How to stand out in investment banking?
Before anyone bashes me for asking dumb questions, please just try to help a young kid out. From my understanding of investment banking there is no similarity between banking and trading per se, in terms of being able to get an opportunity to stand out as an individual. I'm well aware that these are team industries and am definitely about it. I just wanna know how star bankers become stars.
Moving up, getting people to like and trust you, and then bringing in a lot of business. That's if you stay on to MD. At the junior level, it's being smart, resourceful, and maintaining a good attitude.
The same way that you would in pretty much any other field.
Show up on time. Do you work quickly and correctly. Don't eff up.
Like Ben Affleck says in Boiler Room, act "as if"
learning how to dislocate your jaw is what really sets you apart.
I am not even kidding, that's the sad part.
Bankers That Stand Out (Originally Posted: 05/10/2012)
We probably want to work in IBD hoping we last the hours; work on interesting deals with high profile clients and then hope to become a rainmaker for the investment bank in the future. One such example is Michael Grimes who is working on the IPO of FB. When I read articles like this it renews my reasons for wanting to get into IBD.
What do you think the key to success is the long term in investment banking (other then surviving the long hours!)? Do you think networking is the number 1 factor to success?
I have seen time and time again that several people from ‘non-typical’ backgrounds go further then maybe people from the traditional Ivy League universities with a GPA 4.0 and Finance degree (not to say that people with traditional backgrounds don't do well!). Do you think this is true and will it last in the long term?
What other bankers have stood out for you?
Check Out This Article Here: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/morgan-stanleys-michael-grimes-i…
Baller. Good find.
Wow 7-12 mil a year in comp? The guy is making more money than Blankfein...
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/886982/000119312512161719/d276093dde…
What...?
SEC with the win
I stand corrected. I thought I read somewhere that Blankfein made 9MM last year.
Blanfein did make like $70 mil in 07...
People skills. If your MD has good relationships with the players in his industry, then he will get the mandate. For all the posturing bankers do, having Credit Suisse or Goldman manage your merger will not make a major difference. If the product is the same, and the cost is similar, the management will choose the banker they like. You would assume that all senior bankers are sociable, but 10+ years working those hours can really change a person.
how u luv that
Gene Sykes comes to mind
Another great article featuring Grimes, but more broadly in terms of the battle between Goldman and Morgan Stanley over the Facebook IPO. Definitely a very fascinating look behind the scenes especially for analysts who are usually stuck in the numbers.
http://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-goldman-sachs-facebook-ip…
Other great bankers include Frank Quattrone (TMT), Gary Parr (FIG), Nancy Peretsman (TMT), Jimmy Lee (LevFin), Doug Braunstein (M&A), Ken Moelis (M&T), Paul Stefanick (GIG), Joe Perella (M&A), Doug Petno (NRG), Andrea Orcel (FIG), Boon Sim (M&A), Roger Altman (M&A) et al... There are literally too many to name.
Grimes is great but he really matured into a top banker in the past few years, after winning Facebook, Groupon and LinkedIn. A few years ago, guys like Quattrone, Boutros and Meeker (who isn't a banker anymore) kind of dominated the tech realm. And although IPOs are somewhat sensational and beloved by media, M&A deals are more lucrative since it is a much higher-margin business. Thus, M&A greats like Rob Greenhill, Felix Rohatyn, Bruce Wasserstein and Jack Levy are so legendary. Even many private equity whizzes were former star bankers (i.e. Steve Schwarzman was a young M&A Head before he founded Blackstone).
Based on what I have seen so far, great bankers are: 1.) Lucky - You have to be good to be lucky but many often found themselves in the right place at the right time. It could have been a great era or a great mentor or trigger-happy clients. Circumstances matter, a lot. 2.) Trusted advisors - They are above all else relationship managers and the best bankers typically have the most robust rolodexes. A MD is only as good as his/her relationships. 3.) Great salesmen - From guys like Grimes to past legends like Wasserstein, bankers are ultimately great showmen who can impress upon their clients to do deals.
I also think its about spotting the opportunity. Someone can throw a million high quality textbooks at you but you can still fail an exam even though you have every relevant resource with you... right?
His success in tech is probably not unrelated to the fact he was an engineer from Berkeley. That provides a great network and helps mitigate "the suit" reputation that kills so many bankers in SV. Other than that, a lot of what Grimes does is basic salesmanship.
There is probably something to be learned here. For example, instead of doing finance/econ ungergrad, do a technical degree at a good university in a field you find interesting -- things like, materials, nanotech, computer science, electrical engineering, oil&gas. Then build your IB career based on one or a few of these fields. It will give much more credibility with clients.
The financial modeling in IB is easy to learn. The pressing the flesh part, not so much.
I have literally never met a young Investment Banker who has joined the industry for this purpose.
You serious? I have.... It may not be the 'only' reason though. lol
Some still wanna be rainmakers, it's just that none of them wanna be rainmakers in IB.
Seems like the way people do this is to take a deliberately long-term view: keep in touch with clients who aren't going to bring you business for a while, spend more time studying up on the industry vs gunning for transactions, etc. But those all sound like excuses for being unable to actually get anything done, plus if you're not producing, how are you going to get promoted?
I think a big part of the formula is taking a value investor's approach to specialization: take an industry/transaction that's long-term viable but short-term deeply unpopular, and hope it turns around.
what about that guy that appeared by himself in the syndicate list of the glencore - xtrata deal? i think he was 10th
Couldn't find info on this online. Would you mind sending me a link? Seems very interesting!
Michael Klein
So, this Grimes guy not only went through EECS at Berkeley but has exceptional people skills? That's fucking impressive.
Blankfein is an ugly midget, he looks like such a tool. I bet he's never had sex with an interesting woman.
Bankers suck, entrepreneurs rule. No bankers ever stand out
The only time i ever went in a bank tower was for Halloween.
It was a Haunted House party. Most of the people were dressed up as Zombies and Frankensteins, so i took the young nurses outside with me and threw them in my drop-top 6.
It was a fun party for a little bit, but sometimes i get so scared and i need my blanket
This is the gayest thread I've ever seen.
Rothschild
they control the federal reserve and all the banks around the wolrd
JPM, GS, Barclays, etc
ARE ALL THERE PAWNS
Ian Hannam.
J.P Morgan.
Just to add to Mr. Grimes's credibility, I'm very good friends with his son, who is one of the nicest and most humble people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Missing two huge names from GS, Gene Sykes and Peter Gross.
Sykes is often called the most trusted man in the industry. http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/columns/businessclass/6089/
Gross has worked on 6 of the 10 biggest deals ever done (Kraft/Cadbury, Amhauser Busch, Altria, Nabisco, AT&T/Bellsouth)
How to stand out and prepare? (Originally Posted: 10/27/2012)
So I wanted to go to med school first and at the last minute I changed my mind. I've changed my major in math and this semester I might make my first two Bs in math classes. My GPA is lower due to chemistry and biology classes. So I wanted to know what can I do to make my resume stand out and also what should I study to be prepare myself just in case I land an interview for an internship in the future?
Thanks
P.S. I want to do sales part of S&T but I can't find a subforum for it.
Network...network...network....and have a good story (like, why did you switch?)
How does a SA stand out without trying too hard? (Originally Posted: 05/26/2012)
How do you show you did the extra hw to research the firm, the industry, understand how a specific product is traded, how it reacts to market currents, etc.?
Of course I'm sure this will show up in your day-to-day performance, but seems like that's expected of you...to perform. But how do you go above and beyond... How does a SA stand out without trying too hard?
By not screwing up.
Don't ask the same question twice, write down everything that is told to you, avoid asking questions you could have figured out on your own, acting enthusiastic and exhibiting a genuine desire to learn.
Also, be sure to reach out to as many people in your group and division as possible.
I'm starting to think he's either a troll or is compiling a list of FAQs for WSO.
This kid makes me want to jump off a bridge...relax bro and work hard. Enjoy your summer experience
I assure you, with your self-obsession and neurosis, they will think that you're trying too hard. Except in the real world you can't delete your posts and stupid questions, as you frequently do here.
Standing out on a finance job (Originally Posted: 11/30/2017)
In my previous professional experiences (most at an engineering role), I arrived at a conclusion that there are mainly three ways to stand out on your job:
1- Work hard 2- Master the game of office politics 3- Innovate
Since I plan to get an ib job next year, I wonder: how someone stand out and deliver excellent results on finance?
Every single guy is already working hard and long hours, so outworking your coworker won’t be exactly easy. Therefore, that leads to the second option, which is mastering the office politics game. Even though it might help, it does not make things certain, since your results rely on someone else. The third option is to innovate, but finance is not exactly a disruptive environment, and I do not see exactly how it would be possible.
In your opinion, what leads to a professional stand out on their job on finance? Share your experiences/thoughts.
By the way, when I say “a professional that stands out”, I’m not referring to a guy that won’t be fired. I refer to someone who is for example a MD at a relatively young age, receive job offers all the time and is pretty much a rockstar in the firm.
Having good English is a good way to start.
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