One of my friends recently pointed out that my experiences (accounting + commercial banking) don't show any interest investment banking, which begs the question: what does?
An alum I spoke with at Sagent told me you don't need to have done investment banking before an internship, just anything finance related. But I've heard you're supposed to do PWM before an IBD internship. Does it have to be that way?
More importantly is probably how do I explain my past experiences and how to tie them to IBD. Here's typically what I would say, in short (and not in exact words):
Commercial banking: Analyzing performance metrics and saving and spending history to provide appropriate debt-financing solutions for borrowing firms (This is a more analytical job, so I don't really communicate with the client at all; I pass what I've done t someone else and that person deals with the client). Familiarity with Excel and analyzing metrics are my main focuses and I think applicable to IBD.
Btw, this was in China, not the US, and it was at one of China's major banks.
Accounting: Reviewed transactions for client firms and created monthly income statements. Also created spreadsheets outlining performance metrics to provide financial recommendations (mostly done by the firm's Managing Partners). Spreadsheet and metric analysis were also main focuses.
Ok, so in both summer experiences, I did spreadsheets and calculated metrics. Of course, in IBD, it's more about valuation metrics and not performance, but do you think these experiences show I have what it takes to do investment banking? I've done a case comp about a acquisition deal before so I know that analysts at the very least are doing a lot of Excel modeling and looking at certain metrics (Excel Monkeys, as some people say).
It is all about your story.
You can do most anything if it is finance related. PWM is great, some people do big 4 valuation, others find a boutique IB internship and network in through unofficial means. I have seen people will many different backgrounds be successful.
By the way, food for thought- international experience is extremely attractive, especially if it is finance related.
Usually those internships are sufficient if your GPA is in the 3.90-4.00 All else being equal, someone with front office experience and preferably related to transactions (intern at a small private equity firm, intern in boutique IBD) is going to have a good story
lol well that sucks because my GPA is only 3.50-3.60 (3.70-3.80 if you consider only my major).
Also, from what I heard, full-time analysts aren't exactly "front office" let alone interns. I have heard of interns actually meeting clients but only few times; otherwise, they're treated like full-time analysts doing Excel models, pitchbooks, and whatever else thrown at them.
Also, maybe I mislead you all in my question. I'm a junior and looking for an IBD internship, not a full-time.
3.5-3.6 is fine (not exceptional but you should meet the GPA cutoffs for most banks).
IBD analysts are definitely front office. front office doesn't mean you're the one directly pulling in new clients and developing client relationships, it means you're supporting the guys who do that (the MDs).
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