage world....there is no comparison. RIAs are registered with the SEC and state...
Agreed, they won't have an issue if you are straight up with them. Granted prestige is also a factor but to tell them they aren't good enough isn't too cavalier.
By the way congrats if you get it. SA gig as a soph, not too shabby.
Harvard if PE. Stanford if you want to run your own business or work on a start-up.
Thanks for this. I've heard this routinely but I wonder if this is actually true or not. I have seen a lot of PE guys out of Stanford on the west coast and I've also seen a large amount of entrepreneurial...
15-20 years ago, the dilemma for investing in China is too much risk, uncertainty, therefore opportunity, but too little capital.
Nowadays, the dilemma has come, too many closet billionaires, too much capital, but a lack of quality prospects to invest in. Due diligence, credibility, factual...
DBCooper:
My initial reaction is that you are going to need B-school to get a BB associate gig. MM shops would be your target. You'd be in good shape for REPE at some places, but it depends on culture.
RE is a little weird though, in that if there is opening and you know the right people,...
Gotta love the fake tolerance. Dude comes out and a guy on ESPN supports him, but disagrees with it because his religion and the mob wants to silence him. One way tolerance people.
peinvestor2012:
Harvard if PE. Stanford if you want to run your own business or work on a start-up.
Thanks for this. I've heard this routinely but I wonder if this is actually true or not. I have seen a lot of PE guys out of Stanford on the west coast and I've also seen a large amount of...
TooShort:
You're right. I'm going to sell my entire portfolio and buy AAPL.
You're an idiot if you think you're 'diversifying away risk'
"we get protection by being price-conscious and by being extremely knowledgeable about our holdings. And diversification is a surrogate—and a damn...
Martinghoul:
BepBep12:
TooShort:
You're right. I'm going to sell my entire portfolio and buy AAPL.
You're an idiot if you think you're 'diversifying away risk'
"we get protection by being price-conscious and by being extremely knowledgeable about our holdings. And...
I was also worried when i first started about the potential effects of stress of always dealing with real time P&L, but you have to develop an understanding that you cannot control the lines on the screen and how they move. Its a job with a lot of uncertainity, and you have to embrace that. Now...
I like the analogy that you used, Chimps as the subject where the chimps are allowed to go outside, like week given off by Lazard. And there is one Chimp who is hesitant to come outside may be that's the guy you are reffering to odd one.Cool Narrative.
You're gonna go far in this business.
How important are intangibles such as "culture" and "fit" anyway? If you were good enough to get into both Harvard AND Stanford, then you're good enough to thrive in just about any circumstance. There's no wrong decision here and you won't regret choosing either, so fret not.
Personally,...
Largely depends on what you mean by marketing. Marketing / Brand Management ppl at Pepsi / J&P / P&G make just as much as, if not more, than their finance counterparts and usually get recruited out of top UG schools and MBA programs. These roles are vastly different than the "marketing" jobs...
Looking through the most recent comments, I see there's a lot about the Harvard brand, and I want to throw a few things out there. Ask anyone who has had any relation to Stanford if they feel the Harvard brand is better, and they will just laugh. I even had a GSB graduate ask me, "did you go to...
How important are intangibles such as "culture" and "fit" anyway? If you were good enough to get into both Harvard AND Stanford, then you're good enough to thrive in just about any circumstance.
If culture and fit are intangible then your ability to get into both schools is completely...
Congrats on getting into both - at this point it matters more how much you make use of either school's resources and the effort you put into learning than what either school can "do" for you (i.e. an MBA from either school won't be worth much if you expect the degrees to automatically open doors...
Wow, I am completely floored by all of the comments. Thank you guys so much for giving me some of your time. Anyone can feel free to PM me (thank you Gekko21 for the SB) if they have any questions or want to bounce ideas off me or have me read anything.
I think the key to being successful in...
Don't waste your time on a language. Language only helps if you can get fluent enough to conduct business in that language...which is not easy. Language also makes more of a difference on the sell side, and not surprisingly any client facing roles. Look for groups that invest in emerging markets...
I think people misunderstand the point of math. Even my friends who are engineers do not use even close to 80% of the math they have learned. The point of learning math is to broaden your ability to think critically and logically.
SB for you. 100% true statement.
I remember my dad (a...
Trying to get out of banking into the hedge fund world, specifically a Global Macro or credit fund. Still in the process of tweaking it but thought I would throw it up here to get everyone's opinion. Let me know how to best improve my resume.
I would try shortening it a bit. Too many...
This is very nice thank you.
What advice would you give to someone who would love to break into the industry but hasn't any relevant experience yet ?
I have sent 20+ applications and I didn't even get a ITW.
Do you think that if you start let's say in soft commodies you will have to stay in...
Thanks for doing this, insight into this side of the markets is always useful
What specific products are you trading? Coal/power, gas/power spread? Or does energy just mean oil generally?
What are your main information sources for generating trade ideas? I imagine you don't just take data...
How important is GPA and brand name of school/internship to getting a job like yours?
Best characteristics/qualities if energy trader?
Compensation?
Hours?
How long do you see yourself doing this?
Books to read (besides oil 101.)
What other positions should an undergrad pursue with an...
Do you track arbitrage opportunities and take those into account as you forecast regional fundamentals?
Anything that involves assets is arbitrage opportunities. So yes I do that on a daily basis. For instance when you go to buy a physical asset that is an option, like any option we have...
Thanks for doing this, I'm very interested in going into physical energy trading once I graduate.
What are your thoughts on starting at a major company with a development program like BP's TDP, P66's new hire, or Shell's trader graduate programme? What would be preferable to those?
Do you...
Holy!!!!! A 3.52????!!??!? If you had said a 3.59 I would have said you were fine but with something as low as a 3.52 you're definitely fucked. Especially coming from somewhere as unprestigious as Indiana (might as well be coming from a comm college!) Upon seeing your app, adcom will douse the...
Couple of comments/ 2 cents.
While Emory is a great school, I wouldn't put it in the bucket of HYPS. It's just not accurate. You can look at the profile of the students at each school and they just aren't the same. Lower scores, higher admission rates, lower placement rates into top banks,...
As soon as I saw "The Atlantic", I knew to expect condescension and thinly veiled contempt. Glad I wasn't disappointed!
"But they do suggest that what we teach today has little relationship to the broad demands of the job market"
Which is fine because the primary goal of school is not...
For me, the problem always comes down to WHAT math is being taught. My high school had no personal finance courses, no investing, and there were only two statistics classes and you really only took one of those (AP or normal). Meanwhile, there were 5 calc options.
Calculus is very close to...
I have been thinking about doing something like this for a little while... I would like to give back and think I have some solid advice for a certain demographic of monkeys. I will start writing intermittently and run it by you when it starts to come together.
I don't have advice for monkeys...
Someone else was going to say it so I figured I'd do it first.
SEARCH FUNCTION
Oh please.
People like you are a dime a dozen on this forum.
Can't you just try to be helpful?
Anyway! Consulting vs. banking: it really depends on what's most important to you.
If it's cash monet, then...
I'm guessing as they expand and have to analyze their demographics and growth opportunities, they will implement many of the things you're suggesting guys!
Besides they've only been around an extremely short amount of time.
Awesome, but it will be far more useful when you can implement...
TO ABOVE:
I WILL KILL YOU MAN. DO NOT PROVOKE ME. I AM DANGEROUS AND IM NOT JOKING.
Yes, you are dangerous to your friend's future professional well-being.
I wouldn't mind seeing a post with a breakdown of the daily news sources you read/analyze in the morning. Specifically, maybe some RE specific sources, general market stuff and maybe some specific people/entities you follow on twitter.
That definitely sounds like a good one. Maybe I'll...
Martinghoul:
BepBep12:
Value guys and specifically 'Safe and Cheap' guys never said that you're always going to pick winners all of the time. This investing style is really a much more conservative approach and one of the important concepts is to protect the principal. So sure, you...
Try to get a handle on the real estate valuation process, Sales Comparison approach, Direct Capitalization(understand cap rates in general), Cost approach, DCF. Express your interest in real estate, make sure you come across as wanting to work in the real estate industry. Firms can sniff out the...
What is the typical background of a recent hire within the firm?
Just thinking about some of the younger or newer people we have here:
2 out of college (including me)
2 people from lesser brokerage firms
1 guy from MBB
1 guy from a non-relevant sales career
Are there...
It's not the end of the world. If anything, you can say you're more well rounded having experiences in pwm and ops. I'd recommend taking on a part time IB internship during the fall and then going into SA recruiting Junior year full swing with that experience. You'll be fine.
Good question. In answering your question, the single most important thing in group selection as a new analyst is group's level of deal flow. Both M&A and Lev Fin product groups analysts have highly sought after backgrounds. So given the choice between the two, go with whichever is cranking a...
Great post, I've got a couple questions?
This counts as one, just for the record.
What are the backgrounds of the senior employees at your office?
The principals are all long-time brokers. This does not apply everywhere, and other offices, including the NYC office, have...
I wasn't involved in this transaction, nor had I researched it until about 5 minutes ago (I saw headlines, didn't care) but how are Rhode Island or taxpayers on the hook for this? These bonds (federally taxable) were issued via the Rhode Island EDC as a conduit (name only) and are not...
Come on guys, we've all been there... don't be too hard on him. The working world sorts out our perspective of our abilities and accomplishments pretty quickly. OP, I would recommend reading Malcome Gladwell's "Outliers"; it helped me understand that intelligence wasn't as big of a factor in...
The fact of the matter is, I want to get away from Texas for 2 years then come back and get a killer IB job in Houston. I guess what I was wanting to hear was, yeah go ahead and go to UCLA and party it up in LA you'll be fine OR yeah go ahead and go to Stern and party it up in NYC for a few...
Really appreciate for this post marcellus.
I know you mentioned the part on "soft skills", but other than that, would you say a certain kind of personality is required for being a physical trader (eg. similar to paper traders who work based on TA)?
Also, for someone straight out of college,...
How difficult it is to get into trading with an Economics degree?
I am about to start undergraduate at uni and was wondering that if I would start trading a personal account of mine (fx and options) now and keep on trading till I graduate, would it give me an edge when applying for trading...
What is the difference between an utility company trader and a bank trader?
Do you work for an utility company? If so what is your main task, do you still your finance background or do you also need to know a lot about engineering? Are you in a prop position or more in a hedging position? What...
How do you keep up with financial markets? WSJ or Financial times?
What kind of blog/commentarys do you read daily/weekly?
Do you utilize any math or programming skills in your job?
Depends. I like WSJ/FT/Bloomberg mag/BigPicture/Hussman/Dealbook/Bank research etc.. I prefer FT to WSJ...
"Would You Wear a Shirt for 100 Days Without Washing It?" -- No, I wouldn't.
"Do You Encounter People Who Wear a Shirt for 100 Days Without Washing It?. -- Yes, every day. Along with their pants, drawers, socks, and whatever other crap they're wearing. Reason #682 why NYC sucks.
US firms don't sponsor international students so clearly PE is a no go? Remind me never to take advice to you.
Side note: think your caps lock is stuck, there's a Best Buy that's open 24 hrs most day in Union Square - check it out
sorry for any naivete, but I thought ABX wasn't in the market of selling gold for its ETF, aren't miners middlemen?
Don't think ABX has an etf. It is a component of some etfs (e.g. gdx).
Depends on how you define middleman - ABX digs for gold and sells it. Sometimes it pays to buy more...
I still do not get what the issue is with age. Granted 40 is a lot different than 23, but what textbook do banks refer to when they say ooohhh wait a minute this guy cant pull an all nighter, he just turned 28. I know every situation is different and I am only using military because that is my...
Ballers live at 2 Gold. Get it straight bro.
I lived at 45 Wall when I wasn't working in banking. The vast majority of people living there weren't in banking. It's just a relatively reasonably priced high rise in FiDi...there isn't anything very special about it.
I think you underestimate...
I'm an incoming college freshman who's in a similar position (trying to become fluent in trading and investing without any prior knowledge). I'd highly recommend "Investments - 9th edition" by Bodie, Kane, and Marcus. Investments is a well-written textbook with a comprehensive introduction to...
I'll just list out the theme all the way through.
Text Dark 1 = Black
Text Light 1 = White
Text Dark 2 = Red
Text Light 2 = White
Accent 1 = Dark Red
Accent 2 = Gray -50%
Accent 3 = Dark Blue
Accent 4 = Gray -25%
Accent 5 = Navy
Accent 6 = Plum
Sometimes you might have to tweak...
Follow through with interview. Sometimes you have to do what you need to do to get in. I know a lot of people will not agree with me and yell at you for lying. The reality is a weak GPA can prevent you from ever breaking in for some people. If the questions comes up then tell them what you...
After reading the title, I thought this was going to be a thread by some college kid trying to develop a personality for recruiting or something. Surprised to see a pretty insightful post with decent advice. Exactly my thoughts.
Does the job involve a lot of travelling ?
I have read the AmIa of a supposedly energy trader at glencore and he said that basically each two weeks he was away for 2 or 3days.
Does it depends on the product you are involved in or maybe the culture of the company ?
Travel. Depends on a bunch...
Re: the picture, it's actually an image I found of "Lil JJ', the comedian in the Youtube video. I wasn't implying anything about race, although I have, at least anecdotally, noticed that the African-Americans I hung out with in high school tend to be more enjoyable, personable, and exuding of...
I disagree with the advice the above (although all the specifics are good). Focus on what is in front of you. Kick ass on your work, projects and exams, and ease up trying to teach yourself everything you think you need to know about real estate right now.
If you were honest like you said...
I don't know your specific situation, I like the typo excuse as recommended above. Another idea, is if you just graduated you could say you are disputing your grades with the department currently. Depends how you like to lie.
I wouldn't suggest telling the truth before getting caught....
One thing I would note is that of the three firms the OP mentioned--Eastdil, CBRE, and JLL--Eastdil is the only one that I feel has a "real" investment bank. The Eastdil investment bankers are Wells Fargo's REIB unit, so they actually work on what I would consider genuine investment banking...
From my understanding, being a brand manager is akin to being an owner of a product line (or "brand", hence the name). It's a multidisciplinary field that deals with positioning the brand and making sure it's competitive/profitable relative to competitors. From the people I've spoken with,...
"TMT" in NY is 80% media and telecom and 20% tech. Only a few banks have dedicated tech groups on the East Coast: MS (small practice), Barclays (small tech practice + FinTech), and DB (software + FinTech). Overall, if you want to do tech, it's best to go to a west coast group.
Also, to...
I understand the concept of a piece of news or rate cut being "priced in" to the markets, but how do you personally arrive at the number - the degree to which something is priced in? Like quantitatively, what is your process for determining whether a 25bp or 50bp rate cut (or any other kind of...
Put it on there.
Each group needs someone to spin tunes during late night work sessions.
If the group you're interviewing for doesn't currently have one, it could give you a big leg up.
(serious answer: it really doesn't matter. It's unlikely to help or hurt you, really up to you).
My favorite thing about these types of threads, it's full of undergrads who have absolutely no understanding of what life is actually like. It's also hilarious because most of you, even the ones who get BB IBD, will wash out before you make any supposedly "real" money.
It appears the general consensus is money > lifestyle. I personally am on the fence on this one but would have to say I'm slightly leaning towards the lifestyle side. Time is the most valuable commodity that no money can buy. Your 20s and 30s (to an extent) are your best years and to spend them...
Fun colored socks for pazzas. Some ideas below. Just to be conservative go with a solid color, but bright.
http://www.paulstuart.com/product_info.cfm?ProdID=6350&ProdCatId=1012&MainCatId=14&HEADERMENUID=1&SUBPRODCATID=0
^ No magic formula but knowing the fundamentals of the business is a start. Have an opinion on certain industries. Be enthusiastic. Have questions prepared, and not generic ones but questions specific to the firm. Don't be robotic. Show your personality... this is probably the most important...
hey, thanks for this list, by chance is there a 2012 one?
see link:
http://www.bloomberg.com/professional/files/2013/01/MA-Financial-Ranking-League-Tables-2012.pdf
turtles:
rkstelma:
islandbanker:
Love these bad boys:
http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF27...
Though these are great looking shoes, they're a little out of my grasp as far a price is concerned. I'll have to earn a few more stripes before i'm spending $300-$400 on...
Very interesting post. I'd like to add my point of view which could be of interest to you. First of all apologies if my english is a bit weird. I am not a native speaker.
A little bit of background to start with. I don't live in the States or the UK, but work at one those "top" "preftigious"...
Trying to learn specific things is a waste of time in my opinion - what you actually do and need will be learnt on the job. Instead, I would try and focus on what are (in my opinion) two of the most important skills:
Efficiency - You touched on this with Excel but just learning how a pivot...
I find this hilarious. No one in this day and age should become one of these old, dbag, rich drones no matter what you do. Do people seriously go trough college w/o making friends, partying, and experiencing life in general? Haha, fucking idiots.
Not everyone went to a party school. Schools...
Wow this is one of the cleanest ones I've seen on WSO... First thing I'd do is 'italicize' your dates to keep the pattern in the lines. For the MM, just keep it to Investment Banking Intern, or M&A Intern or something, remove the sell-side (it doesn't add anything), they'll see from the...
When I was applying I had several (2-3) resumes tailored to positions I applied to, so go for it.
To be honest with you I wouldn't be holding anything back, the resume is very clean for the eye so fill it up with any extra activities (soc ref, community service, anything) and you should be...
It's tough...
Personally I would avoid LatAm credit (or LatAm anything, really). It's a small and very idiosyncratic space and, in your situation, it's probably way too early to specialise. Agencies (assuming we're talking about US) are better and offer you exposure to all sorts of...
Both HKS & SAIS "require" 2-3 years of work experience. They do no explicitly require it, but over 95% of admitted applicants have it. Only MA you could get into without work experience is Econ.
You sound miserable. Who cares what people are into as long as they are good roommates and are interesting to spend some time with?
Just because someone is into the things that you mentioned doesn't mean they aren't into advancing their careers. Your attitude won't get you far in the real...
The quality of the MBA program always matters... unless you intend on staying with your firm for life. I've been looking into MBA programs myself, and this is a pretty sweet deal your employer is offering you. Full MBA reimbursement for 2 years of work after graduation is sick.
Think of it...
If you already did the work previously, why would it be fair for the PM to make you take it off your resume? What right does she have? Sounds like a bitch to me
If someone close to you dies, you leave work and are not expected to do anything differently. People fetishize the idea of how obsessively you're supposed to work in banking, but funerals and meaningful weddings come before anything. Period.
What's up with all the gay posts lately? Parlaying playing ball into doing some work that requires some mental capacity is not impressive. Sure, consulting is a bit better than medical device rep (which is where most of these dumbasses end up). What is impressive is leading a team of men into a...
Your firm will probably sponsor Top 15, at most Top 20 programs. Taking the two years off for MBA also makes sense from monetary perspective. Seems like this year new MBA hires and interns are getting $130K-$140K/yr even for Texas/Atlanta locations. My guess is it will take you a while to get to...
Sign his e-mail address up for spam and gay porn. Don't let him know that it was you until your last day and then say "so, you do receive e-mails."
On a serious note, this has happened multiple times to me on internships. I had one MD I worked for come over and talk to me about a project...
Don't forget that reimbursement is taxable income so the MBA is not free in this instance.
See here: http://www.asktaxguru.com/7600-mba-tuition-with-employer-sponsorship.html
Revsly:
Bobb:
Noticed you interned in the US, did you go to a US school as well?
Did you intern at your current bank within the same FX group?
I did go to school in the US but started working in London. I interned in NY with 3 groups, this being 1 of them.
How'd you engineer the...
Hello. Thank you for a great thread. I would like to know what models and theories (apart from BS options pricing) a candidate should know to absolutely crush a technical interview for fx options trader position? What about non-technical side? What type of person would be a perfect fit for the...
Another question I had from someone else's thread - you probably never saw my question after your initial post, but would be great if you could address that too!
whalesquid123:
Revsly:
Like Maximus mentioned, I'm an FX Options trader and we always have rates positions, largely due to...
leveredarb:
I'd rather retire at 45 and have worked 60 hours a week than do 40 until 65
This for sure.
Except, you know, it's practically impossible to do this. There is like .001% of even FINANCE people that this is feasible for.
Awwwwww that's super cute that some kid threw monkey shit at me for providing accurate information. It's not like I interview for these types of positions or anything. Better go pray to the picture of Henry Kravis that you ripped out of a Forbes article...
xoxo
You'll definitely at least have a few hours to yourself on some Saturdays, if there's no urgent deadline coming up on Monday or something. I wouldn't try to go out of pocket on a Saturday your first few months after starting, but afterwards, it's fine - a few of the first years I work with have...
I had some shitty weeks when I worked 7 weeks straight without a single day off, but apart from that, there are a few weekends that are completely off (this isn't that common though) and plenty of weekends where you can get a Saturday or Sunday off. You can also come in late on Saturday nights...
Haha, the nature of my accident is mainly dependent on alcohol. So definitely not interview suitable answer. But, I fell from about 15 feet onto pavement, tore half of my left heel off and severely bruised both heels which makes even crutches hard to use, and got some staples in my head.
Was...
+1 to above
Because Real Estate is such a relationship-driven industry, firms are looking for someone personable who's actually excited to be there, it doesn't take a quant phD to do back of the envolope calculations. My last part of the interview was, "Oh and I guess we didn't bring this up...
Bankers shitting on ECM/DCM is pretty funny. You do this shit for the paycheck. The only reason banking>capital markets is because bankers perform tasks that can transfer to private equity. If you have no interest in that then capital markets offers you better hours and great pay.
You do DCM...
To retire at 45 you are likely going to need what, ~25 mil at least with a family and in a higher COL city and a good quality of life? Probably more. lol wut? If you had $25M saved, you could invest everything in SPY and earn $500K per year from just dividends or about $400K after tax without...
great post CRE. I work in the field of structured real estate (not commercial) and housing so I always find your posts informative and interesting
Thanks man. Just trying to make the real estate community here as good as it is for banking and consulting. Feel free to make your own posts too....
I have a few buddies in CRE that are brokers here in the Southeast. Almost all of them work for CBRE or JLL. I don't know what the landscape is up North or out West, but in the Southeast CRE is dominated by ex-fraternity types. I was fraterntiy brothers with most of these guys and it's...
Once when I had to deliver a pitchbook from origination to an associate in tech (software) around 7:30pm (ECM is on a different floor to banking) and he was shocked and said he didn't know ECM even worked this late in a snarky way.
People will shit on you no matter what for one reason or...
Ten years ago...hmm...
1. Do your homework. No it does not impact your self worth whether or not you get C's, B's, or A's, but if you are capable of getting A's, and get A's on all of the tests, stop making dumbass 15 year old arguments about why it's good enough that you know you can get an...
I am personally somewhat of an introvert and sometime can easily feel anxious for almost no reason whatsoever.
One of the best ways for me to deal with stress it so do a "power stance". it sounds really stupid and maybe its all a placebo effect, but if I do a power stretch for even a couple...
CRE:
notamonkey:
I knew I'd made it as soon as I figured out what a trust fund was
6th grade? I don't get it
That's why you're making $40k/year as an entry-level realtor
You sound like a jerkface! Don't listen to the haters CRE!
xoxo
Have fun, hang out with your high school buddies who you will drift away from eventually, get drunk, just don't get a DUI.
But seriously, you don't want to be that freshman who can't hold his liquor...
1. No, you were right the first time: go ahead and buy those Bear Stearns puts before going on vacation (they were one helluva lottery ticket and you'll feel like a massive idiot for looking at them, but not buying them cheap)....!
2. Talk to Dad one last time (that email from him a week...
One of the most informative CRE posts I've ever read. You contribute a lot of top-notch RE content and this was just what I was looking for. Thanks man!
Incredibly nice of you to say. Thank you
Thank you guys! I really appreciate it.
Congrats Baronec!
@AndyLouis: when I cold emailed I always addressed emails to MDs and not HR. All the HR ones landed in either spam or were just deleted because I got no response from those. Same with cold calling. I always asked to talk to...
I recently accepted a job with a HF and part of the reason why I was offered the job was due to my personal investing, which to the firm showed that I was actually interested in the markets on a personal level. I actually put a screen shot from my online broker of my portfolio holdings at the...
Yeah, I would say have tabs for the divisions / regions / products and then have roll up tabs. Probably the best way to go about it. Uniformity is key for these types of models so it's better to take a lot of time up front planning it out so that the layout is intuitive and dynamic than to rush...
FLDPs are generally geared toward new college graduates. Seeing as you have 2+ years of experience already, I would shoot for networking for a senior analyst position. Leadership program's compensation structure are generally rigid, although you may be receiving a slight bump from your current...
@mojo12 We have ongoing engagements with our main team of programmers. We have a long and evolving list of desired improvements, so we keep feeding them work. We will send them a list of requests and they will send us back their proposed costs and time frame. We will then agree on these...
If that is the impression you got by reading the Big Short, you may want to re-read it, more carefully this time. Lieppmann and Co. didn't make money based on connections alone, let alone the Berkeley upstarters.
Favorite books and advice for those looking to get into the business and those just starting out. Also, compare and contrast NYC versus Chicago if you have time! Thanks in advance.
Breakdown of average day?
I usually get in around 8am. I'll check where the indices are, check any overnight positions I may have, and start looking at what news has come out and what stocks are moving pre-market. Once I get settled, I start getting a feel for what stocks I find the most...
Favorite books and advice for those looking to get into the business and those just starting out. Also, compare and contrast NYC versus Chicago if you have time! Thanks in advance.
I have read a ton of books on trading and the markets and IMO, there is no such thing as a bad book since you...
Why did you pick the prop offer over the S&T? Also I'm curious about this line "I very systematically analyzed and perfected the job search process, so I think I can speak intelligently on resume / interviews / networking" if you could explain how you perfected the job search process....
What is your outlook on the future of prop trading?
It is a difficult place to be in right now. Volume and volatilty is very slow. People in equities, options, commodities are all struggling. I have friends at various firms in NYC, friends in Chicago. Nobody is loving it right now. People in...
How can someone demonstrate their desire to prop trade from an unusual background and break-in?
You already have the answer. You break-in from unusual backgrounds by HAVING that desire and DEMONSTRATING it. You can do this by networking and having intelligent discussions with people in the...
What do you think about comments that Equity S&T is dying?
Please see my other reply regarding the outlook of prop trading since it is very similar. I don't like the word dying. This industry serves a very good function, it will never be dead. But right now it is towards a cyclical low....
This is kind of unrelated to trading itself, but I'm still really curious:
How old are you? What's your life like? Are you largely happy with the way it's turned out? Any girlfriend? What are your future plans? And what's the best advice you can give to someone still in university?
Damn,...
Best post i've seen on this site - hopefully it encourages others to do the same. The concept is also very intriguing and seems like it could have unlimited potential
1) I downloaded the app, filled the form out as a passenger, and arrived at the payment information interface, which is...
What's the best way to network if you did not go to Ivy League?
Put some time in and think about it. Trading teaches you that there is a way to analyze and systemize anything. So do it with networking. What are your advantages? What are the options you have to choose from? What would be the...
What did you do to set yourself apart in the job search process?
1) I worked my damn ass off in school. I'm a very smart guy, but you don't do as well as I did without a lot of drive and motivation also. So purely from my resume those two qualities are made apparent.
2) I refined my job...
Thanks for doing this. I'm not sure how much you can divulge about these questions, but I'll give it a shot.
Best trade you've ever made $ wise? Best trade you've ever made execution wise (Strategizing, Planning, and hitting that home run)? How long do you typically hold a position? Do you...
Going Concern:
lbreitst:
I'm a very smart guy
Quick q, does humility have any place in prop trading land?
Thank you.
Really? Would you rather me not paint an accurate picture for people? In this instance, objectivity is more important than humility.
Quite frankly though,...
1. Assuming you work within a bank, do you get market color from other departments that helps you?
2. Do you trade all electronically?
3. What is the worse part of your job?
4. What would you be doing if you weren't doing this?
1. I trade for a prop shop and do not trade within a bank so...
The reserved area for the WSO crowd will be the vault in the pub and I'll be wearing a WSO shirt.
Come to meet fellow WSO'ers or just to eat a steak and sip good scotch.
Do any of you guys follow Kyle Bass closely? He has an interesting way of describing the way this situation will most likely play out and the resolution is much more painful than austerity.
@falconpunch19 Rickshaw faces similar regulatory issues as Uber, but more similar regulatory issues as Lyft and SideCar.
It entirely depends on literally each local (often even town-level) jurisdiction. It is unclear how many town governments well really step in and try to stop a safe,...
@nelobynature
(1)
We agree - we are going to take the credit card input area out of the passenger registration, and the passengers will simply be able to choose to pay by card or cash when they actually request a ride. In the Ride Request instance, you will not even see any credit card info...
@Heijira I do not check the code, I thoroughly check again and and again and again the interface, testing all possible scenarios and actions. I basically try to break the app, try to find errors.
I would love to learn to program and I feel like programming is an important language just like...
Needs some work.
1) Use bullets in each of your roles rather than mini paragraphs - easier to parse this way and see what is important
-Condense these paragraphs as well, a little too wordy.
2) Your name does not need to be that big on the resume, take it down a bit, save room.
3)...
- this is not a resume. it's like a cover letter + resume hybrid frankenstein
- use a format like this http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--3bZyimCZz8/UJzvnSqgSEI/AAAAAAAAAOE/FGZylunZlxE/s1600/professional-resume-templates-0014.gif
- 1 page is the limit
- put a highlights section at the top so you...
Needs some work.
1) Use bullets in each of your roles rather than mini paragraphs - easier to parse this way and see what is important
-Condense these paragraphs as well, a little too wordy.
2) Your name does not need to be that big on the resume, take it down a bit, save room.
3) Less...
I don't know what you're specifically looking for but generally here are few things you need to know:
(1) Concisely demonstrate/highlight your strengths especially if they happen to be the key skills required by the job you're interested in;
(2) Get rid of the details of all your volunteer...
Do you share/discuss trading ideas with your office colleagues for the good of the firm? Or do you keep it to yourself for the end of month rankings?
You mentioned earlier about the satisfaction of identifying a trade before anyone else and being the single one to act on it...
Also, are you...
ex cfo during the dot com period late nineties...
The single most important choice you will ever have to really make is the person you marry. She can make you or break you. Don't pay attention to the pop psychology bull. No other investment can be anywhere as significant. And you don't just...
I just briefly took a look at your listed competitors and your site. It seems like Lyft is the only provider that provides insurance coverage out of the three. But Lyft's policy does not provide any accurate information on how and what that 1M policy covers.
I can't speak for other...
Great posts from initialsCG and Kenny Powers, definitely agree with a majority of your points.
From my experience, foreign girls > white girls for dating/serious relationships. Most of the white girls (especially the hotter ones) have an incredible sense of self-entitlement and selfishness,...
True story - my Aunt and Uncle won $10 million lottery. They get 500k pre-tax for 20 years. After taxes, it comes out to about $270k a year. They paid everything off and my Uncle bought a huge GMC Yukon Denali XL. Otherwise they haven't spent it on anything else and are both still working in...
Have you actually applied for loans?
From my understanding, for these type of graduate degrees, you'll most likely have the entire tuition + living expense amount available to you. The only problem may be the interest rate you'll be paying...
You should call up the financial aid...
Movie doesn't even make any sense. He loses his job and house so therefore he goes around killing equity traders. The character should shoot himself for putting 0% down and taking on an ARM loan.
A lot of bad information on this thread... It's important to note that their Energy group has a separate bonus pool from the other bankers so their pay cannot be compared apples-to-apples with pay across the firm. They along with Healthcare also had incredible years with respect to fee...
Don't drown in the kool-aid tough if you end up having a great time. Being an associate is totally different from being an intern. People (partners/HR especially) are nice to you while you're an intern because they spend a lot of $$ and they want you to accept the offer. Once you do no one...
In The Flesh:
Race, political views and religion are absolutely irrelevant. The most important thing is to look at how she treats other people.
And whether she likes you as much as you like her, of course.
Tell that to the sexy JAP that wouldn't even give me the time of...
I have a friend at Jefferies and he told me it's like this. The news of comp at Jefferies is blown out of proportion. As analyst your salary is in line with market, so are most mid-level positions. Upper level positions are slightly above market. One of the big misunderstandings about Jefferies...
I have no idea why the majority of these people would event want to go to business school. Seems like a massive waste of potential to me.
This is a perfect example of what Nassim Taleb described as (I'm paraphrasing), "HBS accepting birds and then taking credit for their ability to fly."
If you are committed to working in energy, yes. That seems (from what I'm reading) to be your goal so, if you are outside of Texas expect that to be where you end up (not to say there aren't opportunities in the Midwest and New York, just not as many). People move temporarily to New York,...
It's like having a 9-6 job where you don't do anything and get paid. It's pretty sweet, though it feels like a continuation of school sometimes.
Weekends are entirely yours. The last couple of weekends might have some work because you will need to study for and pass the Series...
Amphipathic:
Not saying they are morons, but the absurdly flowery language here warrents the 'porn' analogy used above. Let's take the "started at Princeton at just 16, where he conducted cutting-edge research on biomedical applications of infrared lasers" profile. This should read, "at the...
Does anyone know what % of the business the guy owned of the business that sold for ~$170 million? That's pretty impressive that he achieved that and also a little perplexing that he's going back to school. Assuming he retained a fair amount of the business, I couldn't imagine going to...
"Eric graduated with a triple major in economics, marketing, and psychology, and as the valedictorian of all three schools. After graduating, Eric lived abroad in India studying intensive computer science working for a local outsourcing company, Infosys. With a 1 percent acceptance rate, landing...
I thought all the profiles were impressive. No question, I'm definitely jealous and butthurt.
My only concern (and it is 100% speculative) is that most of the candidates seem to come from some level of privelege. I'm personally a fan of seeing the underdog/scrapper rise to riches and glory.
Anyone notice that more and more of these fuckers start companies that add very little actual value to society? Sure they make money and are successful and what not, but it's all music startups and social sharing startups and blah blah blah... nobody wants to try and develop something truly...
So...the dinner didn't turn out exactly the way you wanted to...but ultimately no harm was done.
Personally, I think you made the right move in accepting his dinner invitation. Sorry it didn't work out. Good luck.
That the majority of those on WSO are obsessed with things like prestige, career, money, models/bottles, being awesome, cars, watches, sex, ass, boobs, tits, legs, excel, equity research, lazard, bulge bracket, HBS, business insider articles, gun control, barry obama, mitt romney, hunting,...
This is a much needed discussion topic that I've yet to find so we're talking about Ivy finance schools: Wharton/Harvard/Yale/Stanford.
Harvard doesn't have real fraternities. It does have final clubs.
Ahhhh shit.
From what I'm hearing Targets are horrible when it comes to the Greek system.
holla_back:
Lambie:
This is a much needed discussion topic that I've yet to find so we're talking about Ivy finance schools: Wharton/Harvard/Yale/Stanford.
Harvard doesn't have real...
Why do 7 % of Greek voters vote for an outspoken neo-nazi party? Unlike other far right parties, Golden Dawn doesn't seem to care about "disguising" it (look at for example their party symbol).
Do you perhaps, as a none greek, get an unfair and biased description of Greek politics?
I'm...
Why do 7 % of Greek voters vote for an outspoken neo-nazi party? Unlike other far right parties, Golden Dawn doesn't seem to care about "disguising" it (look at for example their party symbol).
Do you perhaps, as a none greek, get an unfair and biased description of Greek politics?
I'm curious...
Why do you think so many people hate the German chancellor? I mean, it is understandable if you disagree with rules/regulations imposed upon you but pissing off countries that try to help you out seems like a bad tactic.
I think you are reffering to the middle class, the guys that get their...
I know this is not exactly specific to the original post but it seems that so many people that want to transition into finance are told to get an MBA so they can rebrand themselves. This makes sense, and I agree that it is probably the most direct way to do so, but wouldn't you all agree that it...
Are vacations cheap now since Greece is as poor as Somalia?
Cheaper than they used to be for sure and still a great place to visit. Make you visit at least once in your lifetime. The situation in the islands at summer has nothing to do with what you hear happening in the mainland (riots,strikes...
How is Greek yogurt really different than other yogurts?
Haha that's a tough one. I think it is different because it's made for goat milk and not cow milk.
How does employment look like after your studies within Greece? Are thinking of working in another country instead?
The unemplyment rates here are massive(27% I think) and for the average student it's really tought to find a job if he majored in something not so industry specific. A degree...
I work as a currency volatility trader and manage one of the bigger G10 blocs in London. I've been lucky enough to get responsibility early in my career. I started off managing a single currency book a few months into the job, and have steadily been granted more responsibility to where I am...
I recently received an message to a comment I made how I was able to break into IB as intern and would like to provide a nice update to where I am in my career.
Original Story from April...
Hey folks, just wondering what the general notion is about doing a summer internship in Africa. Have some family connections and was offered a SA position at a large African Bank while I visit family this summer. I feel like working here will put a different perspective of experience in my resume...
My younger brother got into both of these as an international student. Just wondering what the views were on here on these two schools specifically on recruiting. He wants to be open to both IBD and S&T (Sales).
The coursework for IE Spain seems more quantitative than Rochester, with the...
I would be interviewing for junior role in a securitization buy side firm. This is the role:
We are looking for a junior guy...booking trades....monitoring our portfolio of investments...working with the trustees....providing investor reporting stats. It is not glamourous...but there is room to...
Hi Everyone,
Which school will you choose for IB? According to the employment report, it seems that most of the BB firms recruit on campus at both schools. However, Darden seems to have more people getting in Wall Street (percentage-wise). While I believe Ross has stronger connections and larger...
Google glass is doomed to fail because it's simply just not a "cool" product, see below for a particularly funny site:
http://whitemenwearinggoogleglass.tumblr.com
I remember when the very first iPhone came out (I got one right when it came out). I would take that thing to a...
I was writing an email to a fellow monkey who is about to start as a banking analyst in the summer. It's been a little over 5 yrs now since I was a wee young first-year analyst in restructuring for one of the Moelis/Houlihan/Evercore type firms (I call them the firms where most people will...
Very interested in learning more about this group. Just finished sophomore year at a target university interning in a Procurement group for a Global F50.
If anybody has experience or information, please share. Much...
Quick question about data tables (what if analysis - > data table)
I want to create a separate tab with all the sensitivity tables necessary for the analysis I'm conducting. However the variables for the table are on different sheets, some might be on Assumptions, others in the IS. I...
I'm look for some opinions on what people think is an appropriate compensation structure for managing a portfolio for a family member.
Some background, I have 3 years front office experience with a multi-billion asset manager. In addition, I have been actively managing a reasonable sized...
I have the March 2013 L1 & L2 notes from upper mark for sale. Includes the formula sheets as well. L1 is still new in the wrapper and L2 is slightly used. prefer local dealing, but willing to ship. make me an offer for either or both. Upper mark was excellent, i passed both exams first time...
I was writing an email to a fellow monkey who is about to start as a banking analyst in the summer. It's been a little over 5 yrs now since I was a wee young first-year analyst in restructuring for one of the Moelis/Houlihan/Evercore type firms (I call them the firms where most people will...
This is the reaction any analyst who has ever worked in banking has when you say you want to leave banking for business school then come back as a post b school associate...
<img src="http://epicpinterestfail.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/how-i-met-your-mother-barney-why.gif"...
I get a ton of emails and answer a ton of posts asking similar questions so I thought I would answer the most common ones I get here and allow others to post their questions so everyone can see them and the subsequent answers. Hope this helps.
<strong>Summer Analyst...
I work as a currency volatility trader and manage one of the bigger G10 blocs in London. I've been lucky enough to get responsibility early in my career. I started off managing a single currency book a few months into the job, and have steadily been granted more responsibility to where I am...
Inspired by comments from this: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/basic-guide-ramping-up-on-a-company-with-public-information-part-1-of-3
Lets just jump in.
<strong>Technology:</strong> In this space there are really two metrics that matter the most, sales growth and EPS...
I'm currently a Private Equity Analyst in Shanghai, China. Academically, I graduated from a target school majoring in Economics and Chinese. I also spent my time at college as the president of an on-campus student organization related to Finance and Economics and a volunteer for a local...
For better or for worse, there’s a very unique feeling when everything goes completely according to plan yet nobody seems to care or notice. Such is the case with our favorite company of the moment, Tesla Motors. For those unaware, TSLA has rocketed upwards since its Q1 earnings release,...
I work as a long/short equity analyst at a large hedge fund. I've been lucky enough to be more than just a model monkey early on in my career, but have also been exposed to the stress of being measured on returns. I primarily cover consumer and TMT names. I went the typical path (target...
Fellow Primates,
We are looking for 1-2 students on each campus to help WSO in its sales efforts to student clubs/career centers, and overall promotion at your school both online and on the ground. Below is a description of the position and benefits...thanks in advance for your help! <a...
<em>Mod note: Best of Bankerella - this was originally posted 10/1/12</em>
I occasionally get PMed by people at colleges I’ve never heard of before, asking if they have a shot at IBD.
Folks, why IBD? The finance world is broad and varied, and there are a million ways to...
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