IBD analyst, ama

been through the roads, so if anyone has questions on the role, process of entry, the environment, i'd be happy to answer.

would be a great opportunity for some new undergrads to get in some organic (non sell-side) advice.

shoot away.

note* will omit details in some answers, if i deem them non-necessary to any beneficial discussion, otherwise will do my best to keep answers as open and honest as possible.

How do you sleep at night knowing you're earning a ridiculous inflated salary by ripping people off?


Also, do you think volunteering work such as 4 months working in the NHS would be advantageous when I apply for the spring weeks during university?

So i was at a weak semi target and realised i want to persue IB so i took new a levels and got A*AA and will be applying to oxbridge/other targets

What do you think of this? I will be 22/23 when starting ib
I did learn lots of accounting though at my first uni

Also how much sleep do you get?
Do you eat healthy?

Is it true that you can move into IBD after working at the Big 4 for a couple of years (i.e as an auditor)?

Also, what websites would you recommend when preparing for the numerical and reasoning tests? I struggle at those.

How easy is it to move from a law graduate to investment banking with no experience and contact whatsoever?

What are you usual working hours?

How much do you spend on food a day?

How far do you travel to get home?

What do you spend your free time on?

Do you make friends with your colleagues, or is it a heads down culture?

Do people wear Hermes belts and ties?

would be very difficult without prior experience. generally front-office banking (ibd) hire people who've had some level of experience in the area. although it has been done.



15-16 hours, on average

how many days a week?

i'm fairly quite cheap, we get a dinner allowance and if used well can buy lunch the next day. so main expenditure is breakfast, which is about a fiver. i'd spend no more than £10 on average on any given day on food.
breh, I'd be getting michelin star food every day on your kind of money


i live quite close to the office, so about a 10 minute walk

which station?

personally.. tv shows, see family, table tennis, hang-out with old friends, go to the golf-range, gaming.. what anyone else would usually do really. nothing too exciting, just keeping myself active and maintaining my hobbies.



very much so, there's a great comradery to banking which is quite nice. kinda like 'we're all in this together', great stories and great relationships. the people who work here have incredible backgrounds so it's always interesting to speak to people.



i think so, i'm not big on fasion myself so not yet well versed in brands. as previously stated i'm fairly cheap.

have you seen people wearing belts with a big shiny 'h' buckle, and/or ties with interlocking "h's"?

okay thats fine then

Are you an m&a analyst? what skills and i mean actual skills are good to learn for this job?

What was the one thing motivating you to pursue IBD as a career? And I don't mean an interview style answer, was it all the things that come with it being a prestigious career or did you actually have some deep fascination with IBD as an industry?

see bold

thanks

those hours relate to the weekdays (5x)

yeah i've seen those around i think, not sure if within the office, most people dress fairly conservatively, not that i pay much attention to what people wear.

so how many hours do you sleep on the weekends? because either you're catching up on sleep which ruins the weekday pattern, or you're getting up at normal time (6am?)?

Which universities are represented in your analyst class and what kind of schooling did most of your class have- private/state?

what do you think of product groups? Pure m&a?
Also what industy group?

are people all up your private life? Do they question your beliefs? Love life?

I dont drink either so im pretty sure this doesnt effect any social time right?

Is excel handy for m&a? what else do you think i should learn to basically master it all when and if i do persue ib

Hi

What exactly is the pathway to become an investment banker? Thanks

everyone has their own interests and career ambitions, so it would be very much dependent on what you want to do. the exit opps for groups such as industry/levfin/m&a are similar so i would always advise to pick a team based on the management and team you'll be working with. i think personal development and a good working environment is a lot more important than the specific role. that makes the difference regarding opportunities/experience/responsibilities.

the occasional private life topic (not that we have much) creeps up, but people are respectful towards privacy. regarding beliefs, these conversations do interestingly occur and can yield positive insightful discussions, the people who work in these areas are quite intellectual and as such some interesting conversations happen.

there's a big drinking culture in banking, although it hasn't hindered me much from anything.

excel and ppt are the primary software that we use.



the pipepline process for banks is generally

insight days (pre-uni) > spring week programme (first year uni) > penultimate year internship (second year uni) > grad offer (after completion)

Thanks what are insight days

social mobility. initially was to set myself a challenge and see if i could actually pull it off. now a big part of it is to show others in my previous circumstances that it's possible. hence, i spend alot of time on tsr or with charity organisations offering help to individuals. i think working in finance has allowed me to pursue those opportunities regarding mentorship, because i feel people are put-off from working hard because they feel there's a blockage somewhere. that's the real pleasure i get from being in my position. what happens to me isn't really interesting, my goal here is about the avenues i can create for those to come.

ofcourse i have my own career plans, but if you're asking the why.. the main dedication is surrounding mobility and discussions with ambitious people on the steps to take to go onto these related professional careers, and hopefully they can achieve great things.