Macquarie Capital Interview - thoughts on company/groups/process?
Have an interview coming up in a week with Macquarie Cap for an analyst position in a non infra/energy group. Ik that infra/energy are their bread and butter but wanted to know if people had any insights on their other groups/culture and what to expect from the interview if anyone has past experience. So far from my research they seem to have some sharp people working there so I'm excited to talk to them but I feel that they go unnoticed in the IB world. I'm new to this industry as I'm transitioning from public accounting so any information would be greatly appreciated.
I'm incoming so I only know what I saw during my internship and what I read online. If you're working within MacCap then I can safely say no matter what group you have, you can definitely count on working with some very intelligent people. Outside of their Infra/energy group they do have other notable ones that people talk about on WSO. The consensus is primarily that outside of the US Macquarie is really strong, but they are only starting to see some growth now with more adoption of private investment in Infra by Americans. Of course, you also won't hear Macquarie without someone mentioning comp, layoffs from last year, or how they took a while to get back to their MacCap interns last summer. As of today, I have heard that even though they took a while to get back to the MacCap interns, the majority of them received offers. I also recently saw that they are supposedly raising base pay, so all eyes are on bonus season to see if it increases or not. All first-year analysts receive the same bonus which is dependent on how profitable the business was (profit-share model). This was a bit rushed, but feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer anything I can.
Thanks for the information, I really appreciate and congrats on your position. I heard about Macquarie when I was studying in Australia a few years back so I wrote down the name as a potential place to work for after I graduated. I have read about the layoffs/intern situation from last year but I try not to worry about that too much, no company is perfect. Given my background is entirely in public accounting (2 internships and full time the last 10 months) I'm just glad I'm getting responses from places because ik the competition is fierce and I'm not a typical applicant. I'm US based interviewing for a position in their NYC office; after I sent off my application I messaged the MD of the group he pushed my app through to the interview stage.
How was the interview process for interns? I don’t have a ton of hands on modeling/valuation work from auditing but I have been self-studying quite a bit. I had an interview with another bank last week and the technical questions they asked went alright. I guess I'm just worried that Macquarie might hit me with really in depth knowledge that I'm not brushed up on.
This guy was spot on! Honestly, he/she definitely gave a better explanation than I could've. I should've prefaced by saying I'm incoming for MIRA, but our interview process was pretty much the same.
Normally you do any psychometric before interviewing, so if you're already at the interviewing stage I probably wouldn't worry about it. This is where it gets different between us because after my test I went straight to the super day. I had 3 rooms to bounce across (pre-covid) and it was about 2 people per room all from my team. My first room was my only "technical" room. I was asked how I would value a bridge, the answer to this comes from understanding DCFs and specifically remembering that Tolls are usually where we get the cash flow. The other 2 rooms were behavioral, same as above (Why Macquarie, Why MIRA/Infra?, Walk me through your resume). All in all my process also pretty a week-long process. Just to reiterate what the other incoming Analyst had said, it's really all about understanding the firm and making sure you're a good fit. I believe your accounting background will definitely help you think through technicals and you seem like someone who is genuinely curious, make sure you show that in your interview!
Different poster from the person you asked, but I'm also an incoming so I can chime in. Speaking only to my experiences in the intern interview process, it was fairly rigorous but doable if prepared.
First round was a psychometric/IQ-style test taken by computer, but seeing as you've been pushed through to interviews, you probably don't have to worry about that. Second round was a phone interview with two analysts asking the basic interview questions (Why MacCap, Why IB, tell me about yourself, etc.) as well as basic technicals straight out of IB interview guides. Had three brainteasers at the end (somewhat of an interview tradition at Macquarie to do brainteasers).
Third round was the superday. The night before, they brought us in for company presentations and an hour-long networking event with analysts from across the bank while they had drinks. I was later told by a person in HR that this was part of the superday, where those who couldn't hold a conversation or weren't likable were dinged before the real interviews even started. The interviews the next day were two 30 min sessions, one behavioral and one technical. Both took place with a VP and an MD sitting across the table. Behavioral interview was really just a test of likability and conversational skills, nothing too difficult. Technical interviews varied depending on who the given interviewers were, but mine was an infra-focused valuation case study with no pen and paper or calculator - everything mental. Other interns I talked to said they had harder technicals based on interview guides with some curveballs and more complex brainteasers.
One thing to note about the whole process was that it happened rapid fire, all over the course of about a week and a half for me. Definitely important to have a solid knowledge of the firm and its values because culture is big at Macquarie, and the interviews are designed to find candidates that fit well. Deal teams are lean and hard-working, so the bank can't afford to hire analysts that don't mesh.
Do the interview in an Australian accent and talk about how Steve Irwin’s stingray inspired you to go into finance
I had a first round with a VP for a similar role. Got connected by a recruiter. I didn’t follow up with the VP and was ghosted by my recruiter. Should I follow up with the VP or cut my losses and go after places thru networking rather than recruiters?
I think that the interview process was covered at length across the previous replies. Expect some market sizing brain teasers and quirky math questions (what's 29^3 or 1/9 this all circles back to the market sizing idea - we just want to see how you reason through it). Overall very friendly culture with some Australians working out of the NYC office, which provides a pretty unique atmosphere relative to what you'd see otherwise. Hours are on the lower side, but highly team-dependent. MacCap has no M&A product group so industry groups bang it out (don't expect to be working on models until your 2nd year but it all depends on your enthusiasm and willingness to learn, just know that I'm not reckless or overworked enough to hand down a model to an intern, but I'll happily teach them if they show me that I'm not wasting my time). Other than Infra, I'd say that S&S is very very strong with great deal flow in the e-edu sub-vertical (see McGraw Hill deal announcement). Gaming group is also very solid with year-round deal flow in pretty niche and unique markets (mainly based in LA - see ElDorado/Ceasars deal). FIG is also on the come up and has seen some $1B + transactions. Other than that, I am not a huge fan of the Industrials team - lots of pitching and almost no mandates. I'd say that MacCap has a pretty great culture with sometimes lower-than-average bonuses but you'll get some solid experience due to the unique structure of the bank (e.g. true merchant bank with a principal investing group housed under the IB arm). Regardless of group placement, you'll learn everything you need to call yourself an investment banker and that's what matters at the end of the day. Mobility across teams is a possibility and can be discussed in the future. For now focus on killing your interview and worry about group placement later. The best tip I could give you is to take the time and understand how Macquarie is structured and the different desks under the IB arm. Macquarie is very different to other banks and you telling me what I do and how my team is structured during the interview will certainly impress me. If you read their annual report, you should be able to grasp the overall structure. Best of luck!
What’re your thoughts on MIRA and MIM? And all these whispers in the wind about base raises?
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