Sagent Advisors Interview Questions

36 total interview insight submissions

Interview Experience (95%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.9
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (94%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (89%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

73%
  • 0%
  • 20%
  • 40%
  • 60%
  • 80%
  • 100%
  • 10%
  • 30%
  • 50%
  • 70%
  • 90%

Interviews at Sagent Advisors

YearPositionLocationGroup/DivisionExperienceDifficulty
2018Summer AnalystChicagoInvestment BankingPositiveAverage
2018AnalystNew YorkGeneralistNeutralAverage
2017SA Sagent AdvisorsNew YorkInvestment BankingNeutralAverage
2016Investment Banking Summer AnalystNew YorkInvestment BankingNeutralAverage
2016Summer IBD AnalystNew YorkInvestment BankingNeutralEasy
2016Summer AnalystNew YorkInvestment BankingNeutralEasy
2015Summer AnalystNew YorkGeneralistVery PositiveAverage
2015Investment Banking AnalystNew YorkInvestment BankingVery PositiveAverage
2012AnalystNew YorkGeneralistNeutralEasy
2014AnalystNew YorkMergers and AcquisitionsVery PositiveAverage

Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: September 2018 Date Submitted: Oct 03, 2018

Application

1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview

Interview

First round interview was on campus which was entirely technical and the superday was in Chicago which was entirely behavioral

Interview Questions

During the interview, I was asked, "Can you use EV/Gross Profit as a valuation metric in a comparable company analysis?
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: September 2018 Date Submitted: Sep 25, 2018

Application

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

First round on-campus interview 1 on 1 with almost all technical questions. The next round was a superday consisting of 5 1 on 1 interviews with bankers of different ranks.

Interview Questions

Walk me through your resume. What is an LBO? Tell me about two mergers/acquisitions that you have been following? How do the three financial statements interact with each other? What is the most prevalent technology trend you have noticed? Walk me through a DCF. What would be an appropriate Debt/EBITDA ratio to use in an LBO for a not so successful company? Walk me through each line in the Income Statement. What happens when Accounts Receivable increases? What happens when Accounts Payable increases?
Sample Answer

SA Sagent Advisors Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: September 2017 Date Submitted: Oct 17, 2017

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

I was able to go through the resume drop at my target school to receive a preliminary phone screen interview with Sagent Advisors, which was basically only technicals to see whether I would advance. Simple DCF, Accounting questions. Total, 15 mins.

Interview Questions

The most difficult question asked was when the interviewer, a first year analyst, asked me to run through all of the individual line items that could possibly be on an income statement. I was able to name most of them and had the general sections correct, but I had a sense he wanted this memorized, which I felt was not absolutely fair considering the real work is about interpretation rather memorization. Overall, the accounting questions were the most difficult in my opinion. Valuation stuff was easier.
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: October 2016 Date Submitted: Dec 08, 2016

Application

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

On-campus recruiting. First interview was with an associate. After my quick run-through of my resume, he started firing common technical questions at me. Then, he asked a few behavioral questions that were also pretty common. For the superday, it was almost all behavioral with an MD and a VP.

Interview Questions

One superday question was about the gordon growth method, but it was phrased in a very different way such that you had to remember what you learned in your corporate finance class about annuities and perpetuities. The first question was a perpetuity question regarding what would happen if you had an investment of $100 that was held into perpetuity; he then gave the discount rate and asked me to tell him what the value of that $100 investment would be if the discount rate was 10%. The follow-up question was regarding a growth rate to the perpetuity.
Sample Answer

Summer IBD Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: November 2016 Date Submitted: Nov 07, 2016

Application

1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Personality Test

Interview

Applied through on campus recruiting resume drop. Emailed back about in-person first round interview

Interview Questions

What is the difference between reported EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

If I were to sell a chair for $50 that cost me $30, walk me through the impact on 2 years of financial statements

Walk me through a DCF/LBO

Connect the 3 financial statements

Why do leveraged buyouts benefit the firm even though they are paying interest on a their financing structure

Value the Pizza Store on [enter name of main street on campus here]

Why Investment Banking

Why Sagent

Where do you see yourself in five years?
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: October 2016 Date Submitted: Oct 28, 2016

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

1 preliminary phone interview, all accounting and valuation questions. Things ranged from very basic to pure definitions.

Interview Questions

What is operating leverage? What questions do you have for me? What is WACC? What's a DCF? What are the three valuations? What is depreciation? Where do you find it? How do you get to unlevered free cash flow, and why do we use unlevered over levered? What are the different types of beta? And then a couple behavioral questions about resume, tell me about yourself, figuring out what your extracurriculars are like, and things like that. Also asked about why Sagent, and why you would be interested in this firm over others.
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

Declined Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: 2015 Date Submitted: Dec 01, 2015

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview

Interview

The whole process, from phone screen to superday, took less than a week. I had a phone screen on Monday, followed by two on-campus one-on-one interviews on Wednesday, and then a 3-interview superday in NYC on Friday. Got the offer the following Monday.

Interview Questions

Suppose we're in an economic downturn, affecting all industries and companies. Given a random company, what do you expect would happen to its WACC, in broad terms?
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: September 2015 Date Submitted: Oct 05, 2015

Application

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

Very straight forward, consisting of an on-campus interview, after which candidates were notified if they made it to the final round, which was held the next day. Both interviews were with different employees, one principal and one analyst.

Interview Questions

If a company has revenues of 50 and COGS of 20, with an EBITDA margin of 40%, whats Net Income, and further note that 50% of said Net Income is paid out in dividends?
Net Income = 50 * 40% = 20 - (20 * 50%) = 10
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in New York

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

College / University / On Campus Recruiting

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: September 2012 Date Submitted: May 08, 2015

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Drug Test
Background Check

Interview

On campus interviews, followed by a super day and offer

Interview Questions

Why would you fit well in a small team, why MM, why us, basic technicals
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous employee in New York

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Other

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: April 2014 Date Submitted: Mar 24, 2015

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test

Interview

Initial phone screen with a senior analyst or associate to test basic knowledge of finance and accounting. Modeling test and 4-5 one-on-one interviews with VP level and above.

Interview Questions

Fit is important - be sure to know your background and articulate why you are in it for the long term.
Modeling test is simple LBO in 2 hours.
Emphasized desire to stay in banking long-term.
Know basic LBO skills and practice modeling under time pressure.
Sample Answer