URGENT Need advice for friend in Public Fin-ashion

As I am sure most of you know, spreads are tight, extra tight in the case for municipal debt. That being said, my buddy gets a bonus equal to an elementary teacher collecting monetary gift cards during Christmas. He/she is in the market for dress shirts, willing to stretch the paycheck above the JC Pennys level but not considering anything an M&A banker would sport.

Also does anyone have any suggestions in terms of jackets? I recommended Barbour, but unfortunately he/she instructed me that they have no credit and cannot finance a Barbour jacket. Currently using firm wide Patagonia jacket, but has built up wear from using as hammock in central park.

Need advice not just for my friend but all those in PubFin, whose firms slapped on an IB title to coerce them into joining a seemingly middle office job. Remember 401Ks and Patreon are your best bet to reach the American Dream.

Also pls dont tell my friend to lateral, already tried JP Morgan PubFin to Tobin & Co and was ultimately unsuccessful. Its unfair that after 3 years at JPM, seniors still haven't helped my friend understand PIK interest!

 
 
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I'm trying to understand some of this. Is his job actually i-banking or not? The point of the fancy suit is to try to show the clients that you know what you're talking about and aren't desperate.

There's a reason Blankfein wears a $10 Timex. When they've already googled your net worth, you don't need to prove anything. Similarly, on the buyside, I'll regularly go to meetings with vendors like MSCI and S&P wearing khakis and a threadbare sweater. Why? Because I have what they want. (a potentially lucrative contract) They wear suits because THEIR job is to sell ME on their offering. Honestly, if you aren't selling, you don't need an expensive suit or watch. (you do need comfortable shoes that are office-acceptable though. I go with Cole Haan ZeroGrands, but try to get them in a color that's not the standard brown.)

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 
Jamie_Diamond:
I just got a pair of zero grand, great shoes!

They run annoyingly narrow, and you need to mail order the wide sizes, but otherwise I agree. A nice deal is that they'll take the refunds in the local store, making it less painful to have to do multiple go-arounds if you have wide feet. (even the wides are narrow)

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

Oh, Second comment: What's with this "he/she" BS? You're asking for a clothing recommendation, the gender is kind of important. I don't care if it's a gal with a d**k or not, it's not like I'm sleeping with them, but work clothing is gendered, so what we're talking about is highly gender-presenting dependent. I'm going to assume this person is (at least visibly) male, and is looking for a men's suit, otherwise my shoe recommendation goes out the window.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

Shirts: frequent the sale section of Charles Tyrwhitt an T.M. Lewin. The lowest I've seen them go is $30, but I think both have additional new years sales at the moment.

Jacket: I've purchased a slightly used Barbour jacket on eBay for less than 1/3 retail price. I'd recommend he look there - same recommendation applies if he's looking for some cheap shoes but can't afford Allen Edmond's.

 

I think you’re exaggerating.. buddy works at GS/MS in Pub Fin and makes almost street IB all in.. hard time believing your making that little at JPM..

Further - how on earth is pub fin a “middle officey” job? And how were they not able to lateral from a top IB to another role? Hard time believing you’re that pigeonholed that early at a top IB..

 

I really do not mean to sound ungrateful for a bonus of that size, but isn't the typical corp IB bonus more like 50-65k? When people say PubFin bonuses are a "slight haircut", I wouldn't think to the tune of ~50%, or am I missing something here? I do not mean to be intentionally obtuse.. may or may not be running on 2h of sleep right now haha

 

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