Public Finance Investment Banking Information
I am an incoming MBA candidate (M7) looking for more information on public finance (PF) investment banking. I am interested in government, finance, and the public sector, so it seems like a good fit for me. However, you never know until you ask and gather more information. I have searched the internet for some information, in addition to reading and exploring previous wso posts on this matter. But I felt as if inquiring further would not necessarily be a bad idea for the community and for my own use. I am looking for answers from those who have completed an internship at a BB in PF and/ or has been in this coverage group at a BB. My questions are as follows: 1) why did you go into PF, 2) how was recruiting different or unique, 3) why did you choose the bank you did, 4) what is the culture in PF at your bank and at other banks if you happen to know from personal connections or experiences, 5) what is the day-to-day like, 6) please go into detail about your WLB, typical work week in terms of hours, weekend work, and the high range in terms of hours for a bad week- I have read PF has better hours but less pay, 7) what connections and clients do you get to interact with, 8) what is a typical project worked on and what is the most fascinating/ "coolest" project you have worked on, 9) who are the BB leaders in PF, 10) are there (good/ important) regional offices in this role or is most PF done in NYC, and 11) how does the pay compare in terms of base salary and bonus from associate onward. The reason why I ask question 11 is because I have been given conflicting information on the pay disparity across investment banking and as you get promoted. For clarification, I am not looking to lateral into other finance positions. I would be making this a career or a stepping stone to a government position. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. I sincerely appreciate it.
1. I had family in the business, that’s what initially piqued my interest. I read the SIFMA book and found it fascinating. I like the tangible nature of many of the financings e.g. a new school, hospital tower.
2. Recruiting is different, it’s highly firm dependent. Some want a good sense of bond math, others are fit focused.
3. For me it was strong cultural fit, I really enjoyed the people I interviewed with and they had a long term plan for growth that included me. I felt and still feel that it offers me more growth potential than anywhere else.
4. It varies, ours is a bit wonkish and very collegial. I love it, people really get into policy and politics. People cover for one another if somebody is sick, there’s a recognition that we are in this together. Other firms are hyper political and cutthroat. If you’ve seen one firm, you’ve seen one firm.
5. It varies, but can be thought of in three buckets: pitching, RFP responses and execution. We cover issuers and to prep for a meeting we have to build out a deck, we cover the market, some case studies, relevant news, refunding analyses and ideas. For RFPs the questions vary from explain how you’d market our bonds to how many similar deals have you done in the last 2 years. Sometimes the questions are thought provoking, often it’s just qualifications related. Execution is a mix of project management, reading and commenting on legal documents, running or reviewing the numbers in DBC.
6. I’m at a MM, I’d say I average 55 hours a week, weekend work is rare, My worst stretch was 2 weeks with multiple presentations and an RFP all coming due at once with zero notice, I was working until 11-1 every day with no days off. I’ve only had one other similarly bad period.
7. A mix of cities, authorities, districts, counties, school districts and states. Clients are usually CFOs, treasurers or directors of finance. I also work with bond counsel, underwriters counsel and municipal advisors.
8. Typical is a GO bond for a city, coolest would probably be too identifiable.
9. Pretty much any BB with a PF presence is strong, UBS is weaker and houses PF in wealth management, WF is roughly on par, some minority and woman owned firms like Siebert and Loop are comparable to BBs.
10. Regional coverage is important, lots of RFPs ask is there a presence I the issuer’s city or state. It’s firm dependent, for instance some may have regional coverage models especially for general govies, but have industry coverage (e.g. healthcare, power/utility, housing) at HQ.
11. My base is the same as my peers in traditional IB, my bonus is smaller.