Second round superday at BB... please help someone without a finance background
I'm 2 years out of law school working as an associate at a law firm. I was interested in banking, and sent out a few resumes at banks in my city (LA). One BB responded well and has asked me to participate in a superday for an analyst position in wealth management. I was somewhat surprised, but I'm still unsure whether I want to risk a career move until I really explore what being an analyst would mean for my future. I am currently very unhappy with the long hours and stressful lifestyle as an associate. Looking for something with better long term quality of life that pays well.
This seems like a good place to ask some questions I have:
Is it unusual for an analyst to have almost no finance background? I have legal banking experience, but no quant skills at all.
If I were hired, would I be stuck basically making sales? I would rather not switch careers if that is the case. Some posts I have read claim that many analysts are expected to make cold calls etc. Is that true of a BB?
What is the quality of life like for an analyst 2-3 years down the road, and what can I expect in terms of remaining at the bank long term? I'm unfamiliar with the attrition rate at this job.
I really appreciate any help with this. Thanks in advance.
Wealth Management? Given your background, I imagine that they are looking at you as a potential relationships guy, as opposed to someone dealing with actual asset allocation / investment decisions. If you don't want to be stuck making sales, well... you might want to stay in law.
Since you're a lawyer, you wont be a traditional analyst dude there. you'll be the guy who works in private banking and helps clients set up trusts and estates and some tax law stuff ex gratia after they invest with the firm
Since you mentioned you are interested in banking, please realize that wealth management has very little to do with IB. The BB most likely reached out to you because they are interested in your law background, which is always a plus when dealing with trusts and estates for their ultra high net worth clients. You will be mostly in a client relationship role given your non-finance background, so most of the work will revolve around babysitting rich folk who need assurance when the markets take a dive.
If this was JP Morgan's Private Banking division in Century City, I would possibly consider it... They have a pretty structured program and are aggressively growing that team. Otherwise, if its UBS/BAML or some crap, don't even bother, stick with law and you'll thank me later.
Appreciate the insights. BackOfficeLove, can you elaborate on your statement about UBS/BAML? It is with one. Does it make a difference to know that I am closely connected to a MD with 2bn in managed funds?
UBS and BAML generally hand out analyst/intern positions like candy. These positions often have extremely high turnover, and most of what you will be doing is sales work. Sometimes they will even use you for your personal connections and then harass the shit out of your friends/family to invest in their products. I've had several unhappy friends who have been lured into UBS/BAML wealth management - none of them have remained after 3 years.
Analyst positions will tend to have a salary base and they will gradually shift you towards a pure commission pay scale - hence a lot of pressure to bring in business. If your mom and dad aren't the country club/yacht party types, it is very hard to survive in this industry.
IMO, you will be taking a HUGE step back as a law associate -> PWM analyst. UBS/BAML also don't have very structured programs, unlike JPM which does a decent job in training their analysts. At your level I would push for at least an associate position if you were really serious enough about breaking into PWM.
In regards to the close MD connection, well yeah that helps your career no doubt, but $2B AUM for a wealth management firm is peanuts. This is going to be a regional branch and there are dozens of these UBS/BAML offices everywhere. Hope this helps, if I were you I would not even consider the analyst position unless you absolutely dreaded law and wanted to hang yourself at work... This move is pretty close to career suicide. (Okay exaggerating, but still pretty bad)
Thanks BOL. I will likely still go through the interview and see where it leads. Its is in the DTLA office. The commission element is worrying to me, but I realize this would be a step down in many respects even if there is little sales involved. You might be unfamiliar with life as an associate, but I assure you, hanging oneself is not out of the question at 6pm on a Saturday night in the office :P. If I could parlay this into an analyst position or maybe take an MBA at night from UCLA or USC, that might make a 2 year stint tolerable. If it really is a glorified sales position though, I'm going to drop the whole idea.
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