M&A questions from the new guy......
What kind of work does the Mergers and Acquistions group do?
I know the title is somewhat seff explanatory, but what is it they actually do?
What are their hours?
Is the bonus on par with the rest of the IB Groups ?
How is this group viewed by other bankers?
Is this a division of corporate finance or is it within the Ibanking group?
Is it possible to do a summer intern in the M&A group?
Most of the big 4 have Transaction services groups that provide M&A services. Is this a "back door" to lateral into M&A as an analyst or return post MBA at the associate level?
Are the big 4 M&A groups on par with BB or or larger firm with strong IB divisions? or is it viewed along the lines of middle market or M&A at a boutique( if it exists at the boutique level)
Are the hours at the big 4 comparable? (I know the pay is not)
Is it a realistic possibilty to get into M&A post MBA without any banking experience? I ask b/c I frequently read here that breaking into some banking fields, even after an MBA is diffucult
Does it provide the most amount of quantitative work ?
What skill sets are developed in this group?
I have read frequently that they "touch" a model daily,is the exposure to model development/implementation greater than that of other groups?
What are the exit opps for this group?
I am sorry for so many questions on my first post, but I recognize that there is a great deal of collective intelligence and experince on this board and I would like to take advantage of it. I have tracked down several of the vault guides at my University library and will be reading them after finals.
I am a sophmore at a non target school in Dallas. This is not one of those what are my chances questions.... I believe that if you want something bad enough, you can get it. But I am intrested in finance and I am begining my due dillengce.
Thank you for help, it is appreciated.
bump
yes pay is same yes you model more, becuase the industry guys just write about companies, put together neato graphs, while the quant stuff comes from the product guys exit opps are way better from the product side, unless you're at a generalist pool like UBS LA and GS.
thanks... I know that b/c I am from a non target school I was considering doing transaction services at the big 4 first and then moving to a BB or Ibank post mba as an associate. Does this happen?
And what do you mean by "product side"?
thanks for your help
a target MBA will help you get in with the right pre-mba experience. No guarantees though. However if the market stays how it is then you should have no problem.
product side = products: M&A, LevFin, etc.
hours the same as regular Ibanking?
so yes.
i know it's easier to just post, but doing your legwork with more understanding will generate better answers to your posts.
3rdyear, I'm curious, are you on the west coast?
I apprecaite your responses, but I have no idea where to start..... Which will get me the usual answer here, network with alumns....
I am at the begining of my process and know that I don't know. I hoped that posting here would give me a starting point for further research. I feel like I have so many questions but I don't know what to ask and who to ask them to. I did a google search and found this place.
I read posts here frequenlty about," I have a gpa of X.XX and go to blah blah university, non target, with good ec's what are my chances......" Or," how much will I be making/ can I make it to pe/vc/hf from xyz/" etc....
I didn't want to be that guy......so I lurked for a while and hoped what I wanted to know would pop up at some point, that maybe somebody else would ask the questions I was intrested in knowing.....no such luck. So I did a search through the past month worth of posts and key word searches also; I still did not find much in the way of what was looking for, so to my chagrin I became that guy that makes a post with a bunch of questions that the professioanls here proably view as basic. I know for the people here this is proably the 101'st time they have had to answer these kind of questions and for that I am sorry. I dug around here and found what I could and decided to ask about what I couldn't, or just neede some clarfication with.
I have located the local chapter of the National black MBA assocation as well as several other professioanl organizations with local chapters and plan to start newtworking there. There is also a professor or two at school that has been helping somewhat.... but not much. And the school Alumni assocation is rather helpful, but not that many people from my school are in top tier finance. So again, before I approach them, I want to know a few things to be able to display that I have at least a basic understanding of what they do.
Before I go and begin talking to professionals face to face, I wanted to be armed with some info. Not just asking question after question showing that I don't my a$$hole from my elbow. The more I can pick up in places like this the better equipped I will be when I begin meeting professionals in the industry.
I know that I will not gain a total understanding of the Ibanking industry here, but I was hoping to get something.... and for the record I have.
So anything you, or anyone here can do to answer a few questions and get me going in a better direction for research, tips on networking, resume prep, ANYTHING, would be appreciated.
I wish someone told me what I'm about to tell you, so I'd at least give you credit for reaching out.
Let me be straight with you, no B.S. ibanking inteviews: It's a dog eat dog world, and you may never get a second or third chance if you fail to nail the first round interview.
In a final round onsite interview (with 3.5+ GPA's, best schools, REAL HUSTLERS, smart as hell, etc) there are typically over 30 - 50 candidates competing for as few as 10 spots or less. So you have no room for errors and mistakes on the "technical" side.
In this business, no one cares about you and no one is going to do your homework for you. Even if you get an interview your lack of understanding of the business will show and it will haunt you.
So, I'd suggest you do the following:
Get the vault or wet feet guides on Investment Banking and Investment Management, and study them rigorously. They are meant for self-starters, and they will help you a great deal, even if you're already well into the markets.
I'd advise that you meet industry insiders ONLY well after studying those guides and being confident with how commercial banking, Investment Banking, Investment Management & the capital markets (equity & debt) all tie together within that SPECIFIC firm. Your're going to get questions like "Why FSG, Lev.Fin, or our industry coverage" and you better have a SOLID answer, or your done.
Assuming you're able to get the interview, to land an offer or to be selected for further rounds, you have to beat out all the candidates out there by showing a deep understanding of the financial statements, current market, and where the market is going in terms of M&A and why. Beating out other strong candidates takes the demonstration of a keen interest in I-Banking by displaying a deep knowledge of the business, macro & micro economic variables, and a unique style, that sets you apart.
Therefore, read the wall street journal everyday, and get in the groove because I bet you your competition is well entrenched with the current market and they are probably currently perfecting their delivery and personality skills.
So by all means this BOARD or any other one for that matter is not a guide, nor a class, and if I were you I'd study hard and come back with specific questions ONLY after studying those guides. Competition on the street is DARN fierce, the bar is set high, and the only way in is to prepare and nail that interview in a friendly, confident, yet humble fashion.
If you over-prepare and do well in the inteviews the only problem you'll have is in selecting which firm to choose, and that's a really good problem to have.
If you want to take this discussion off the board PM me.
Goodluck Buddy!
Thanks for your response, Thad, I really apprecaite it. Once I get done with finals and actually have a few minutes to read the guides I ordered, I will come back and PM you you some follow up questions....Thanks again
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