About
Hey All! I'm a second year analyst at a Canadian Bulge Bracket covering financial institutions. I have a non-target background and I've worked in mid-market IB and public equities at one of Canada's largest pension funds prior to my current role. I've just joined WSO as a mentor / resume reviewer and I wanted to introduce myself to the community and help answer any and every question you guys have about anything and everything related to IB, how you can break in, succeeding once you're in the seat or really anything that is on your mind!
Mentoring
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Title “Bulge Bracket” Text “Canadian Bulge Bracket”
Lol talk about title bait
first and second year total compensation? In USD please not maple syrup money
155k and 185k all in (Canadian pesos) Nominal figures are comparable to the States, I.e. - not adjusted for FX
What's a Snow Mexican BB? Canacord? RBC? Not too familiar with leaf banks outside of those.
At your current bank, would American candidates be considered for analyst / associates roles? Let's say RBC in Toronto, will you find Americans in these groups Thanks!
you don’t see a lot of Americans coming North but the skill set is the same and US banks are well respected so if you want to make the jump it should be an easy sell
Delete
don’t do the CFA, CPA is well respected and being strong in accounting is very valuable. leave audit ASAP and join the Corp fin group and network immediately for larger firms (start 3-4 months before analyst bonuses come out - you will likely start as a first year)
Do analyst bonuses come out around December/Jan?
Which associates so you hate and which do you like?
The associates who strike the best balance between being a layer of review and someone for capable of executing the work - I.e - don’t be the managing associate on the file, but help develop analysts while still not being a lazy pos and pushing everything down
You're at a Bulge Bracket....in Canada? Oh nice. You're like the 5'11 guy who becomes a pro basketball player....in Poland. Or the girl who wins an NCAA national championship...in (beach) volleyball. Are you also a degree holder...from community college? With a bright red Tesla...that's leased?
These comments are ruthless but you set yourself up for it man.. smh
it makes me laugh, people who have time to troll in the comments should be the ones asking the questions
Canada....the back office of America since 1867.
Honestly, you've been in IB for 2 years, which might be long enough to offer a few tidbits of advice here and there but definitely nowhere near long enough to be a "mentor" or "answer any and every question about IB"
how is lateraling viewed at your bank? ex. first year moving to EB?
People don't really care, you're a junior in banking, nobody cares about you, just don't be an ass when you quit and most people at the bank will respect your decision and quickly forget about you (everyone is replaceable).
A lot of people to go to the satellite offices of EB's in Canada, they're a good gig, you get paid in USD, work less and make more -- trade off is that you get less deal experience, but you can make a move to the US if you're performing well
What does a typical day look like for you? How many hours are you working/day on average? Also, are you grinding from the moment you step into the office until you leave, or there slow periods throughout the day? Appreciate your insight!
It varies. Like my most places there are times where you're sitting on your hands, but when there's a live deal and you're the lead junior on it you're working from the moment you step in to the moment you leave (~ formatting slides, scrubbing data, comps and the like. But after about a year in the seat a good benchmark would to see if you're getting to do more of the modelling work.
Why would you switch from public equities at a pension plan to IB? Assuming it's one of the large pension plans (CPP, Teacher's, CPDQ)
Depends on your goals, my work related goals are wealth maximization. Finance doesn't get me fired up in the same way it gets the other bros on here, I just asked myself based on my skillset where can I make the most money.
Banking is just wealth accumulation to me, I'm never going to get rich working for someone else, so I tried to maximize my earnings by working in banking > at some point I will try to start my own business.
Also the Canadian Pension Funds are government organizations in disguise, i.e. -- you will take a big paycut leaving banking, whereas in the US you can make banking money in PE, you can only do that at Onex here
Mind elaborating on comp at Canadian pension funds? From what I hear, Direct Private Equity teams get pretty decent pay at CPP, CDPQ, PSP. I've heard of 225K all-in for third-year analysts at CDPQ, which isn't shabby at all for a government organization.
Click bait
I'm also Canadian and currently attending a non-target majoring in Real Estate. I'd consider working in IB covering Real Estate but am deterred from even trying given my non-target status. How did you end up and a BB coming from a non-target? And how non-target are we talking?
I don't really have much sympathy for the being deterred part, you either want it or you don't nobody can do that for you. You'll have to work harder than others to get in but its very do-able, you just have to work harder to get noticed. Once you're in you're in, nobody gives a shit about your background, if you can do the work you'll be respected from senior bankers, you might get chirped a little bit from other juniors in passing, but if you can't handle that then banking will be tough to deal with
I'm not going to reveal my school, but it was in Southern Ontario and it was not Ivey, Queens, Rotman, Shulich, Waterloo or Laurier
All fair comments. Any tips on networking when your alumni base is extremely small/nonexistent at BBs?
For those who have accepted an internship for the summer, what is your biggest advice for preparing for the role? Other than practicing Excel shortcuts and being comfortable with PowerPoint, is there any resources you have come across that are helpful?
Also, do most Canadian banks let their interns know of their group the first week in the summer?
Assuming you're talking about a banking internship then the only thing you can do is what you mentioned.
As an intern, nobody is going to let you run any substantial analysis, or even build a slide, you'll be spoon fed for your 4 months. Unless you're in the WCM program or a diversity hire, I'm assuming you have the requisite knowledge of corporate finance, if you don't have that background, i.e. -- you're a visible minority and got plucked off campus to fill a quota you will likely get an offer by the end of the summer, but you won't have the skill set to do the job and you'll be miserable, if this is you pick up the Paul Pignataro books and get to work. If not, ignore this.
If you have corporate finance knowledge then I would get as good as you can in excel and powerpoint as a first priority, and take care of your health leading up to the internship. You'll likely get grinded for 4 months ... but its just 4 months and you want to be in the best possible position to withstand it and get an offer ... you can sleep when you get back to campus.
And lastely realize this, you're going to hear a lot of trash about what you're role is as an intern, the real answer is that your roll is to make everyone's life easier, i.e. -- be the smallest burden you can on the team. I realize this reads harsh but its reality and if you keep that in mind you'll get an offer.
Thank you for the reply and advice, I appreciate the honest insights.
What's your ideal exit route?
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