LSE Accounting and Finance MSC
Hey guys I am currently trying to get into investment banking in NY or London with the end goal of ending up in a Hedge Fund after 1 or 2 years.
Assume I have no experience in finance at all (I do but I want to see what my chances are worst case scenario). Assuming I get into LSEs A&F program do you think it would be enough to at least get interviews for analyst positions at BBs and EBs or if I am really lucky Sales and Trading or Asset Management?
Would like to hear from people who took the A&F or MSC Finance at LSE who did not have prior summer or full time banking or buyside experience at the firms they ended up getting offers from. For others who want to chime in, how hard is it to break in or at least get an interview without any experience at banks you are applying for from a top MSC (New York or London).
Was it nearly impossible or easier than you thought. Do you know anyone who did not make it despite being a "good" candidate from a top Masters program or do most people get into high finance places eventually.
Yes, the LSE name can help place in EBs and BBs whilst the content of the A&F course will teach you some of the skills needed to work in IB. It may be a bit less prestigious than the traditional MFin, but the move is doable. Check on LinkedIn where people have ended up but also don't be too proud to recruit for MMs just in case the BB/EB plan tanks.
Realistically, your odds aren't great if you have no relevant work experience. Don't want to sugarcoat it, you are competing against a large number of students from other targets schools, and most of them will have prior IB or buyside experience.
And yes, I have seen multiple people from top programmes not get very much traction. At LSE alone there are hundreds of master's students across finance-related programmes. If you really want to go for it, I'd suggest focusing your efforts on getting an internship before the master's.
Wow I dont know why I was so naive. Thats a scary thought to think there are people who couldnt find their way after their masters programs.
Without any finance experience you will really struggle, and I'd go as far as to say that getting a BB/EB analyst role would be impossible.
The hiring environment in London is really tough at the moment. I'm currently on a top Finance/A&F master's course in London, and everybody is applying for internships rather than graduate roles, and lots of people are still struggling to get interviews.
The small number of people with graduate offers have significant (~1 year) prior experience in M&A or have converted internships. Additionally, if you don't meet any diversity criteria, it may be even tougher to land a role.
With the right experience the master's can be very useful, but without it finding a BB/EB role is going to be really hard
I do meet diversity criteria funny enough (minority with basic military background). I doubt it would help that much given the other comments on this thread really shows my I need to step up my game and get to networking
Minorities are praised in the UK, you'll definitely get into a BB
Current LSE A&F student. I’ll keep it straight with you here. Don’t expect to walk into this programme and suddenly interviews and ACs to appear, it isn’t a golden ticket. Can it help? Yes definitely (given specific circumstances). Is it going to get a non-target with bad GPA/2.1 & no internships into Goldman? No.
I know classmates who have not had any responses despite being in the same programme. Given how late it is I doubt they’re going to be getting anything for next year. The people who have places have either been in banking before or have had relevant roles.
Given what you said, and assuming that you have had some experience (because you need to reconsider if you’ve done nothing over undergrad) then I would say that you may get one or two shots at talking to a bank, and you would have to kill it. Please don’t come into it expecting it as a magic key, as you may be disappointed.
That said, if you have a specific reason for going, or you can clearly define how it can help, then look into it. I’ve got a place next year in banking, I love the people, the school and my classmates and I have 0 regrets. However I see myself as being one of the lucky ones. Hope this helps, feel free to reply with anything and I’ll do my best.
I wen to a semi target in the UK (QMUL, Kings, Notts). And always heard about the promised land of LSE and oxbridge grads and how banks are begging them to take jobs. This came from people at my uni so i guess there was a grass is greener thing going on. As a result I legit thought it was a magic key like you said. I have got big 4 consulting exp so i guess i could transfer to corp fin then bb then HF i have heard people have done so in this forum but i felt that would easily take 5+ years. I am from america so needing a visa in the uk would hurt my chances thats why i was looking to LSE.
Hi there, this is an old post but I find myself in a similar predicament however with 1 year of IBD work experience though in a SEA bank, and intend to take a Master’s to go back to London (I graduated there from a semi-target in a non-Finance degree) and secure an IBD role there. I’m quite aware of how tough the hiring environment is, and I was wondering if you have any advice on how to secure even a shot at an internship?
Thought I would approach someone who very recently went through this, would be much appreciated!
Having just graduated from the LSE, i can confirm that the brand name helps in getting interviews BUT only to some degree.
First, whether you study MSc Finance or MSc IR at the LSE is very irrelevant to the firm as long as you can tell you story: why IBD/Finance.
Second, M&A experience is necessary. It is not only evidence of your motivation but also indicates whether you have the technical skills.
Can only confirm that today's environment is tough, even having LSE and relevant M&A/PE internships under my bell.
Coming back to your initial question, just take the course which intrigues you the most in terms of curriculum and the diversity of the students.
Hey, is the MSc course actually irrelevant? Indian student here who holds an offer for MSc Economic History at LSE. Waiting to here back from LBS MFA. Have also cleared the CFA L1 if that matters.
Suppose I don't get LBS, is the LSE course at least enough to land Summer Analyst/Off-Cycle IB positions? I have two years post graduation with the new rules so..
Would echo the above in that if you don't have prior experience it's going to be close to impossible. Masters students are evaluated as part of the same 'bucket' (i.e. separately from second-year undergraduates), and this puts you in competition with hundreds to thousands of other students from similar programmes with multiple relevant internships, if not full-time work experience, under their belt.
The competition in this city is just insane. I have seen Masters' students in their late 20s with years of full-time experience at Big 4 accounting / corporate finance applying for IB summer internships, often coming from places like Spain / Poland / Italy to chase the higher London salaries. Combine this with the current weak recruiting environment and the situation definitely isn't favourable. If you don't at least have some relevant internships then you may struggle just to get interviews.
Another way to read it is this: An LSE MSc, far from being a 'good' name, is really just the bare minimum for banks to be willing to consider reading your CV. Whether this progresses to interviews or offers will require a lot more from your profile
Do you think that 2020 will be a slow year of recruiting, and if so, if there will be less summer / off cycles interns or lower conversion rate?
I don't know, it will depend on if the market recovers.
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