Investment Banking AMA Forum

[anonbanker]

Haven't seen one of these recently.

Taking questions -- Senior associate at a bulge bracket firm, entered from a T6.

[Anonymous User]

Haven't seen one of these recently.

Taking questions -- Senior associate at a bulge bracket firm, entered from a T6.

Did you have any background in investment banking before beginning practice? I have the opportunity to work in an investment banking group at a NYC firm next summer but do not have direct experience of the sector.

What does the work/lifestyle tend to be like working with investment banks? How does it compare to M&A (especially in terms of hours and predictability of hours)?

What is something you wish you knew going into this practice area?

Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

Thx for taking questions. I am a junior associate at biglaw who is considering the jump. My Qs are

1. What is the best way to get up to speed on modeling/prep for technical questions in interviews? Do you have any rec re books or online courses?

2. How is the market like right now? Has hiring been steady? Slowing down? What is the general outlook?

3. What types of exits have you seen (for associates who haven't gone thru analyst program)? Is it mostly to corp dev roles? Are PE basically out of reach?

4. Besides networking, is there anythig else should I be doing to break in? Do any banks particularly hire lots of jds/biglaw associates? Or are known to hire laterals?

[anonbanker]

Haven't seen one of these recently.

Taking questions -- Senior associate at a bulge bracket firm, entered from a T6.

Did you have any background in investment banking before beginning practice? I have the opportunity to work in an investment banking group at a NYC firm next summer but do not have direct experience of the sector.

What does the work/lifestyle tend to be like working with investment banks? How does it compare to M&A (especially in terms of hours and predictability of hours)?

What is something you wish you knew going into this practice area?

Thank you!

That's great, congratulations. I did not have any experience in finance previously. Definitely helpful, but certainly not necessary.

I probably average around 65 hours a week, which isn't too out of line with NY corporate? When I started out it was probably significantly worse than biglaw with the possible exception of WLRK. Even on day 1 you do get the advantage of leverage (i.e. staffed with an analyst to help with the heavy lifting), and your ability to delegate only increases as you become more senior. I would think that my hours are more predictable than M&A in part because a) bankers shove last-minute work to lawyers but not vice versa; and b) my client coverage / business development responsibilities are more predictable and I'm not necessarily on a deal footing all the time.

[Anonymous User]

Thx for taking questions. I am a junior associate at biglaw who is considering the jump. My Qs are

1. What is the best way to get up to speed on modeling/prep for technical questions in interviews? Do you have any rec re books or online courses?

2. How is the market like right now? Has hiring been steady? Slowing down? What is the general outlook?

3. What types of exits have you seen (for associates who haven't gone thru analyst program)? Is it mostly to corp dev roles? Are PE basically out of reach?

4. Besides networking, is there anythig else should I be doing to break in? Do any banks particularly hire lots of jds/biglaw associates? Or are known to hire laterals?

1. Rosenblum's text is probably the standard among college grads, although it really should be more of a starting point than a reference text. In terms of what you can expect, I think the BIWS 400 questions guide has everything you need. At most investment banks, you won't be asked to do any modeling as part of your interview so I wouldn't spend any time trying to get familiar with excel. "Technical" questions tend to have a certain conceptual bent to them, so definitely try to get a deeper understanding of what's the theory behind a DCF in addition to memorizing an unlevered cash flow build, etc.

Best prep for interviews is prep interviews, so if you have any friends in the industry try to get some practice off them

2. 2018 has been a record year for M&A but junior lateral hiring doesn't really follow the cycle. It's usually done more to plug holes caused by natural attrition. But I've also seen associates come in where the bank is trying to grow a practice area inorganically. Problem there is that they tend to pick specialists for those roles

3. Lots to industry, others to other banking roles, some asset management (hedge funds actually more common than PE)

4. Back when I was in school at least, Lazard was making the biggest push on campus. If you have a serious interest in the industry, I would also look expansively at smaller and less selective banks. Easier to be hired by a BB after a year or two at, say, Nomura, vs. trying to get in from S&C or Skadden

[gargleblaster]

Biggest question I have is "why?"

Why did you go to law school?

Why did you try to get an IB job?

Why did you go to law school to get an IB job?

etc.

[curepure]

Is DB still a BB? Just kidding

Tried to make the jump from biglaw m&a to iBanking but didn't work out. Now working at corp in-house and a newly established no-name boutique (more like a business broker firm) on the side. waiting to get at least one deal done so that I have something to put on my resume.

I'm wondering when i apply to bigger banks (most likely top MMs) in the future, what are some of the most important qualities I should exhibit/issues I should address?

thanks!

[anonbanker]

Biggest question I have is "why?"

Why did you go to law school?

Why did you try to get an IB job?

Why did you go to law school to get an IB job?

etc.

Great question(s).

I went to law school to be a M&A lawyer (or end up in corporate practice, more broadly speaking).

I decided to try a summer in IB because I thought I had a good idea about legal practice from my 1L gig and had a free option to return if banking didn't work out (probably more through 3L recruiting given my grades and school rank, rather than my previous firm). I stayed in IB because it was a job that I found, frankly, to be superior than biglaw in every respect -- more responsibility, more interesting and "important" work, better comp, better exit options, even better and more predictable hours down the line if not necessarily out of the box.

Lastly, I would not recommend going to law school to get an IB job. It's a difficult jump to make under the best circumstances, and I'm very aware that I caught a few lucky breaks along the way. As much as it pains me to say, if banking is your end goal, get an MBA.