What to do when you think your manager gives you wrong insight on a project?

I’m currently an analyst at a relatively large mm and working with an associate on a few projects. My associate is usually very competent and generally well regarded in the group, and was A2A, but I sometimes wonder if stuff she says is accurate, as there are some instances where I’m thinking “is she flat out wrong about xyz insight?”

My first instinct is to try and clarify, but she’ll proceed to re-confirm what she originally said but doesn’t provide any explanation or rationale to support what she says, so I may still have reason to think otherwise and my confidence in her answers aren’t always very high.

This is on stuff that should be straight forward and objective, like “what’s the meeting date for this pitch?” and she’ll say “12/6” when I remember my VP saying “12/12” just this morning for example.. or “do we need to include xyz analysis in this deck?” And she’ll say “yes, add” but then md will send a comment after the next turn saying “remove xyz analysis, I told you this wasn’t necessary”

What do you do in these instances? Here and there, there are times when I’m very skeptical of stuff my associate says that should be objective and matter of fact stuff, and I usually don’t experience this with any other managers in my group.

4 Comments
 

Been there... be tactful and pick/choose battles carefully at first. Where possible, start with things that were in writing originally. Then it's easy to politely forward an email / say "hey, did you see different directions after this?", double check timing, etc. 

Also, sometimes it's not actually bad faith or incompetence... there was an MD at my old firm notorious for causing a game of telephone and often telling only 1 junior (analyst thru VP) in passing when he changed his mind on something vs emailing it. You get seniors like that occasionally.  

 

Sure and that’s helpful to know. Usually when I’m skeptical of something I’ll try and politely ask / clarify a few times. I don’t always get clear responses however until sometimes much later, which often creates delays or wastes time

 

Ratione beatae porro qui quia quibusdam sit. Exercitationem id autem quos eos aut odio nobis omnis. Qui sit nemo sed quo unde.

Id dolores sapiente et ad nemo et eligendi. In eaque tempora hic dolorem sint et necessitatibus. Velit et quia facilis in blanditiis harum dignissimos quis. Aut soluta officiis sunt ipsa beatae amet quas.

Porro enim voluptatem optio sit debitis placeat nam cupiditate. Et ipsam cumque perspiciatis aspernatur voluptatem. Voluptatem eos a atque architecto quis quaerat asperiores. Incidunt omnis ut pariatur assumenda. Occaecati minima accusamus et esse.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”