Why are product groups so lazy?
Why are product groups so lazy? Why are they so slow with their pages and why aren't they able to handle their own basic admin stuff? ie CRM, VDR etc
Trending Content - Investment Banking Forum
| +197 | Americas M&A League Table Q2 Updated | 79 | 3h |
| +131 | Restructuring: Anti-climactic Experience | 34 | 1d |
| +102 | IB Net Worth / Savings Check | 49 | 25m |
| +91 | Woman who emptied Knicks trashcan on street then stole it was DEI exec, worked at JPMorgan Chase | 24 | 13h |
| +80 | Stop sleeping on UBS - it’s pretty good | 26 | 2h |
| +52 | 2026 VAULT PRESTIGE RANKINGS | 29 | 1d |
| +39 | AI + Financial Modelling | 12 | 1d |
| +30 | Hardest interview experiences? | 16 | 23h |
| +28 | Summer before college | 17 | 13h |
| +26 | Current State of UBS in North America | 8 | 2d |
Career Resources
Because CRM and VDR is coverage responsibility?
But sir. I am the coverage team. Those peasants in the product groups need to be doing my work for me. Why else bring them in?
Because half the time the product group can sniff test that your “extremely urgent and important meeting” that you looped product into 2 days before your meeting while knowing about it for a month is 1) not actionable and 2) your MD is throwing shit at the wall and creating 10,000 pages at a client where his best relationship is the Treasurer’s sister to justify that he has no relationships to actually bring in a deal If a situation is actionable, they’ll be all over it and more likely than not, be the ones who tell your MD to pitch the deal due to setup from a targeting perspective Hope that helps Source: Me, having experience in product and IBD
You also miss the point when a product deal pops up and the product seniors are desperately begging for massive valuation and positioning work bc they get paid off the coverage teams.
You had me until the last part.
Definitely a true statement that product teams tend to be “overly optimistic”, to use a euphemism. However, product doesn’t get paid unless a deal gets done. I would argue that while the optimism may sometimes be overblown, if you are too bullish on valuation for an equity deal or sizing / pricing on a bond deal and the deal has to be pulled, product gets paid how much? $0. They push until the limit to find optimal execution - financial brinksmanship, to use a political comparison if you will.
Why did you have me until the last part? Because it’s nonsense, and you know it. Who does the product targeting (equity for ECM or new issue / refi for DCM)? Product. They are identifying the “most actionable” deals as the market and its dynamic change daily. Liquidity? Tell me one coverage banker that knows what a stocks liquidity is, let alone how that impacts sizing and execution considerations for a follow on equity offering. The yield curve? Tell me one coverage banker that knows how the yield curve (and how the market is pricing it to change) will impact liability management which in a high rate environment is like what 95% of mega caps are focused on.
Coverage is invaluable to understand the business, the competitive landscape, and valuation. In terms of actually doing a capital markets deal, I don’t know a single banker that knows their head from their ass outside of how it will impact EV and the typical “this will fortify the balance sheet” empty talking point.
I have been in both seats. Neither would be able to do their job without the other. If you’re referring to the 1% of bankers that provide true alpha via complex $30bn M&A deals, then sure, those guys and girls are a different breed. But I don’t think that’s who you’re referring to.
Cheers
Product groups are extremely thinly staffed compared to coverage. Main focus is transaction execution for live deals / active mandates. This is why a lot of the things that come our way that aren’t important / not actionable we ask coverage to do it.
I am in a product group and cover 2 industry verticals which equates to something like 200+ clients. No way would it be possible to satisfy every question / request from coverage.
why are coverage groups so bad at modeling
Product groups lazy? You sure your coverage group isn't lazy?
At my bank some of the product groups are lazy and some aren’t. M&A - definitely not lazy. ECM - lazy. LevFin - sometimes lazy, sometimes not
Classic product group fire drill: Mediocre Coverage MD asks his team to reach out to every product group to put together a section on what a potential deal and the associated execution would look like right before a meeting that’s been on the books for months. You end up having to scramble to put your section together for a transaction you know isn’t viable. If you even get invited to the meeting, Mediocre Coverage MD pulls out his 100 pg pitch, talks the whole time about his lame “thoughtful and accretive” M&A ideas that the client has probably heard a million times, then glosses over the product sections the client isn’t interested in anyways. No one even looks at your teams pages. Mediocre coverage RMs love to offer up a menu of options just to see what sticks because they are not even attempting to understand their clients needs.
Repudiandae sequi et vel. Quisquam excepturi possimus quisquam ut. Voluptas excepturi voluptatum est. Aliquam consequuntur rerum tenetur sed earum incidunt.
Quam consequatur et est magni. Quos facere possimus porro autem. Exercitationem sit provident omnis voluptates. Quia exercitationem iste ut sequi voluptas aut dolores aut. Culpa maiores eveniet enim quos voluptatem.
Exercitationem nihil et qui. Aut et ipsa sed deserunt maiores debitis atque. Aut sint sed qui itaque esse. Non et et aut et corrupti atque et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...