Project ideas for inexperienced intern?

Very cool stuff, pitch an idea about a potential company to buyout, or a new market to enter. Make it a product/service that closely aligns to your company's offerings. That'll easily impress your manager.

your best short would be to automate something that takes a lot of time to do manually, write a VBA script or something.

i'd look for long/short combo ideas based on fundamental analysis...backed up with technical analysis for trade entry based on volatility...ideally find a way to automate a portion of this process with excel spreadsheets...and then use this as the building block to pitch the trade ideas to clients.

This is probably something that the desk already has in some form...and would probably take longer than the duration of your internship to actually research and build...but if you can come up with an innovative way to do it...that will definitely get you remembered...and is a great way to get an offer for a FT position.

Second the vba automation idea, although it's easier said than done to identify opportunities. Try asking an analyst on the desk if there is something specific he knows can be automated.

Is there an informal process/function that can be formalized in some way? Are ideas between traders/desks/sales guys being disseminated across the desk? Are there pre or post-trade processes that are causing breaks/issues that can be cleaned up or streamlined? Are there data dumps of information that can be summarized or cleaned up for the desk to more efficiently absorb info/intel? Mornings are usually full of way too much information - is there a way for you to summarize/formalize the best ideas/points for the desk in the AM? If you are a client facing desk, analysis on client volumes (80/20, prospect list, etc). Create dashboards with the bloomberg add-in for everyone's style/idea capture... A end of day recap/analysis of interesting trades...

The projects mentioned above are all great ideas, but the chances of you knowing how to do something that they haven't already done or considered are slim - not impossible, and it's great to try, but unlikely overall. Here are my thoughts on how to succeed on the desk: 1. The most important thing is that they like you. It doesn't matter how smart or useful you are if you're irritating; I like to call this "social intelligence". If someone looks frustrated or tense, it is not a good time to shadow them or ask question. You shouldn't shadow the same trader for >30 minutes unless they are actively encouraging you to do so. 2. People don't like to talk about work alllll the time. On slow days, especially Thursday/Friday afternoons in the summer, try to connect with people. Ask about their families, where they went/are going on vacation, find hobbies you have in common with them, etc. Equities trading has become highly relationship driven so they want people to be able to talk to clients. 3. Come up with a trade pitch every week, maybe on Monday morning based on weekend news, IF you think you can make one that is sophisticated. It will show them that you are paying attention and trying. When I was an intern in credit trading I pitched a volatility steepener on a CDX amidst the Grexit volatility, sent a copy of my idea with details out to the desk, and one of my manager's clients actually traded a large amount of notional on it (which conveniently got one of our options traders out of an axe). The entire floor remembered me because of that pitch when I came back as a first year, and I had my pick of desks. 4. Another good thing to do would be send out a morning email that describes what flows looked like the prior day. So, at the end of the day, go around to traders if they're not busy (stick to the associates if you can) and ask what flows looked like in their space. Get some color from sales on what clients seemed to be wanting to do throughout the day if you are able to. Condense the information into a concise newsletter and send out the following morning prior to everyone's arrival. 5. If you are on equities trading, I'm assuming you'll be asked to get lunch and/or coffee. Do so with a smile and don't mess up anyone's orders - traders actually really appreciate this and the analyst will be happy that he/she gets a break from having to do this. As an intern or full time analyst, your job is to make everyone's lives as easy as possible so they can focus on making money.

SA's generally don't do modelling

Usually, you will have some sort of SA project during the internship that lasts for approx the 2nd half of the internship and on which you will do a presentation at the end

pour the coffee, make trips to the dry cleaning.

they generally do the stuff the analysts would normally do that are layered on top of deal flow. This includes updating pipelines, sending out weekly market updates, and other tasks that are kind of random. If you are helping with deal stuff, it's more along the lines of formatting, turning comments (maybe), etc. The summer isn't usually the time when deals get done (i.e. it tends to be less busy).

How about SA's in S&T, what are typical assignments for them?

when i interned in S&T, i just sat around and read a lot. you can't do much since you have no license. if the traders are nice, they will try to give you some 'modelling' to do, but i mostly got lunch and read research reports...

A good learning experience none the less I hope?

as long as you take initiative and talk to people, most of the salespeople/traders i met were more than willing to let me sit by them and listen to them talk to clients and trade. You obviously don't want to interrupt a trader in the middle of his/her work, but if they have a free second, they will explain briefly what's going on.

joefish, are you sure about that? The summer analysts not doing any modeling part I mean, cause I’m pretty sure I’ve seen countless resumes from SAs that mentioned financial modeling experience.

For example a guy at Lazard wrote down for his SA experience “Performed comprehensive valuation using comparable company, precedent transaction, discounted cash flow, and pro forma merger analyses”…

At the firm you mentioned, I have definitely heard that interns do not model...mostly industry research etc.

I really want to learn modelling or at least get some basic exposure, so i will push hard to get some experience on in this summer, but not everyone does this

I still do think that the majority of IBD interns get only a very basic appreciation of modelling, but then it probably depends strongly on how much you want to learn it and how much time the guy in your team have to explain it to you

i'm sure others will correct me if I am wrong.

Summer interns here definitely do modeling/valuation work. I gave them a lot of my work last summer. :) Honestly, having summer interns come in was one of the best days of the year...

You'll note that you want to avoid that category of "random tasks," which in all honesty can be pretty hard as a summer intern depending on who you're working for.

I would advise talking to FT analysts and saying you want to help out with/learn modeling or at least something about the deals they're working on.

HerSerendipity is right that the summer is generally not busy, but you never know... last year I had 2 120-hour weeks right in a row in July because of multiple live deals in their final stages and summer interns helped out a lot with the work I was doing.

And yes, as others have said, S&T SAs can't really do much "work" since they can't trade... you still learn a lot but the focus is different from an IBD internship.

how would you go about volunteering to do a certain task or project? esp. if its excel/modeling heavy?

anyone know why a place like Lazard doesnt really let interns do modeling and whatnot? I have heard this before, and just seemed weird, since it seems like the interns would get worked just as hard.

while I havent started my SA, i know that the guys in my group basically said that youll get more and more responsibility, as you go on to prove yourself, along with your ability to have error free work and all that stuff.

romulusmars - I would just be very outgoing and introduce yourself to Analysts, make it known that you want to do work and trust me, they'll give you work.

In all likelihood they will not let you build a really complex model by yourself because you don't know what you're doing yet, but you can definitely help out.

walters - I'm not sure offhand re: Lazard as I do not work there and don't really know anyone who does since they don't recruit at my alma mater really. Maybe someone else here knows?

Summers will do as much as they can handle. Summers in my group have done everything from being a chart monkey to writing CIMs. Just make sure what you do is right, and that you don't burn the analyst / associate above you. If they get a licking from VP / MD for your mistake, you can kiss doing anything mateiral for them again.

G&T is so right. i want to take memorial day weekend and july 4th weekend off and all i care about if making my summer competent and sharp enough to help / complete most of my stuff. just get what i give you right and you've got my vote.

The biggest mistake a summer can make is to have some sort of sense of entitlement to the quality of work he/she receives. Full time analysts usually have work on their plate that's either gathering dust or low on the priority list. That's the work that oftentimes gets passed off to the summers when they come, at least initially. It should be obvious why but in case it isn't - it's because summers have little to no technical skills or training, and they definitely haven't proven their worth.

All work is give and take. You receive work, you hand it back. If it's great quality, you get better work next time, more responsibility. This is true if you're full time or an analyst. It's true if you're a lateral hire. The best way to get your hands on quality work is to DO quality work. Take the shit work that's given to you at the start of the summer and do it with a giant grin on your face, and eventually you'll be rewarded.

When I say "rewarded" I don't necessarily mean being able to write a CIM or build a model by your lonesome with little to no supervision. But I do mean being able to sit in an analyst's cube while he builds a model and runs you through the process real time. Or letting you run with the comps by yourself.

Really learn a lot about how to act this summer, thank you guys so much! Truly appreciate.

Would analysts mind if we ask them how to make things right before we start? (Of course not to every detail)I hope so...otherwise...it might get wrong...and the result will suck.

Really learn a lot about how to act this summer, thank you guys so much! Truly appreciate.

Would analysts mind if we ask them how to make things right before we start? (Of course not to every detail)I hope so...otherwise...it might get wrong...and the result will suck.

I had a great summer last year - if you prove yourself early on, you will be given significant responsibility.

I was staffed on a relatively small deal, in addition to a 4 man deal team (MD, VP, Associate, Analyst.) About 4 weeks into the summer the analyst quit. Partly owing to the fact that my work up to that point had shown competence, and partly because I asked, they did not assign another analyst to the deal - I filled that spot. The associate here was really to thank as he showed a lot of patience, even though he new the scenario would largely also mean more hours for him.

The summer is what you make of it - treat the first month as an intense interview; really push it, make friends and show professionalism, and then you will find that in a good team, you will have earned respect towards the second half of the internship. This means that if an interesting project comes up and you want to do some work for it, the staffer will be happy to let you, and more importantly, your team will be at ease with you working with them.

Best of luck!

Bottom line is, whatever work you get, make sure it's right. If something isn't clear, ASK QUESTIONS.

You don't have to be superman and be able a lbo model, write a CIM, etc. within your first week, or even during your whole 10 or so weeks. Just don't make mistakes and keep progressing slowly from week to week.

I'd much rather have a summer who can flawlessly spread historical financials and knows that sources should match uses, than an analyst who can model with a hundred wrong numbers. The latter will be doing PIBs for the rest of the summer.

Also remeber, analysts gossip about 10x more than associates and VPs. If you screw an analyst over, the whole group will know before you pick up the group's seamless.

Maybe after you pick up the group's Seamless. Because that's when we'll all go into a conference room and rip you to shreds while we eat.

lol, basically is it okay to do ur own shit during work.

it was pretty not okay at the ib i worked at before.

but that was ib not s&t

He means Investment Bank, not IBD (Investment Banking Division).

You seriously can't find someone to sit with or any work for them to give you?

Well there are rumors of Microsoft buying Nokia (dismissed) and Pepsi/Coke possibly interested in SodaStream. Maybe you can start there. Or pick a company you know very well already and screen for possibly acquisition targets

That's an awesome internship

Damn this is your chance. Grab a company with high cash flows, high margins, and high dividend payments as screening process then present to your manager your investment thesis with a full-working LBO model behind it. If you do that well, you are golden.

Pepsi and Mondelez.

Keep a watch on DealBook M&A: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/category/main-topics/mergers-acquisitions/ Once you start reading through deals, you'll soon get an idea of what to look for. Hope this helps, congrats on the internship. I'd also keep all the materials you work on and try to work through M&A modeling to talk about in IBD.