WSO Weekly Wrap-Up (2/6-2/12)

In case you missed them, here're some of last week's most popular topics:

Stay positive
Post By @underdogforlife"

I would like to share my story and encourage those who feel beaten up by the recruiting season. I was born and raised in a very under-developed city in China. I hope that my story is helpful to anyone who comes from a less favorable background.

Harvard vs Oxford (Undergrad) Would love to hear your advice!
Post By @jackdonaghy26"

I was accepted by both the University of Oxford and Harvard University (Restrictive Early-Action) recently. As most people who are on WSO attended top tier schools, would you put Oxford's reputation/prestige on par with Harvard? Which institution would you choose and why?

MSF -->> Big 4 Valuation AMA
Post By @Esuric"

Big 4 Valuation, because it does not really need to cater to what the market actually cares about, has the privilege of being very academic. Some people like this while others don't. I personally enjoy the wide variety of projects that I was involved in. I felt that I was constantly learning and understanding valuation techniques that my friends on the buy-side and sell-side know little about. When I mentioned these techniques to my friends, they reminded me that they were not aware of these methods because no one in the real world cares. I used to work at a Hedge Fund where DCF models were laughed at; only observable market inputs (comps) were used.

Why do you go into Investment Banking before going into PE?
Post By @BankerBob11"

Why do some guys go into IB with the intent of moving over to PE? Why not start with PE straightaway after college?

Voting for Bernie Sanders? Working at Megafund
Post By @hongkonger12345"

Currently, compensation is not my main concern- I get overpaid for the value I add to society even though I like the work I do. Is anyone on WSO also voting for Bernie even though you are working on Wall Street? Getting paid 150k after tax is good enough for me. I am happy to pay more taxes to help the less fortunate.

What happens if you fall asleep on the job?
Post By @UmamiSalami"

I can generally function well on little sleep but sometimes I doze off at certain times (e.g. early afternoon or early evening) even when I am well rested. I just fall into a very light sleep for ten minutes or so while working at my desk. If I worked as an analyst and someone noticed me dozing off like this, would it be a no-go? Is this considered something that just happens, or is it totally unacceptable?

Where are we at in the market - Revisited
Post By @PacNumber"

Over the past 60 days, Wall Street, big box retail, oil, etc have all taken a hit. Folks are making recessionary type plays out of stocks and into various fixed income and/or dividend-paying stocks. It feels a lot like 2005/2006 right now. Prices soared on SFR sales but over the next 12 to 24 months, volume will drop tremendously, then, boom! But before this, it does appear that a lot of money will be lost on Wall Street. What are your thoughts?

This Week in Oil & Gas - 2/7/2016
Post By @RedRage"

SLB and CAM have received unconditional approval from the European Commission to proceed with their proposed merger following a Phase 1 review. Antitrust clearances have been obtained in Canada, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico. China began its process on February 4, but will be delayed due to Chinese New Year. The deal is expected to close around the end of February or beginning of March 2016.

January 2016 Data Update 7: Dividends, Potential Dividends and Cash Balances
Post By @Aswath Damodaran"

In the last six posts, I looked at the global corporate landscape, starting with how the market is pricing risk, how much investors are getting as risk-free returns in different currencies and then moving on to differences in cost of capital across companies (in various sectors and regions), the quality of their investments and their level of indebtedness. In the last post of this series, I propose to look at the final piece of the corporate finance picture, which is how much companies around the world returned to stockholders in dividends (and stock buybacks) and by extension, how much cash they chose to hold on for future investments.

January 2016 Data Update 6: Debt, the double edged sword
Post By @Aswath Damodaran"

In good times, corporate debt reduces tax expense and gets rewarded with high values by investors, who are just as caught up in the mood of the moment. In bad times, that same debt turns against companies, pushing them into financial distress and perhaps even put an end to their existence. I will not reflexively avoid companies that have borrowed substantial amounts, but I will realistically assess how much this debt exposes companies to failure risk, before I pull the "buy" trigger.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

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  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

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  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
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  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
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