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M&A Analyst AMA

Working in London for a BB.

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Original post by Sayed0123
Working in London for a BB.


What work/tasks do you enjoy doing the most as an M&A Analyst?
Original post by Sayed0123
Working in London for a BB.


1. What year are you in?
2. What differentiates you from a coverage banker?
3. What's a typical day in your life?
4. What are your plans for the future? Stick to IBD or branch out?
5. How much downtime do you get during the day? When you break it down, of the high no. of hours you work, how much of it is productive vs nonproductive?
6. How big is your analyst class (across IBD) and what are the other analysts like?
7. Any idea on comp. numbers for 2nd/3rd year analysts?
8. Favourite place to order food from?
9. What is your background? (uni/course/ECs)


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Reply 3
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econam
11
What's your average day? What time do you wake up and go home?


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where's your f1 key?
Original post by Sayed0123
Working in London for a BB.


Tips for convincing an Analyst you are suited for the role?

How do you avoid burn-out and stay awake/alert through the day?

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1) Why did you choose a product group over an industry group?
2) How do you maintain a social life?
3) Any misconceptions you've noticed about the division?
4) How much of your time is spent communicating with clients?
5) How much of your time is group work and independent?
6) Do you plan on developing a career within IBD or moving to PE?
7) How do senior people communicate with you - do they treat you like a slave monkey?
8) Did you convert from a summer?
9) Do you often go out with your colleagues?
10) Do you rent in Canary Wharf?
Original post by Breakingbank
1) Why did you choose a product group over an industry group?
2) How do you maintain a social life?
3) Any misconceptions you've noticed about the division?
4) How much of your time is spent communicating with clients?
5) How much of your time is group work and independent?
6) Do you plan on developing a career within IBD or moving to PE?
7) How do senior people communicate with you - do they treat you like a slave monkey?
8) Did you convert from a summer?
9) Do you often go out with your colleagues?
10) Do you rent in Canary Wharf?


Asking the real questions hahaha

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Original post by Princepieman
Asking the real questions hahaha

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LOOL you know it
Reply 9
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Diabolus
1
Guy starts AMA, doesnt answer any questions

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(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 10
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Sayed0123
OP
11
Original post by Princepieman
1. What year are you in?
2. What differentiates you from a coverage banker?
3. What's a typical day in your life?
4. What are your plans for the future? Stick to IBD or branch out?
5. How much downtime do you get during the day? When you break it down, of the high no. of hours you work, how much of it is productive vs nonproductive?
6. How big is your analyst class (across IBD) and what are the other analysts like?
7. Any idea on comp. numbers for 2nd/3rd year analysts?
8. Favourite place to order food from?
9. What is your background? (uni/course/ECs)


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Really sorry for the late late late reply but I don;t have that much time.
1) First year
2) I cover all industries, not just one like TMT or healthcare or real estate. However, I only cover M&A deals, not ECM or DCM.
3) It really depends on what stage of a deal I am in. I usually get to the office before 7am. A an analyst, my work is mostly modelling rather than talking to clients. When we are near the end of a deal, I often leave work at 1 am but otherwise I leave at 11pm.
4) I will stick to IBD unless I get fired lol. Not really interested in PE/HF/start-ups
5) there is quite a bit of face time. I don't really count the hours since there isn't a single long period of face time, just many short moments in the day where there is little to do. Overall, 2-3 hours in some days. In the busier days there isn't much face time.
6) The total IBD analyst class at my bank is around 50. What are the other analysts like? We are all very different in terms of outside interests but everyone tends to be either sporty or charitable or both. There is a strong desire to make a difference to the community.
7) I'm not supposed to give information on this and I don't really know- what i can tell you is that our bank pays very similar rates to other BBs.
8) There's a Mediterranean fast food chain place called Leon which delivers very quickly. There's a good sushi place that delivers. I honestly couldn't care less about the food- any take away food is going to be a bit meh compared to actually eating at a restaurant. Sometimes we get interns to go and buy us some better quality food from further away. We don't actually have to pay ourselves, we get an allowance but, again, if I tell you how much you might know what bank I'm at.
9) Cambridge econ. I played badminton for a while (not that good at it) and was in a senior position in the TamilSoc and the CUFIS. I did a lot of volunteering and fundraising as well.
Reply 11
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Sayed0123
OP
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Original post by Terry Tibbs
What work/tasks do you enjoy doing the most as an M&A Analyst?


Lol right now as an analyst i get few chances to talk to clients but that is what I enjoy the most- going along with a senior guy to talk to a client.
Reply 12
Avatar for Sayed0123
Sayed0123
OP
11
Original post by Breakingbank
1) Why did you choose a product group over an industry group?
2) How do you maintain a social life?
3) Any misconceptions you've noticed about the division?
4) How much of your time is spent communicating with clients?
5) How much of your time is group work and independent?
6) Do you plan on developing a career within IBD or moving to PE?
7) How do senior people communicate with you - do they treat you like a slave monkey?
8) Did you convert from a summer?
9) Do you often go out with your colleagues?
10) Do you rent in Canary Wharf?


i answered most of these qs on my reply to Princepieman but I'll try and answer some:
I get very few hours for a social life. I meet with high school friends (they also work in finance) and university friends (also work in finance).
Yeah, people seem to think that IBD is full of greedy, aggressive, alpha male immoral people but that is definitely not the case. IBD is very collaborative and the atmosphere is similar to a football team- teamwork instead of the competitive rat race mentality. We compete as a team, not against each other.
Well, just do spring weeks and be really sociable during the spring weeks- talk to all the bankers and add them on linkedin. Then, do well on the group activities so you can get into a summer internship. Then just ace your internship and you'll get an IBD job. I don't know much about PE.
I converted from a summer.
Senior guys are very nice and look after the juniors- they aren't insensitive robots who gain satisfaction from dumping work in first years. It's just not true. They are willing to help you improve and develop into a better analyst.
My family has lived in a Tower Hamlets (right next to Canary wharf) council flat for a while so I just live at home instead of wasting money on an apartment a few minutes away.
I go out with colleagues once a week.
Original post by Sayed0123

4) I will stick to IBD unless I get fired lol. Not really interested in PE/HF/start-ups


Thanks a bunch for your answers dude :smile:

This one in particular stood out. How come you're not jumping on the 'exit opp' train? What draws you to being a career banker?

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Reply 14
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Sayed0123
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Original post by Princepieman
Thanks a bunch for your answers dude :smile:

This one in particular stood out. How come you're not jumping on the 'exit opp' train? What draws you to being a career banker?

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Well I am kind of jumping on the exit opp train because I'm looking to work at a boutique firm instead of at my current bank. However, HFs don't appeal to me because the work doesn't seem as fulfilling and I feel that it is too different to IBD in terms of what I will be doing. PE is still something I am considering but my main aim is to lead a team at a bank and become an MD. The hours aren't even that bad in my opinion- MDs at my office don't work more than 70 hours from what I've seen.

I really enjoy the work that I do- every day is a bit different and the team I am working with is great. It's also very fulfilling, which no one outside the industry seems to understand.
Original post by Sayed0123
Well I am kind of jumping on the exit opp train because I'm looking to work at a boutique firm instead of at my current bank. However, HFs don't appeal to me because the work doesn't seem as fulfilling and I feel that it is too different to IBD in terms of what I will be doing. PE is still something I am considering but my main aim is to lead a team at a bank and become an MD. The hours aren't even that bad in my opinion- MDs at my office don't work more than 70 hours from what I've seen.

I really enjoy the work that I do- every day is a bit different and the team I am working with is great. It's also very fulfilling, which no one outside the industry seems to understand.


Awesome! Glad to hear you're enjoying it, I see so much hate towards the career banker route so it's refreshing to hear from someone with intent to rise up :smile:

If someone was debating between targeting Elite Boutiques or BBs for analyst positions which would you advise them to go for? And why?



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Reply 16
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Sayed0123
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@Princepieman I've seen before that you help out quite a few guys and the advice you give is top-notch and detailed from what I've seen. I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting an internship and (assuming you don't suddenly do anything stupid as an intern) a grad offer.
Original post by Sayed0123
@Princepieman I've seen before that you help out quite a few guys and the advice you give is top-notch and detailed from what I've seen. I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting an internship and (assuming you don't suddenly do anything stupid as an intern) a grad offer.


That means so much, thank you for the kind words!! :')


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Reply 18
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jon2016
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how many hours do you work ? 8-11 standard ?
Reply 19
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Sayed0123
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Original post by Princepieman
Awesome! Glad to hear you're enjoying it, I see so much hate towards the career banker route so it's refreshing to hear from someone with intent to rise up :smile:

If someone was debating between targeting Elite Boutiques or BBs for analyst positions which would you advise them to go for? And why?



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I've heard from friends that boutiques work their first year analysts even harder than at BBs but it really depends on the bank. Honestly, I think analyst experience at a BB is by far the best route to take since you work on bigger deals and will have a bigger network (more analysts) for future career opportunities. From what I've seen, exit opps are also better. However, the benefits of boutiques is that you'll be gaining more responsibility and will be involved more as an analyst. the culture also plays a big part.

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