HP 12C - useful in IB or just man jewelry?

Think it's the latter. My bank gives out 12C's to all the analysts, but I've never seen anyone actually use it.

RPN is definitely faster; hp 12c is a great tool but whatever works for you; you would rather have something you know how to operate than look like an idiot fumbling around with RPN

They both mostly do the same thing, but hp12c is faster if used properly and a reliable signalling mechanism for being pro. I love my hp12c so much, I carry it around like a badge of honor.

I carry an HP 12C solely for the benefit of my MDs. I always used my graphing calculator in school and work because it's easier and familiar. Then one day an MD asked me for a calculator, i handed him my TI-83 and he started punching violently at the keys before handing it back to me and saying wtf is this? Since that day i've carried one in my briefcase and have learned to do rudimentary calculations with it.

All the senior bankers in my office carry it around and use it during meetings and calls, mainly to calculate rates/yields on the fly. I got one for free but I don't use it. I actually asked them to buy me a simple calculator for the quick calculations.

HP has newer and better financial calculators out now

OK, sounds like I should learn Reverse Polish Notation so I can keep climbing the greasy pole.

I crossed the man jewelry line years ago when I started wearing french cuffed shirts with cuff links, so I'm not worried about burning up time/resources learning a new skill with little practical application for the sake of career development.

I think the Leveraged Sell Out blog put it best regarding the HP 12C:

To be fair, though, there is one redeeming aspect of the CFAs—one characteristic that is actually legit, the calculator. One of the two calculators permitted to be used on the CFAs is the HP 12C, and apart from the fact that its name sounds like some highly involved consulting framework, it is the epitome of Banker technology. The 12C embodies everything about us—elegant, bold, somehow clinging on to life in a world that no longer needs it. One look at its brushed plastic exterior and you think: “Damn, this thing is pro.”

http://www.leveragedsellout.com/2008/07/chartered-financial-banalyst/

@bootsnapper - great link.

OK, I was extra-observational in meetings today and noticed a few things: - When people brought calculators to meeting (around 20% of meeting attendees), it was always a HP12C (smart phones not included) - Calculators were prominently thrown on top of paperwork - Calculators were not used

This is reinforcing my view that the HP12C is a semiotic device only. This steels my resolve to learn RPN. I would take the device and leisurely toss it on my paperwork, but I fear the occasion may arise to actually use it and my posturing would be exposed. So I have no choice other than to learn RPN.

I have printed out the 31 page HP cheatsheet for the HP12C (seriously, 31 page "cheatsheet"?) and will start working on this. Tomorrow.

use whichever gets you to the right answer quickly. screwing up numbers as a junior banker = fail, no matter what calculator you use

if you use 12C and get numbers wrong, will look like you're trying too hard at best, or incompetent and out of place (at worst - an image of a young, awkward boy wearing his dad's suit in mind when thinking of an analyst fumbling with a 12C and F'ing up.. Just wouldn't get too slick..

FYI - I use a 12C, but know how to use, which is admittedly pretty damn easy to pick up if you spend a bit of time with it

It's a paper weight for meetings, carried by all junior bankers and the nerdy senior bankers.

I haven't gotten an HP-12C yet, but I'm definitely going to get one and use it for my CFA exam (years away from now). I've only been learning RPN for a short amount of time and I've been making fewer mistakes with it than with my normal calculator (I've got an RPN calculator on my phone).

I find that it makes life easier to use when I'm faced with equations like (5-3)/(5*4) since there's no need to use a 2nd key with parentheses. I'm still earning my bachelor's degree in Financial Economics, so I understand that I'm coming off as some dumb kid who doesn't know what he's talking about. But I at least am wanting to get myself in there.

If you post this on a CFA forum,about 3/5 times a fight will start towards what the best calculator is, regardless of the question asked.

Now that I gave you that random piece of info, would you really use any calculator over excel? I can't really see a practical use other than it being easier to open your desk quicker than the excel program.

HOWEVER the calculator is useful if you're in a meeting or some scenario where excel isn't available. At your desk, I'm going to have to say man jewelry.