Investment Banking Discussion Thread - Page 30

When I was going through recruiting, while I was never that honest, I'd make my cover letters very short and somewhat worth reading.

Just tell them who you know at the firm / highlight anything that helps you but isn't readily apparent from your CV.

Hah I was thinking about doing something like that. Maybe I should start making my cold emails a little more entertaining. Anyone here in IBanking want to take a look at the models I'm using and give me some feedback on how they could be improved? Please PM me if so.

Also, I just found out that a relative is a retired partner from a pretty reputable and longstanding MM Asset Management/IBD firm. He was on the Asset Management side, and worked as a PM for years before becoming partner, but I'm going to see if he has any pull for IBD. I also wouldn't mind AM and would prefer that long term but IBD just intrigues me right now.

What relation do appraisal/valuation firms have with investment banks? You know, firms that value tangible/intangible assets, portfolios, derivatives, machinery, etc. I just got a call from someone at one of these firms and was wondering if that would be a good stepping stone to IB.

You mean valuation firms like Duff & Phelps?

Yes

Had a professor who had started one. Only relation with I-banks was making them look like idiots in court. Although it would be impossible to argue that it isn't an excellent technical stepping stone.

Edited by MSchapiro - 1/17/13 at 6:32pm

Lol had to read that a few times. So you think it is a good stepping stone?

Just spoke with my (mom's) cousin who said he can get me in touch with a few people, including a CIO of a large regional bank and a CFO of a middle market IBD/IM firm and use his retired-partner leverage to see if he can help me out at his old firm. Nepotism FTW, but I'm not gonna fuck this up. Holy crap.

MSchapiro, I never received your email.

Lol, you know the sad thing is I write for a living?

 

And that is really the way into i-banking for most people. Hate to say it but it's very true.

 

And I'll double check, sent some this morning since I just got back.

I read that last week. Bounced around literally every firm on Wall Street on the first day.

Bonus numbers out on the street this week:

A1s: 120 - 130 salary and 20 - 40 bonus
A2s: 140 and 75 - 125 bonus
A3s: 140 and 140+

Ranges kind of break down after that. Comp up from last year at VP and lower level for US banks.

A for Associate or Analyst?

Those aren't analyst salaries.

Why cant that be my salary...

Are you willing to work until 4am on Friday night, wake up and go back to work while your friends have brunch and hang out?

Morgan Stanley just slashed 1,600 from their workforce this past week.  This is across front-office, middle-office, and back-office roles.  Word through the grapevine is JP Morgan is about drop the guillotine on around 500 of their employees.  Needless to say, bulge brackets are getting hammered right now.

 

I know of several alumni from the school where I did my undergrad studies who work in IBD now -- a couple MD's spread out at a bunch of different shops on the Street.  It's just a grueling process of cold-emailing/cold-calling them and getting them to believe they won't be wasting their time on you.  Not looking forward to it, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  At least with the help of this forum, I'll be able to dress the part...

yea my gf is in school and probably will wind up committing to foreign services for another 2 years, so I am looking at 3 more years of living with a roommate. Id rather do my own thing for those 3 years.

Can anyone else please weigh in on using a position at a valuation firm like Duff & Phelps to transition from engineering to IBD? Specifically I'm looking at a machinery appraisal position but am interested in the question generally, too.