MM Analysts? Tell me how you survived!

*Cringe

Associate at a platform for almost a year.

It's been ups and downs, enjoying the ride - but sometimes still feeling clueless and just scratching my head.

PM is great, we get along, talk every minute or so to chat ideas but honestly he is just not the type that teaches a lot of hands-on stuffs / also a huge age gap and no middle person on the team.

Most of the little things I just pick up when I'm out in meetings and meet other industry people / hang out after work.

Not many people here at my firm is fresh from m&a (most from ER or M&A but years more than me under the belt when joined so I was never able to find someone who was really really in my shoes before)

How did you get better? When / what was the moment you felt like oh shit I'm actually pretty good at this gig?

15 Comments
 

I'm in the same situation. Analyst at a large platform, my PM is the double of my age and nobody between us. 

But this is nothing compared to the lack of teaching skill. 

This industry really need to work on this. 

I guess you'll have to be patient and learn slowly then manage a small book and be lucky your first year. Looks like the typical path for being considered as a good buysider.

 
Most Helpful

I have a list of papers and books I work my way through during down time and after markets close / we're done with trading for the day. I have longer-term research projects, and I begin the day with my own standup (similar to what tech teams do) where I write down what I accomplished the previous day, my goals for the current day, and any blockers. This way if I manage to finish what's on my list, I keep myself at that and use extra time for self learning new things. MMs really expect you to be someone that's self-motivated to seek and learn. Others should guide you and keep you from wasting time but it's not their job to teach you with hand holding. Ask questions about what you're learning when it feels appropriate.

 

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