Ask an Associate working in Private Equity on Wall Street anything

[jaysrcrak]

First I'd like to thank you OP for taking time out to clear up some of the questions we have about finance.
I have two questions:
1. With the current state of the world economy, is it still viable to make money in the FOREX market by day trading?
If so, tips on getting started
2. Is the devaluation/revaluation of Iraqi Dinars real or a scam designed to prey on people?
If so, any idea on when it will be revalued.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Accounting Major Checking in.. going into my Senior Year.

Didn't have a legit internship this summer lined up.
Working on campus in an administrative office working with records and data inputting.
And working for another campus office for planning an Orientation Program in the fall.

What are some "action" words that could make a resume look better with these two jobs?

What can be some counter punches when an interviewer asks why I didn't work for a "big name" company or could not find an internship this summer or why I chose to work on Campus?

Can I start looking NOW for entry level positions after graduation or is it still the Class of 2013s time?

Did you have student loans? are they gone or are you still paying?

My GPA is a 3.12, major gpa 3.25
Interned for Boston Celtics in a non-business department, president of a club team, elected on student congress, lead some orientations

am I screwed with the low GPA?

Action words such as Pipeline, due diligence, proactive action, cultivate relationships, organic growth. Make sure your resume has quantitive figures with actions and results.

Some counter punches you use would be, "I decided not to work for BB, because I felt working into a more intimate work setting would give me the opportunity to organically grown professionally with the group I was involved with. Because I was in a smaller setting, this allowed me to have a lot of hands on experience which pays dividends towards my work experience and allowed for me to independently think and efficiently carry out my task. Also, it allowed for the person directly responsible for the quality of my work to become more of a mentor and build a personal relationship with me. This brought forth the opportunity to learn how to build rapport and cultivate better working relationships directly with my co-workers and clients."

You don't have to say this word for word, but you get where you can go with this.

When are you graduating? If you graduate this December, you'll be in the class of 2014. I wouldn't start looking until this Fall, but it never hurts to inquire anyway. You'll never know what falls on your lap.

No, I didn't have any student loans. I was lucky enough to have scholarships that paid for my tuition.

You actually have a pretty decent set of academic/leadership experience. You sound like an incredibly well-rounded student. Your GPA is low, but it's not the end of the world. It's still high enough where you can make a case for it. Be proud of your GPA, man. You did a lot of **** in school and you were able to juggle so many things at once. Talk about how it didn't wear you thin and tested you excellent time management skills. Use that to your advantage and use that to explain why your GPA is what it is. One thing I will advise you is, NEVER SHOW THAT YOU'RE DISAPPOINTED WITH YOUR GPA. ALWAYS BE HAPPY WITH IT. THEY BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO BELIEVE.

Im at a target/semitarget now and looking to break into a BB next summer out here in chicago hopefully... Im interning at merrill right now, but its a joke. Alot of juniors i know are at bbs now, but no sophmores which i am now, any chance i could get in next summer? I know some alum but they said its pretty hard since you dont have much class experience in two years.... I have a 3.8 gpa but that didnt matter too much

Yeah, you need to get some core major class experience. If you're at ML now, you should be ok, especially with the high GPA. You're actually at a good place right now, I wouldn't worry too much.

-Take some finance course and get A's in them.
-Get a Fall internship and join some clubs
-Get into a leadership role somewhere

If you do all those things and prepare well for the interviews--you should have something by the end of your junior year. Good luck.

How does this high yield saving account work? I looked at the barclays site , but don't understand exactly how it works.


I agree, who you know and your work experience > GPA any day of the week. Networking is the key to success.

It's just like a regular savings account. Only difference is that it has a higher savings APR %. The reason why is because it's all online. The savings accounts with the highest interest will all be online, just how the market works. Any commercial bank will have a laughable interest rate, JP Morgan Chase is offering 0.01%

First I'd like to thank you OP for taking time out to clear up some of the questions we have about finance.
I have two questions:
1. With the current state of the world economy, is it still viable to make money in the FOREX market by day trading?
If so, tips on getting started
2. Is the devaluation/revaluation of Iraqi Dinars real or a scam designed to prey on people?
If so, any idea on when it will be revalued.

Thanks in advance.

1. It's always viable to make money engaging in FOREX arbitrage. You just need to know what's up and you need to know your ****. Pretty basic and simple. Although, the **** thats been going on with Europe would worry me. Be careful, dude.

2. My gut tells me that there genuinely is a reevaluation of the Dinar, but I wouldn't be surprised if it blew up in everyone's faces down the road. You have to think of it this way--That country is EXTREMELY volatile right now. They can't even elect their own officials without **** hitting the fan. They're merely at an infancy stage right now where they're learning how to be self-sufficeint and walking on their own. That's why the rates are as low as they are currently. There's a huge risk/reward dynamic going on with this.

If it were me, I wouldn't be involved. Too risky/volatile for my blood. Fundamentally, it just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[pianoman52]

whats your girl look like?

 

[big meech]

What bars and restaurants do you guys at wall St frequent?

 

[jaysrcrak]

Thanks for the insight. I have wondered about FOREX artribage, and have watched the those Dinars for over a year waiting for signs it would revalue.
I really thought it would happen after the budget fight in Washington but that was not the case. But now with the insight you have provided, I think i'll just stay away.
Repped.
Thanks again.

 

[mychenny]

What do you think is the most valuable/useful degree among the business majors at Baruch right now? Would you say majoring in management would be a waste compared to finance or accounting? I'm currently enrolled in the management program for undergrad but feel like most of the major courses I've taken are not very practical. I also feel it's a little too late to consider changing my major at this point in time (incoming senior) to finance (in which I've done very well in the intro course) but better late than never? I know these questions don't necessarily pertain specifically to your field or expertise but would like to know your thoughts on it anyways.

 

[sunsetcity]

How do you start networking?

College degree needed for IB?

 

[Top Boy]

Just want to give a shout out to OP...

Really appreciate threads like these. It most definitely helps those of us currently in undergrad seeking to find our purpose, or insight for those whom already have.

The information and motivation you guys give out is invaluable. Thanks again, Hank Scorpio.

 

[thug]

What do you think is the most valuable/useful degree among the business majors at Baruch right now? Would you say majoring in management would be a waste compared to finance or accounting? I'm currently enrolled in the management program for undergrad but feel like most of the major courses I've taken are not very practical. I also feel it's a little too late to consider changing my major at this point in time (incoming senior) to finance (in which I've done very well in the intro course) but better late than never? I know these questions don't necessarily pertain specifically to your field or expertise but would like to know your thoughts on it anyways.

In terms of strictly business majors, I think accouting is the most versatile

 

[cruzair13]

Thanks OP.

I'll be graduating next May. So I'll be looking now for entry positions

This man is spot on with his advice and he has first hand experience.

Ask away dudes

 

[usabasketball08]

I did an LDP (Leadership Development Program/Internship) at AT&T HQ. I'm a Marketing major but the internship was more management based. While I was there I kinda got the impression that having a minor in accounting/finance could benefit me a lot.

I guess my question to you is,

In your opinion, what is the best minor for a business student NOT in accounting or finance?

I should of went with Finance in the first place, but I'm too far into my major to switch. I want to get my MBA for sure, though.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Thanks for the insight. I have wondered about FOREX artribage, and have watched the those Dinars for over a year waiting for signs it would revalue.
I really thought it would happen after the budget fight in Washington but that was not the case. But now with the insight you have provided, I think i'll just stay away.
Repped.
Thanks again.

I'm glad you're looking at the bigger picture here, but I'm in no way a financial adviser. Please, do not make any financial decisions based off what I say. The opinions I share in this thread regarding investment strategies are mine and mine alone. This is the main reason why I do not want to openly speak on investments. What works for me may not work for everyone else.

I wouldn't put my life savings into the Dinar, but it wouldn't hurt to put a little money in just to see what happens. A little gain is better than no gain at all.

What do you think is the most valuable/useful degree among the business majors at Baruch right now? Would you say majoring in management would be a waste compared to finance or accounting? I'm currently enrolled in the management program for undergrad but feel like most of the major courses I've taken are not very practical. I also feel it's a little too late to consider changing my major at this point in time (incoming senior) to finance (in which I've done very well in the intro course) but better late than never? I know these questions don't necessarily pertain specifically to your field or expertise but would like to know your thoughts on it anyways.

Like someone said earlier--Accounting. It;s really the cream of the crop of majors in Baruch. Very versatile, but I know it's a tough major to complete in Baruch.
I'm not a big fan on business management for obvious reasons. There's really not much someone can do with a business management degree. I mean, don't get me wrong. You learn basic principles of management and how to run a business, but I don't see much versatility with this degree.

I mean, you are a senior by now. How about minoring in Finance? If you have the time, maybe you should look into this. I'd speak with your academic adviser before doing any of this. I would also try to take some kind of intensive finance courses if you're looking to break into finance.

Maybe getting an MBA would better suit you in the long run.

How do you start networking?

College degree needed for IB?

Networking is the easiest part of breaking into any kind of professional platform. It only seems difficult, because people put too much thought into it. Really, the best way to network is to just reach out to anyone you know and always keep an open mind with everyone you ever come across. This relates back to treating people with respect and not judging someone immediately after meeting them. Just because they look a certain wait, that doesn't mean they can't help me in some kind of magnitude. I also hear people changing who they are when they meet people while networking. I never understood why anyone would ever do this. If you're trying to be someone you're not, then how will you manage to keep that facade up when you have to work with them? It's always been proven that being yourself is the best option to take when you network with people. If you're comfortable with yourself, people will be comfortable with you. You just need to always remember to treat people with respect.

Don't be a **** to people and things will work out at the end. It's amazing that some people need this to be said to them, because this is the basic principle we all learned back in nursery school.

No specific degree is required to break into IB, but you would need to show through academic/leadership experience that IB is something you're interested in. It also helps taking a major that requires critical thinking. It's not like your can major in basket weaving and get into IB

Just want to give a shout out to OP...

Really appreciate threads like these. It most definitely helps those of us currently in undergrad seeking to find our purpose, or insight for those whom already have.

The information and motivation you guys give out is invaluable. Thanks again, Hank Scorpio.

I'm glad members of the Niketalk community is finding this thread helpful. My intention for making this thread was to help anyone in need, and I wanted to serve as an outlet of assistance for anyone who seeks it. I'm glad that I've been given the opportunity to serve and give back to this great community, because over the year I've gotten so much for other members.

If this thread serves as a positive impact even for just one individual, I would think of this as a huge success for the community as a whole.

I did an LDP (Leadership Development Program/Internship) at AT&T HQ. I'm a Marketing major but the internship was more management based. While I was there I kinda got the impression that having a minor in accounting/finance could benefit me a lot.

I guess my question to you is,

In your opinion, what is the best minor for a business student NOT in accounting or finance?

I should of went with Finance in the first place, but I'm too far into my major to switch. I want to get my MBA for sure, though.

The best minors for business students would be applied mathematics or statistics. Again, any major that requires a high level of critical thinking will serve to be the most versatile degrees coming out of undergrad.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Do you, have you or what will you think of or when your decisions lead to someone losing everything they worked for by trusting your word on finance.  I spoke with my adviser who went through the crash that happened not to long ago and he spoke on how so many of his clients lost great sums of money.  I wanted to ask him how that made him feel because obviously, they blamed him for not giving them the word before destruction game.  How do you think you would handle that? 

I'm not a financial adviser, dude

What I do for work has nothing to do with other peoples money or management. I do not sell options/securities/equities/other form of investments to people. Nor do I manage individuals capital.

In a nutshell: I help my company evaluate companies that are candidates to be bought out by us.

Before going into Private Equity, I was in Investment Banking. We were partially to blame for what happened in 2008. I'm not going to go into why IB is partially to blame, takes too long to explain. Google will do a better job explaining what happened.

What are considered target schools? Both public and private.

I'm sure you know the answer to this question, but I will oblige your query and list a few.

-Harvard
-Yale
-U Penn Wharton
-NYU Stern
-UCLA
-Standford
-Northwestern Kellogg
-UC Berkely
-UNC
-Duke
-Michigan Ann Arbor
-MIT
-University of Virginia
-Carnegie Mellon
-University of Texas Austin

etc etc etc

 

[finnns2003]

Good info in this thread so far.

 

[thug]

Say you go to a "target" school, but not the business school of it. Like for example, you're in NYU but not Stern, or you're in Penn (not Wharton), or Northwestern (not Kellogg), etc. Does this still make you a target?

If your non Wharton penn, your probably ranked a step below stern or at the same level just because its an ivy. Don't think non stern kids at nyu gets looked at much.

I remember lurking CC a few years ago and they broke schools into tiers

Tier 1 would be HYPSM&Wharton
Tier 2 would be like non Wharton penn, stern, UVA, duke, the other Ivys etc
Tier 3 umich? Notre dame etc

Don't think too heavily on whether your school is a target or not. OP went to city college and afaik it's not a major recruiting ground for wall st and he still made it. As long as companies have a presence there you should be fine. Would also help if school was located in a big city. That's why Baruch is I guess a semi target. The location makes it easy for the companies to do OCR.

 

[eiddyfouw]

this kids a friggin savant... everybody can't have those stats famb....


anybody you know make the transition from corporate finance to ib?

I know many go from ib to cf... but the other way around...?

i'm saying though....dude is posting crazy stats

CFA3 in 2nd year of IB? Got DAMN! I have a bunch of friends in finance, one of them in particular I think of graduated Summa Cum Laude in a double major of Finance and Economics and he's still battling CFA 3. I think it's knocked him once or twice now.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Say you go to a "target" school, but not the business school of it. Like for example, you're in NYU but not Stern, or you're in Penn (not Wharton), or Northwestern (not Kellogg), etc. Does this still make you a target?

Depends on your major. I know someone who went to an Ivy league and majored in music. He eventually realized that he wanted to break into banking, so he took a couple of financial courses post-undergrad. He ended up getting a job at some firm on Wall St and got an incredibly high score in his Series exams. Fast forward a few years later, he met some people and reached out to his alma matar's alumni and got an interview with one the biggest hedge funds in the whole world.

You can still break in if you go to a target, but you have to show that you have genuine interest in finance when you get those interviews. Although, kids who belong in the corresponding business school programs in targets will always get first priority. It just makes more sense that way.

If your non Wharton penn, your probably ranked a step below stern or at the same level just because its an ivy. Don't think non stern kids at nyu gets looked at much.

I remember lurking CC a few years ago and they broke schools into tiers

Tier 1 would be HYPSM&Wharton
Tier 2 would be like non Wharton penn, stern, UVA, duke, the other Ivys etc
Tier 3 umich? Notre dame etc

Don't think too heavily on whether your school is a target or not. OP went to city college and afaik it's not a major recruiting ground for wall st and he still made it. As long as companies have a presence there you should be fine. Would also help if school was located in a big city. That's why Baruch is I guess a semi target. The location makes it easy for the companies to do OCR.

Baruch is a different story. There are plenty of kids with talent in Baruch, but it took the BB's quite a bit of time to realize that. Going to school in a major city, specifically NYC makes a HUGE difference. This is what happened in Baruch's case.

 

[finnns2003]

OP, do you save more of your income into cash savings or investments?

 

[Extrait de Minimalisme]

How much vacation time you get per year??

Where would you rather work internationally Canary Wharf-London, La Defense-Paris, Geneva-Switzerland??

 

[Hank Scorpio]

OP, do you save more of your income into cash savings or investments?

I do a little bit of both. I try to keep a decent balance at all times.

I have a personal goal to buy a house by the time I'm 30-35. If not a house, I'd def try to buy an apartment in Park Ave or Central Park West. The townhouses in the Upper East Side are other options I have in mind. Usually I save 50-60% of my bonuses every year. 20-30% go into investments and 10-30% into leisure activities or clothes/personal expenses.

How much vacation time you get per year??

Where would you rather work internationally Canary Wharf-London, La Defense-Paris, Geneva-Switzerland??

There really isn't a set amount of vacation days I had. But 3 weeks was pretty much the basic standard in my group.

In my first year of IB, I didn't take a vacation. I had a couple days off scattered around here and there, but I never was able to take a week(s) long vacation. Usually first year analysts don't take long vacations until they get into their 2nd year. By the time I got to my 2nd year, the senior associates working above me encouraged that I take some time off.

The down side to taking long vacations is that since the office gets extremely busy, people forget you even were working with your group. They sometimes get other analyst from different groups to replace you while you're on vacation and sometimes those transfers can be permanent. It's always advisable to take a vacation when it's slow.

If I took a job in Europe, I'd end up jobless

 

[nocomment6]

What are the steps in wall street firms? I mean Junior analyst, Senior Analyst and then Junior partner and so on? Or how do the steps of the ladder follow each other? What kind of income is attached to these positions? And as you move upwards do you have to work longer hours or less?

Can you tell us about what kind of profits a firm of such makes, maybe you can share a percentage on a yearly basis...

 

[htxmade]

Tips for having a good resumé and cover letter?

 

[Hank Scorpio]

What are the steps in wall street firms? I mean Junior analyst, Senior Analyst and then Junior partner and so on? Or how do the steps of the ladder follow each other? What kind of income is attached to these positions? And as you move upwards do you have to work longer hours or less?

Can you tell us about what kind of profits a firm of such makes, maybe you can share a percentage on a yearly basis...

Disclaimer: The salaries posted are specifically figures you'd see working in Investment Banking. Other entities such as Hedge Funds or Private Equity will have slightly higher figures.

Title:
Analyst
You're basically considered a "Private" if this were the military. You're fresh meat with little to no experience. You do all the heavy lifting and you're basically everyone's ***** in the office. You're at the helm of your associate who oversees everything you do and you're expected to move mountains for him Think of an analyst as a worker bee. Analysts are broken down into two different groups--Junior and senior levels or more commonly distinguished by year. Most banks have analysts for only 2 years, but there are those rare exception when someone would be invited for a 3rd year. Most BB's sign new analysts to 2-year contracts. After the 2 years are up, depending on what you do in finance--90% of the analyst workforce get's laid off. The other 10% fall into a different class and get invited for a 3rd year. If you do get the invite for the 3rd year, chances are you're getting a direct promotion to Associate.

1st year Salary: $100k (Base+Bonus)
2nd year Salary:$150 (Base+Bonus)
*Base salaries generally stay the same, but the bonuses keep getting higher.

Associate
You've made it! You're now an associate. No more having to hear someone scream into your ear or have someone criticize the work you do and have them redo an LBO model over and over again till you can do it with your eyes closed jumping through hoops of fire. After 2 long years studying to get your MBA, or busting your *** as an analyst making sure you're one of their best, you finally got to the level where you now have a Managing Director or Vice-President yell in your ear and make you jump through hoops of fire. But hey, at least the pay is better and you can finally afford those Hermes ties AND get some bespoke shirts from Trunbull & Asser without starving for 2 weeks. It's also nice to finally be able to wear french cuff shirts with cuff-links. After watching that 1st year analyst come into work with cuff-links in his first week when you were a freshly new analyst, you saw how he got ostracized by the entire group, you learned never to dress better than your boss. Cheers to sartorial freedom!!!

Junior level Salary: $150k-$200k (Base+Bonus)
Senior level Salary: $200-$500k (Base+Bonus)
*Base salaries generally stay the same or slightly increase, but the bonuses continue getting higher.

Assistant Vice-President
I'm gonna spare the quirky and creative profile description here, because this is basically more of a "Senior" Associate type deal. Some BB's actually do have a formal title of Assistant VP, but we all know what the jig's about here. The pay raise isn't even that much of a significance.

Salary: See Above

Vice-President
So, you finally did it. You finally scrapped and crawled your way out of the pits and made it to the high-rollers table. You get to move out of that horrible cubicle with the other Associates and Analysts and you finally get your own office with 4 walls. Don't get too excited though, because we all know what kind of responsibilities you're going to have now. Instead of having various people yell into your ear, making sure you do your work, you now have 1 or 2 people doing this. You make sure those pitch books are flawless for the clients and those deals are getting done. Long story short, you're sending out orders from the Managing Director. Get ready to spend a **** ton of your money on clothes, because you're going to need it considering all the client interaction you'll have.

Yearly Salary: $300k-$1MM (Base+Bonus)
*Base salaries generally stay the same, but the bonuses keep getting higher.

Managing Director
Hail the King!!! Yes, that's right! You get a new office, but this one is located in a corner with a nice view of either Central Park or the Hudson River (depending on where you work), you also get an assistant with whom you must be careful around, because your wife who's suffering from menopause is paranoid you're sleeping around and getting your **** wet. But it's okay, because those countless hours of botox and brand new breasts you bought her should keep you aroused for another 5-10 years before any kind of Viagra is needed. Jokes aside, this is serious business here. No one is watching over you or yelling into your ear and making you do ridiculous acts you'd only see in Cirque Du Soleil. You run the show and basically decided how the company makes money. You're constantly meeting with clients and traveling all around the world. During downtime, you go back to nailing your assistant on top of your desk next to the pile of sample pitch books those lowly worker bees slaved over the past month.

Pay:
I have to make this it's own group, because there are so many different various possibilities. There really isn't a standard.
If the MD has a bad year and sees no deal activity, then he/she can have a year-end salary of just his/her base. Which would be around the $200k-$400k range.
Now, if it's a good year this changes drastically. A year-end salary can range anywhere from $1MM-$5MM. The low end would be minimal deal activity, economic recession or company decisions. The high end would come with frequent deal activities, economic boom, bubble or corporate politics being played well.

Partner
Shhhhh no one is supposed to know you're here. Partner? What do you mean?
Title needs no introduction or profile. We know what the deal is. If you don't, then don't worry about it. You won't find these guys anywhere though, unless you wander on a beach in Turks & Caicos.

Tips for having a good resumé and cover letter?

I touched the topic about how to build a strong resume previously in the thread.

My advice for a good cover letter would be to just make it as honest and personal as you can. When you write the cover letter, make it sound as genuine as you make it. It's supposed to describe who you are and what you're looking to do, but you want to be as brief as you can as well. It's a tricky thing to do, but once you know what you want to write--it should be a piece of cake.

Try to stay away from "generic" cover letter templates. Make them as personal as you possibly can. You get as much as you put in.

 

[nocomment6]

Thanks for that!

 

[htxmade]

Thanks.
Also what can I do to improve my email communication and email etiquette?

Im majoring in Finance & Real Estate Investments what are some good intern positions to look for?
I am interested in learning about the stock market and making investments.