EchoTrade Proprietary Equity Trader - worth accepting offer?

Investor1 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:38:37 -0400

Have an offer with these guys. They have offices in downtown Manhattan, and a few other places around the country (Boca Raton, Florida) etc.

They have a structured training program and the guy said about 50% of the incoming hires remain after about a year.

The kicker: NO SALARY so you must put up your OWN capital but you keep the profits.

I don't mind the risk, but just wondering if its a chop-shop where I won't learn much or if it might be a good place to start a career in trading.

Is this internship opportunity worth it? Senior deciding between BB and potentially PE

Investor1 — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:18:14 -0400

I was just called in for an interview at a smaller PE firm (the firm is legit, not a chop shop). I was deciding if this fall internship opportunity (meaning fall of this year as in right now) is worth it.

The responsibilities include:

- Perform necessary research and writing in support of the preparation of fundraising
materials for Real Estate and Hospitality Fund II
• Analyze market information, property reports, and financial performance of potential
acquisition opportunities
• Help track the performance of portfolio investments and participate in related
management meetings
• Support client assignments for financial advisory practice

The catch is the internship is for 10 weeks and unpaid except for a small bonus at the end depending on how many hours you work. The description doesn't say anything about having the opportunity to join full-time after the internship is over.

Working closely with impressive founders of PE shop?

Investor1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:26:40 -0400

I was wondering if an unpaid analyst position (intern) at a decent Middle Market PE shop where you get to work closely with the firm's founders is worth it. The firm specializes in real estate and hospitality acquisitions and is rather small. The founders have extremely impressive backgrounds (H/W/S undergrad and MBA) plus top BB IBD experience (GS TMT/MS M&A) and top private equity experience at Blackstone/Carlyle/KKR. I was thinking if nothing than for the connections and contacts you could build, it might be worth it.

Any thoughts?

Mario Gabelli's Asset Management Company vs. Top BB PWM

Investor1 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:50:41 -0400

Does anyone have any information regarding the prestige, pay, etc. regarding Mario Gabelli's Asset Management Company (now known as GAMCO Investors, formerly known as Gabelli Asset Management Company) vs. a PWM position at a top BB.

They are coming to recruit at my school (mid-west) non-target for an Institutional Sales & Marketing position. The minimum required gpa to submit a resume is a 3.5 which happens to be higher than the 3.3 gpa required by a couple of top BBs are that coming for PWM.

I was reading up on the people and they seem quite impressive. Of course, you have Mario Gabelli who is a pioneer in the Value-Investing world.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Goldman to notify Summer Analysts in NOVEMBER for certain divisions

Investor1 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:26:26 -0400

I have heard directly from a professor at my school who knows students that interned at Goldman over the summer and they said they will not hear until NOVEMBER.

Goldman is going to merge with another bank. I can't see anyway for them to continue to exist with the independent investment bank model.

Looks like the long wait just got a whole lot longer.

What in the world is going at Goldman for them to wait over 2 months to notify their summer analysts?

Morgan Stanley was originally going to buy Merrill Lynch according to CNBC

Investor1 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:43:41 -0400

It looks like Morgan Stanley perhaps made a big error in not acquiring Merrill Lynch. Even though Morgan Stanley could not examine Merrill's books in 48 hours, had Morgan Stanley acquired Merrill Lynch we probably would have seen the rise of the new number one investment bank in the world. Yes, Goldman Sachs would have been overthrown by Morgan Stanley for top investment bank.....

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26708319

Extraordinary help - 10 Banks pool $70 billion for weakened rivals

Investor1 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:34:54 -0400

CNN.com reports that 10 banks have agreed to an extraordinary deal where they will pool $70 billion for the weakened banks still ailing from the credit crisis.

http://money.cnn.com/

Barclays may bid for Lehman in a last minute rescue effort

Investor1 — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:20:56 -0400

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aa2xjRZmqdpI&refer=home

It looks as if Barclays may bid for Lehman after it originally turned its back on the failing bank earlier today.

BB blocking SA transfer to a different office for FT?

Investor1 — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 02:04:28 -0400

What happens if you just don't like the city you summered in because it is just not a financial center of any kind, lack of networking opportunities, lower pay, lack of friends and family (social life) etc. Is it possible to move to the NY office of the same firm if there is a legitimate excuse such as a family member being sick or if you just want to move to NYC because it is a better fit in terms of all the reasons mentioned above?

Do BBs usually block attempts by SAs to transfer to the NYC office for FT? Anyone have personal experience with this type of situation?

Making $2 million annually as a top BB Wealth Advisor??

Investor1 — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:21:32 -0400

I have heard from a MD at a top BB that the average annual compensation for a Private Wealth Advisor at this particular bank is $1.5 million.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't PWM supposed to be less selective and pay a lot less than IBD and S&T?

If Private Wealth Managers on average can get paid $1.5 million per year that means quite a few must be clearing the $3-4 million mark which is easily on par with senior BB MDs in IBD and S&T.

If you manage lets say $2 billion and charge high fees (basis points) is it likely that you can make in the $3-4MM range?