IB in Argentina

Hi guys, I wanted to make this post to share some thoughts for the junior folks who want to break into IB in Argentina since all the information on WSO is focused on US and UK. I will share some information and tips from my perspective, hope you find it useful. I wrote this almost a year ago but for some reason I've never posted it.

If you are on this forum, I will assume that you have basic knowledge of what IB is about, and you are familiar with certain terms. If not, I would highly recommend you take a look at other posts in WSO.

Education

In Argentina, there isn't such a thing as target, semi-target, and non-target. But you will find that most of the people working in IB (especially those under-30) come from UTDT and UdeSA, so the closest thing to a target university would be those two. Banks like JPM and Citi go every year to give talks at these colleges, and there are dozens of people among their alumni working at top institutions. In a second tier, you'll find UBA, UCEMA, and ITBA, and in a third tier, UCA, UADE, Austral and National Universities  (i.e. UNC / UNR). Does this mean that if you come from other universities, your chances to break into IB are zero? Not at all, but, while not impossible, it will certainly be more difficult, and I would recommend you start thinking about pursuing a MSc in Finance at one of the top colleges (UTDT / UdeSA).

Internships

If you are attending college and have the possibility, I would recommend you start looking for internships in finance from your third year or when you have two years left before graduating. Internships are different in Argentina than in the US since you will be working 4-5 hours daily while attending classes, typically in the last or penultimate year of your degree.

If you already know you want to do IB, trying to get an internship in corporate finance or capital markets would be a clever decision. The downside: as far as I know, in Argentina, there are no part-time internships in IB. So the best you can do is to find internships in roles that give you a closer look at how the corporate finance world works. I'd say that the best option would be to land an internship at a Corporate Credit Risk department of a large bank (JPM, Citi) or a Credit Risk Agency (Moody's, S&P). Internships in corporate development at a large company would be a great option too. But if you can't make it to the places I've mentioned, any of the "Drive the Future" internship programs at JPM are a decent option since it will teach you some of the basic concepts of working at a large financial institution.

College Societies / Activities

The finance clubs at the universities are a great tool to take advantage of. If you participate in them, you will get an excuse to talk to people who are already working in the industry and invite them to activities, starting to create your own network. Also, some of the clubs (like the FCE UBA Business Club) periodically organize case competitions that would allow you to gain some exposure while also networking with fellow colleagues. Lastly, it is a great thing to have on your CV if you have no experience, so I would highly encourage you to take part in these organizations and, if your college does not have one, consider creating one.

IB Landscape in Argentina

M&A and IB activity in general in Argentina is not as active at this time and some of the largest banks have left the country (CS/UBS/Itaú/Lazard). Others do not cover Argentina or cover the country with a team based in the US with no representation on-site.

BofA, GS, and JPM are the only three bulge brackets with teams on-site. BofA and GS have both teams dedicated to Argentina (3-4 Analyst/Associate each). BofA and GS typically recruit once a year or every two years, and you will typically be hired as a full-time intern and spend one year in that position before becoming an analyst. JPM is quite different, they have 2-3 juniors in Argentina that covers LatAm and they tend to hire from their CRG team (which is a specialized team that provides support in research and pitches to bankers). Citi is a whole different case: while it has a large presence in Argentina for corporate and commercial banking, the IB coverage and capital markets teams are based in NY. Other bulge brackets (MS, DB) have a limited presence in Argentina with only 1-2 senior officers and the rest of the team based in NY. Santander, while not a bulge bracket, has a corporate finance department that usually works on MM deals. The same occurs with Rabobank, which has a small corporate finance department that focuses mostly on agro.

Then we have the mid-market boutiques, firms with 15 or fewer employees that work on MM deals. Most of them are led by former heads of banks that left the country or people who gained experience abroad and returned to Argentina. These places are great to start working as some of them will hire you with little to no experience and will give you the opportunity to gain some deal exposure, and the hours will be significantly better than in bulge brackets. The most well-known are Columbus (now part of VALO), Finanzas y Gestión, Infupa, and Fenix. In 2022, former heads of UBS started a new project called Southern Cone Partners, and from what I've seen they are pretty active on deal flow and recruiting. I've heard that some former heads of Citi and LAZ are also starting new regional projects, but I still don't have all the information to share. Some other names with less presence are Buenos Aires Capital Partners, KBR, Horizon Partners, Metro Capital and the Chilean boutique Landmark. Some Alycs are currently building corporate finance teams (Adcap, First) and there are also some Big Four firms (PwC, Deloitte, EY) with m&a and valuation departments that could be a good choice for starting to gain deal experience.

The Recruiting Process

Start preparing a strong CV designed for IB. If you haven't done it yet, look for an IB resume template on Google—I've personally seen tons of CVs done with Canvas, with many colors or photos that are instantly disregarded. Include only the experience that is relevant to the position and only include your high school if you think it could add some extra points (bilingual schools or university-affiliated high schools). Do not lie on your resume. If you are in trade support at JPM's hub, do not put "Corporate & Investment Banking Analyst" or something like that because the recruiter will discard your CV. Include your GPA, even if you think it is low.

Leverage your connections to land the interviews. Some of these processes won't be posted, and you won't find them on LinkedIn. Try to talk to as many people as possible without being annoying. Send requests through LinkedIn and respectfully ask for a 10-minute call to get to know each other. Before doing so, make sure you've done your homework and that you fully understand what IB is about and what the firm is doing in Argentina. Do not send the same message to everyone, especially those working at the same firm. Do not contact seniors (VP or above).

Interviews at bulge brackets will be pretty similar to what you've read on this forum (walk me through a DCF, explain how a $10 increase in depreciation would affect the financial statements, etc.). Apart from that, I would suggest you study the latest trends in the Argentinian market, be aware of recent developments of the largest Argentinian companies (think of MercadoLibre, YPF, Techint, etc.), and prepare one or two companies for the "pitch me a stock" question. Try to do your own research on recent deals the firm you are applying to has done in the country, and if the information is available, study the price/multiples paid and the details of the deal.

Some Things You Can Do Meanwhile

If you didn't land a job in IB right out of university, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of being hired:

• Gain some modeling experience in related positions. Think about equity research (CRISIL, local banks, ALyCs), corporate development at large companies (MercadoLibre, Globant, Despegar, Telecom, and essentially any of the large cap corporations), Corporate Credit Risk, or Capital Markets (local banks, ALyCs).
• Related to point 1, if you have the chance to choose between one of the roles mentioned above or a middle office or back office role at a large bank (most cases will be JPM), pick the first one, even though you'll have higher compensation and better benefits in the MO or BO role. The reason is simple: only at JPM there are roughly 3,000 BO and MO employees, and you will spend most of your time inputting data into Excel. It won't make you any more special as a candidate. Instead, a candidate who knows how to model and has already covered some of the Argentinian companies would be more employable for IB.
• Improve your English. Aim for an advanced level. If you already have it, start learning Portuguese.
• Network, network, network. I’ve already said it, but it is a crucial part of the process. Talk to your college's alumni or professors working on the teams you'd like to interview with. Ask for a coffee chat or a 10-minute call.
• Master Excel and PowerPoint. There are tons of free resources on the internet.
• Consider pursuing a MSc in Finance at some of the top recognized colleges.

 I will leave my DMs open for any further questions.