Words you should always include on your banking resume

December 14, 2018, 6:15 am

≫ Next: COMMENT: “Male bankers must be stone cold sober and 100% in control”

≪ Previous: ExodusPoint’s new big hire suggests the dangers of leaving a cosy bank job for a hedge fund

If you’re going to get a job in banking, then you’re going to need excellent qualifications. But you’ll also need a CV that can make it past banks’ applicant tracking systems (ATS) that check for keywords and phrases to help HR pre-filter thousands of candidates down to a management number. This is an art in and of itself. If you’re going to get past them, then you’ll need these words on your CV.

Include terminology from the job posting you’re applying to

“When we work with candidates in banking or hedge funds, the first thing we ask for is the job description of their ideal role so we can clearly capture the skills and experience in that person’s background on their CV,” says Francis de la Cruz, the founder of The Write Resume and The Private Placement Group who has worked at UBS, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and BlackRock. Don’t throw around keywords to the point that your resume is clunky, but make sure to include those to match a specific job posting, as long as you have the experience, of course.

Positioning is important

“Talk to a recruiter and write down the language that they’re using…and make sure that when you’re creating your resume, you’re putting your strengths and experience at the top where it aligns with their criteria,” advised one J.P. Morgan recruiter in a recent video post. You also want to keep your formatting simple so that ATS software can effectively scrape your CV. Some recruiters suggest removing any “objective” section from the top of your resume as that should be communicated through your cover letter anyway.

Include lingo that shows you know the industry

Candidates should search for job postings of similar roles across the industry and make notes of what keywords other similar roles are using.

“If everyone says ‘analytics,’ then don’t say ‘analysis,'” says Jane Cranston, the president of ExecutiveCoachNY.com. “Every sector of every industry has its own lingo, and you have to sound fluent by using it in the right way so that the hiring manager says: ‘This person gets it.'”

Include action verbs that illustrate your skills and achievements

The one thing you always want to clearly convey through your resume is your tool chest of analytical skills. Action verbs that suggest these skills include analyzed, assessed, synthesized, valued, quantified, calculated, audited, reconciled and priced, says Janet Raiffa, a former recruiting manager at Goldman Sachs who currently works as a career coach and resume reviewer.

But don’t just list your responsibilities. You should also strive to include clear, active and descriptive phrases in your CV that show tangible achievements. “We tend to favor words like ‘generated,’ ‘delivered’ or ‘achieved,’ followed by a succinct description of what was accomplished by that individual,” de la Cruz says.

When communicating past successes, use measurable numbers whenever possible. “Everything that can be enumerated or dollarized – that is, expressed in terms of numerals, percentages and dollars – should be,” Cranston says.

Include positive performance evaluators

If you’ve worked for a large bank, then the hiring manager or recruiter knows that you’ve been through a number of performance reviews. You can thus differentiate yourself positively by showing top-quartile rankings or inclusion in programs for high-performers.

Keywords included mentions of rankings, ratings or terms like ‘selected for’ or ‘tapped for’ when mentioning performance-based programs.

“If you’re a long-term banker sometimes just showing survival in down markets is impressive when others have lost jobs,” Raiffa says. “It thus makes sense to add words like ‘retained by’ and discuss the environment and the percentage retained if you know it.

“You’ll want to make sure to list all titles on your resume, not just your last title, and highlight if any promotion was fast or unusual,” she says.

When in doubt…

One thing you want to avoid is repeatedly using the same words. It suggests a lack of attention to detail. Rather than right-click and pick a synonym that doesn’t quite fit, check out our complete list of over 200 banking resume action words, separated by role and meaning.

Follow @BeecherTuttle

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: btuttle@efinancialcareers.com
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by actual human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t).

““

↧

COMMENT: “Male bankers must be stone cold sober and 100% in control”

December 14, 2018, 7:27 am

≫ Next: COMMENT: I’m a junior banker in Asia. I don’t need to work till 4am, I WANT to

≪ Previous: Words you should always include on your banking resume

If you’re a man who works in a bank and you’re attending a company Christmas party, be careful. This is the most dangerous event in your whole calendar.

In the past, banks’ Christmas parties were sometimes wild. I know, I was there. In recent years, though, things have changed. I can’t speak for global markets, but if you work in an investment banking division, the Christmas party is when you need to watch your back.

Most senior bankers get this. They understand the need to be stone cold sober and 100% in control at the office party. They know the risks.

The really big risk is the women. In particular, it’s the PAs. At the Christmas party, the PAs on the team like to get drunk and not all can take their drink. They also like to take photos of the managing directors. The MDs understand that these photos could embarrass them for a long while. This is THE TIME to be on the soft drinks.

Outfits are also an issue. We have had PAs who have dressed very provocatively and made the other women here uncomfortable. It was the guys, however, who raised it as an issue with the boss. They are the ones with the most to lose.

It’s taken a while, but male staff in banks now understand that they will always be the losers in any harassment allegations. Irrespective of what happened, they will be thrown under a bus by both compliance and legal. It is therefore simply not worth being in any situation that might lead to a misunderstanding. If you are a senior male banker you need to play it incredibly safe. This is the time to make sure that your team has fun (and to pull everyone together before paying them a bonus that’s lower than they hoped for), but it’s also a time to keep a respectful distance.

While senior bankers understand this about the Christmas parties, they’re less cognizant of the risks of client entertainment. This is becoming the real issue. It’s possible to avoid alcohol at the company party. It’s less possible when you’re out with a client. Here, you need to perfect the art of being drunk but not too drunk; in many cases it is up to you to bring the drunk client back to the base. This is easy enough when you’re a male banker with a male client, but it’s a recipe for big problems when the sexes are mixed.

Philippe Ersatz is the pseudonym of a senior equity capital markets banker, now retired

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

“”

↧

COMMENT: I’m a junior banker in Asia. I don’t need to work till 4am, I WANT to

December 16, 2018, 10:00 am

≫ Next: Morning Coffee: Weird happenings at McKinsey & Co. Deutsche Bank’s revenue problem

≪ Previous: COMMENT: “Male bankers must be stone cold sober and 100% in control”

If you read my previous article on this site, you’ll know that I’m a front-office first-year analyst at a US investment bank in Hong Kong who grew up in China and recently finished a degree in London. You’ll also know that I’ve been leaving the office at 4am recently and that I work most weekends. I have no social life as a result, but that doesn’t worry me.

What you don’t know is that I largely brought these long hours on myself. My bank is actually known for having a comparatively good working culture and for not forcing juniors to regularly work into the small hours.

But across the industry in Hong Kong there’s a lot of pressure to get ahead as a young banker. If you don’t push yourself harder and harder in terms of your workload, you won’t stand out from the hundreds of other analysts at US and European firms here. Everyone is very ambitious, so you have to be too.

I may have a degree from a prestigious university and I may have started my job competently enough, but so have almost all my counterparts – i.e. the people I’ll be competing against in three years if I decide to move to another firm.

Earlier this year, just a few months into my job, it dawned on me that I had already fallen into a comfort zone at work. My early days at the bank had gone very smoothly. When my manager gave me business-as-usual work, there was always enough time for detailed instructions, and everyone in my team was happy to answer any questions I had.

So I decided: I needed more work! I had to prevent myself falling behind other juniors at my bank (and beyond) who were taking on more (and more complicated) transactions. When I asked for work, I got it – I’ve recently been assigned to help on two live deals that I would otherwise have been overlooked for.

These have added several hours to my days (I was previously leaving work at 9am or 10pm). But it’s been worth it. When you perform well on an additional project, people start to trust you and your ability to perform under pressure. You build stronger relationships at the bank, and you get more (and more interesting) work as a result. It’s a virtuous circle.

As a young analyst, you need to proactively look for extra work – people will value you for it. But this approach does come with risks. I have friends my age at other banks in Hong Kong who have taken on too much work and have not been able to perform well. They’re now seen as underperformers – the opposite of what they’d hoped for. You need to get the balance right.

Nancy Hwang (not her real name) is a first-year analyst working in the IBD division of a US bank in Hong Kong.

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: smortlock@efinancialcareers.com

Follow @simonmortlock

Image credit: LeeYiuTung, Getty

↧

Morning Coffee: Weird happenings at McKinsey & Co. Deutsche Bank’s revenue problem

December 16, 2018, 11:58 pm

≫ Next: Bank of America made a big hire for its Irish business ahead of Brexit

≪ Previous: COMMENT: I’m a junior banker in Asia. I don’t need to work till 4am, I WANT to

McKinsey & Co. made front page news twice this weekend. While one story is much more serious than the other, they both hold potential consequences for the 750,000 people who apply to the management consulting firm every year.

The first involves a possible new step in its infamously difficult interview process, which results in less than 1% of applicants being hired. In an effort to find out how people think, rather than simply what they know, McKinsey has spent the last four months trying out a computer game that charges applicants with building and maintaining a coral reef and island that can support multiple ecosystems, according to the FT.

As one may imagine, the game doesn’t sound terribly easy. Or particularly fun. “As the minutes ticked by while I tried to calculate the best vaccine microdoses for the stricken birds, all I seemed to be creating was a pile of tiny corpses,” wrote the author, who was given a test drive. She eventually called it an early day before the rising body count proved she wasn’t McKinsey material.

While McKinsey said the game wouldn’t rule out a candidate, the tactic is likely to become more prevalent for companies that are looking for new ways to identify talent in a more competitive landscape. Point72 currently hosts an online competition where candidates manage a simulated portfolio. The hedge fund also has applicants complete an online version of the Wonderlic Test, which assesses a person’s cognitive abilities. And Deutsche Bank recently launched an interactive game where users navigate through hypothetical work scenarios and are scored on how well they react. The days of conversational interviews are numbered it seems.

On a more serious note, the New York Times published a comprehensive report on McKinsey’s long history of working with authoritarian and often corrupt governments across the globe. Past clients include Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy, Turkey under the autocratic leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and several Kremlin-linked companies that have been placed under sanctions by Western governments, according to the report. McKinsey has also worked for at least 22 of the 100 biggest state-owned companies in China.

It was in China that McKinsey held a curious desert retreat earlier this year. Photographs of the event are redolent of a corporate Burning Man, with tents linked by red carpets, colorful camels projected onto walls and a fire in a pit thronged by attendees. “I can’t keep calm, I work at McKinsey & Company,” said a banner at the entrance to a banquet hall ‘resembling a sultan’s ornate court.’ – Ignoring the fact that China was incarcerating thousands of ethnic Uighurs in an internment camp just four miles away.

While the Times is quick to point out that there is no indication McKinsey has violated any U.S. sanctions, the exhaustive report paints an interesting picture of the consulting firm’s clientele, particularly considering the nationalistic stance taken by the current administration and all the recent news concerning the country’s muddled relationships with Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Elsewhere, the November police raid of Deutsche Bank’s offices in Germany over money laundering allegations “has not helped” the bank when it comes to fourth quarter revenue, Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke told Bloomberg. The CFO also mentioned December’s “weak market environment,” hinting traders may be having a particularly difficult quarter. Rough Q4 numbers could be coming, though CEO Christian Sewing did say recently that the bank is on pace to turn an annual profit for the first time since 2014. The thousands of job cuts have likely helped.

Meanwhile:

Contrary to weekend reports, Prime Minister Theresa May is not considering a second referendum on whether the U.K. should leave the EU, according to her office. Speculation over a second national vote on Brexit has intensified following the overwhelmingly negative reaction to May’s divorce plan. (Bloomberg)

One of the biggest issues banks are facing as they try to prepare for a possible no-deal Brexit is to convince clients to sign new contracts that would allow banks to continue servicing them in the EU. Clients are pushing back while they wait and see if a hard Brexit actually happens, though the contracts are highly complex and not something that can be put together last minute. Banks have therefore been urging regulators to allow them to temporarily keep the contracts valid should no deal be signed. Regulators aren’t budging. They want banks to start taking more action. (WSJ)

The New York Stock Exchange reportedly hatched a plan in 2016 to try to impress Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, who had mentioned during a visit that the trading floor looked empty. Hoping Spiegel would list Snap on NYSE when it went public, the exchange reportedly ordered dozens of regulatory staffers to leave their offices and fill up the trading floor in case he stopped by again. The Post obtained a video clip of regulators standing around the trading floor chatting. (NY Post)

EU migrants will reportedly need to have a firm job offer and a salary of at least £30,000 before they are allowed to come to the U.K. on full visas under a new Brexit-related crackdown set to be announced this week. (The Telegraph)

Just how tight is the job market for tech companies in the U.S.? Over a five-day window in April, employers submitted petitions for more than 190,000 specialized work visas often used to bring in highly-skilled engineers from overseas. Only 85,000 can be granted annually. (NY Times)

A Harvard investigator has found that star economist Roland Fryer Jr. fostered a hostile work environment for women, including engaging in “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” toward four females at a Harvard-affiliated research lab. Fryer has denied the allegations. (NY Times)

Follow @BeecherTuttle

““

↧

Bank of America made a big hire for its Irish business ahead of Brexit

December 17, 2018, 2:15 am

≫ Next: COMMENT: How I got stuck in the wrong hedge fund job

≪ Previous: Morning Coffee: Weird happenings at McKinsey & Co. Deutsche Bank’s revenue problem

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) has made a big hire in its Dublin office.

Simon Cahill has joined BAML as a managing director and head of Treasury Risk and Control, chief administrative officer (CAO) and chief financial officer (CFO) risk executive.

Prior to joining BAML, Cahill was the head of Risk Control at Depfa Bank (the German Irish bank which is a subsidiary of Hypo Real Estate). He started his career with Bank of Ireland Corporate and Markets in 1994, and moved to BMO Capital Markets in 1997 and remained there for almost 11 years. He shifted to Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) in 2008 where he headed fixed income, repo and financial markets for six years before joining Defpa Bank in 2014.

Cahill’s appointment comes at a time when BAML is relocating its banking and market operations in Europe to Dublin from London. It became the first U.S. bank to pick Dublin as its new base for its EU operations ahead of Brexit in March 2019.

As part of its preparation for Brexit, BofA is merging Bank of America Merrill Lynch International, its London-based subsidiary, into its Irish entity based in Dublin. In May this year the bank said it would relocate up to 125 jobs in finance, risk, compliance, technology and credit functions from Britain to Ireland. Earlier this month, Reuters said BofA finished moving its banking and market operations to Dublin from London. The bank will also move about 400 jobs in markets, trading, sales and fixed income teams from London to its new office in Paris early next year.

““

↧

COMMENT: How I got stuck in the wrong hedge fund job

December 17, 2018, 2:55 am

≫ Next: What Credit Suisse’s 173 new managing directors say about working there

≪ Previous: Bank of America made a big hire for its Irish business ahead of Brexit

If you’re desperate to get a job hedge fund, you’ll probably accept anything you’re given. And why not? – None of these places are easy to get into. But my own experience suggests you might want to think carefully before climbing into bed with any hedge fund job that pulls back the covers.

When I graduated from business school, my goal was always to get to the buy-side. It was hard to make the jump directly, so I used the sell-side as a stepping stone. I’ve said this before, but the hardest part of getting to the buy side is landing that first role. Most firms want somebody with buy side experience, but I’m not aware of a way to get buy- side experience without having a buy-side job. However, once you’re in the club, suddenly you’re in high demand and everybody wants to talk to you!

Personally, I was so desperate to get to the buy-side, I was willing to take any job. Janitor at a hedge fund? I can work my way up! I always preferred equities, but I started applying to credit roles as well. i figured that all I needed to do was to get to the buy-side and that once I was there I’d be able to transition to an equities role. How wrong I was.

I’m not saying jobs in credit markets are all bad – you get more days off than if you work in equity markets for example. But investment grade investors are bores who just clip coupons, and below investment grade it starts to get complicated.

When you’re a credit investor, you need to think about the capital structure you’re buying into and whether you can get subordinated. You need to look at recoveries in case a company goes bankrupt. You need to estimate how long a company can continue making interest payments on its debt. There’s a lot of strategy involved, like playing chess.

Equities is much simpler, which is why it’s a lot like checkers. Either the company does well and the stock goes up, or it does poorly and it goes down. There’s no need to worry about the capital structure because – hey – you’re already at the bottom. If a company is going bankrupt, there’s no math involved because you’re getting nothing. Zip. Zilch.

The real problem, though, is that credit and equity are two totally different animals. To say they’re the same would be like saying mechanical engineers are similar to software engineers, since they’re both engineers.

So if you’re on the sell-side right now, desperately trying to get out to the buy-side, think carefully about your choices. Because once you’re pegged as an equity person, you’ll be stuck as an equity person. The same goes for credit. I’m sure it’s happened before, but I don’t know a single person that has moved from credit to equity, or vice versa.

Margin of Saving was created by an analyst at a multi-billion dollar hedge fund to help others learn how to invest and save.

““

↧

What Credit Suisse’s 173 new managing directors say about working there

December 17, 2018, 6:50 am

≫ Next: Have work hours at investment banks gotten worse?

≪ Previous: COMMENT: How I got stuck in the wrong hedge fund job

It’s promotion season in investment banks. Following on from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi and Barclays, Credit Suisse has become the latest bank to release the names of its all-new managing directors. The 173 lucky people are listed below along with their job titles and location (where publicly available).

Credit Suisse paid its average London material risk taker – a proxy for a managing director – $1.3m for 2017. If you aspire to make that kind of money and become a managing director at Credit Suisse, today’s list has a few helpful pointers.

Firstly, it’s going to help a lot if you work in wealth management. – At least 20% of the MDs whose jobs are listed below are working in wealth management and the actual number is likely to be a lot higher. By comparison, front office global markets professionals only account for around 12% of the total and investment bankers (M&A and capital markets) account for around 15%.

Secondly, if you’re going to make MD you probably want to be based in Switzerland, because it is here that CS MDs are grown in the largest numbers. At least 30% of this year’s MDs appear to be based in Credit Suisse’s home country, with around 16% in London, 20% in the U.S., and the rest in Asia and elsewhere. This partly reflects Credit Suisse’s decision to cut London headcount by 30% in 2015, but it may also be because London has traditionally been skewed towards the global markets business which is somewhat out of favour.

Thirdly, if you do want to make it to the top in an investment banking at Credit Suisse, it’s going to help if you work in leveraged finance. Following last year’s decision to grow the leveraged finance business globally, Credit Suisse has promoted at least eight leveraged finance professionals in the latest MD round.

Fourthly, despite being all about increasing its equities sales and trading market share in the years to come, Credit Suisse hasn’t promoted many equities at all professionals this year. Steven Jorgensen, the co-head of equity derivative flow sales for EMEA is on the list, as are David Cohen (an equity flow salesman), William Bors (an equity sales trader) and Neil Glynn, an equity researcher. Mostly though, CS equities professionals seem to have been overlooked. This might be because the bank has hired over 50 people in equity derivatives and over 10 researchers in the past few years, and is waiting for tangible results before handing out promotions.

Lastly, if you want to make managing director at Credit Suisse, you absolutely do not need to be in the front office. While banks like Goldman Sachs focus on promoting revenue earners to managing director, Credit Suisse’s list below is striking for the number of compliance, risk, technology, legal, finance and HR people who are included. It might even be said that you have greater chance of getting to the top at CS now if you’re in a support function than if you work on the front line in global markets in London….

Credit Suisse MD list 2018

Adam Roberts-Thomson Head of APAC financing, Australia
Adil Verani Program Sales trading, Hong Kong
Allen Cermak Leveraged finance, New York
Alexander Tyo Head of US rates flow trading, New York
Alexandrine Kiechler CEO of Credit Suisse Investment Foundations
Alexis Baumont Fixed income, Switzerland
Andreas Roth Portfolio manager, Switzerland
Andrew Duff –
Andrew Lai Singapore
Angeline Aw Director investment banking country coverage, Singapore
Anita Antonopoulos Private banking, Switzerland
Annabel Morris Global head of recruitment for corporate functions, London
Antonio Limones ECM director, London. 15.5 years
Antony Fisher Global head of international trading solutions operations, London
Ashley Lam –
Barbara Capobianco Head of weath management operational risk, Zurich
Bill Wang –
Bruno Bischoff Head of sustainability affairs, Zurich
Christian Hübner Chief risk officer for Switzerland, Zurich
Christophe Bonjour Regional head of wealth management, Switzerland
Christopher Schofield –
Christopher Doolin Chicago
Chris Pollard –
Connor O’Keeffe Private funds group, London
Conor Stransky Investment banking, New York
Conrad Bruggisser Zurich
Craig Jeffers Leveraged finance, New York
Cyril Yip Product control, Singapore
Dabby Leung –
Daniel Monckton London
Daniel Rupli Head of single security research, equity and credit, Zurich
Daniela Nievergelt Head of regulatory policy, Zurich
David Cohen Equity derivative flow sales, London
David Mechlin New York
David Rabuano –
Diego Discepoli Head of EMEA IG and EM Credit Sales, London
Dominique Schwitz Teamleader Single Family Offices, Premium Clients at Credit Suisse
Drew Shoemaker Head of global markets regulation
Edouard Kohler Head Advisory & Sales International Private Clients, IWM, Zurich
Edward Hope Head of UK Solutions, London
Eduardo Lapina –
Elena Hainaut Geneva
Eleonore Dachicourt Head of products Asia, ex-Japan. Singapore
Erik Morris Head of EMEA investment banking and capital markets, legal
Erik Nijssen Strategic advisory
Eugenio Giancotti Head of Investment Consultants for UHNWI and HNWI Emerging Europe at Credit Suisse, Switzerland
Fahad Al-Ebrahim International wealth management, Kuwait
Franck Bataille Head of European credit sector strategy, Paris
François Schnyder Head of strategic resolution unit, Switzerland
Gary Katz Investment banking, New York
Gavin Kelly Director of financial planning and analysis, Zurich
Georges El Khoury Private banking UAE
George Geotes Agency CMBS, New York
Germane Wee Singapore
Giorgio Valle Principal equity investments, Singapore
Girish Anthur Head of core platforms private banking technology, Singapore
Gregory Rye Leveraged finance, London
Guido Niffenegger Head of the Zurich region for wealth management
Gustavo Azevedo Private banking, Brazil
Holger Inhester CFO Trust group, Zurich
Ian Blair Global Head of Surveillance:Trade/E Comms/Voice, London
Igor Rena Cardoso Chief technology auditor, Zurich
Ilya Feldman New York
Javier Nardiz Financial consultant, Spain
Jeans Wang Equity capital markets, Hong Kong
Jeremy Duksin Sales and distribution, private fund group, New York
John Katsikoumbas Leveraged credit trading, London
Jonathan Tse Electronic trading, product development and quantitative research, London
John Hoffman New York
Jos Hehenkamp Head Product Development & Platform at Credit Suisse Asset Management Switzerland & EMEA, Zurich
José Arcilla Head Investment Advisory Institutional Clients Zurich
Julien Binnie Director, Global Head of Market, Credit, Enterprise Risks for the Strategic Resolution Unit Division
Igor Rena Cardoso Chief auditor, technology, New York
Katrina Glover COO Australia
Kathrin Wehrli Head Products & Services, Zurich
Laith Al Kurdi Private banking UAE
Lars Moeller Debt capital markets. Corporate coverage responsible for Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Nordics. London
Lea Blinoff Head of UHNW Entrepreneurs & Real Estate Group
Leonardo Mayer New York
Lillian Liao Singapore
Lokesh Khiani Zurich
Luis Macias Mexico
Nicholas Markson Head of banking group legal EMEA. London
Lynn Honkanen Chief Operating Officer, New York
Maarten Swart Director IBD, Head of IBCM Netherlands
Marc von Widekind Head of digital delivery, Zurich
Marcus Lutz Head of compensation management, private banking, Zurich
Maria Nacheva Finance business partner, Zurich
Marc Buchli Private banking, Singapore
Marcello Chilov Private banking, Brazil
Marcus Linfoot Head of credit risk review, APAC and EMEA, Singapore
Mandy Loo Private banking, Hong Kong
Mark Green Credit products COO, London
Mark Wilson Chief data officer, compliance, London
Martial Décoppet Responsible for the Vaud region
Martin Lamb Real estate, New York
Mary Kate Wynperle New York
Masahito Shimada Head of equity capital markets, Japan
Masashi Washida Head of EMEA securitized products finance, London
Mascha Zaugg Portmann Switzerland
Mathias Ordody Zurich
Matthew Cattee US credit repo trader, London
Matthew Masso Head of commercial real estate finance, New York
Meryl Sullivan Rate sales, New York
Michael Comisarow Investment banking, Canada
Michael Jacob Latin American loan syndication, New York
Michele Van Tassel New York
Mohammed Patel EMEA head of flow financing, London
Neil Glynn Head of European Transport Equity Research and Global Transport Research Co-ordinator, London
Nevin Bhatia DCM, leveraged finance, New York
Nicholas Markson Head of banking group legal EMEA. London
Nikhil Singhvi Technology, New York
Niklaus Boser Legal and compliance
Özgür Arzik Cluster head, international wealth management, Zurich
Pablo Carrasco Head EAM Business UK & Emerging Markets, Singapore
Paolo Roncati Head of the family office and coprorate advisory team, Milan
Patrick No Head of financial sponsors Asia
Paul Norris Global head of treasury IT, Zurich
Pauline Cahill Director of strategic recruitment, London
Pawel Kowalski Leveraged finance, London
Peter Cross Renewable energy finance, New York
Philippe Herminjard Private banking, Hong Kong
Qing Wang Quant trader, Hong Kong
Rafael Abati Head of M&A for Iberia, Madrid
Rafael Gross Private banking, Brazil
Ralf Hippenmeyer Head of structured finance, Zurich
Ravi Venkataraju Zurich
Reinhard Mues Head of private banking, Credit Suisse Austria
Reynard Cheng London
Richard Sehayek Global head of fund linked products financing and head of UK and Ireland structured sales, London
Robert Leichtner VP product development New York
Robert Taylor Head of Enterprise and Operational Risk management and COO at Credit Suisse
Robert Wartchow Leveraged finance, London
Ross Whittaker Head of electronic trading, Japan
Romain Pointurier New York
Russell Gale –
Ryan Bondroff Healthcare investment banking, New York
Ryan Williams Leveraged finance, New York
Sabine Barbier-Goldman Head Supplier Risk and Control & Head Policy Governance Efficiency Management, New York
Sandro Kutschera Markets, Switzerland
Sanjay Advani –
Sébastien Pesenti Private clients, Italy
See Bing Lim APAC Lead for Risk and Finance Data Analytics and Reporting, Singapore
Serge Yokoyama Private clients. Switzerland
Simon Booth Chief auditor for risk, London
Shivam Gupta –
Stefan Rauch Zurich
Stephen Ju Technology analyst, New York
Steven Jorgensen Co-head of equity derivative flow sales, EMEA. London
Steven Rosen New York
Stewart Finlay Head of market risk IT
Stuart Crabtree Responsible for the risk management and pricing of FX exotics derivatives and structured products, London
Sven-Christian Kindt Private equity investments, Zurich
Tanvi Singh Head of analytics, compliance and regulatory, Zurich
Tariq Hasan Trading capital and fund management, Zurich
Teddy Swigert Los Angeles
Thomas Geiser Head of Group Management Reporting, Zürich
Thomas Wechsler –
Timothy Joyce Head of London FX trading. London
Tim McKessar TMT banking Australia
Tim Tu Head of structuring for greater China, Hong Kong
Tom Koffer Global Head of Anti-Corruption & Economic Sanctions Compliance, New York
Tracy Watkinson COO and Program Director, London
Urs Burgherr Head of employment law Switzerland
Urs Widmer Head Credit Risk Management IWM International, Switzerland
Valerie Philips COO for CRO change, risk division, Switzerland
Vamil Divan Senior research analyst, New York
Vik Bali COO, private banking, developed and emerging Asia, Singapore
Vincent Tay –
Wang Xue –
William Bors Equity sales trader, New York
Will Lau Global head of IT sourcing, New York
Winson Toh Compliance, Singapore
Yair Oshman Origination, structuring and placement of Structured Financing Solution, London.
Yiping Li COO, asset management Luxembourg

““

↧

Have work hours at investment banks gotten worse?

December 17, 2018, 7:37 am

≫ Next: Brevan Howard takes bigger leap into AI with key appointment

≪ Previous: What Credit Suisse’s 173 new managing directors say about working there

Everyone who accepts a job at an investment bank knows they are in for extremely long workdays for the foreseeable future. Yet it’s not supposed to be as bad as it once was. Banks began rolling out new policies starting in 2013, like protected weekends at J.P. Morgan and the “Saturday rule” at Goldman Sachs, which bars analysts and associates from the office from 9pm on Friday until 9am on Sunday, pending rare exceptions. Most every other bank soon followed with mandates of their own.

Five years later, questions remain whether working hours for juniors have truly been scaled back, at least at some banks. A new report from Wall Street Oasis suggests that the top offenders haven’t done much to clean up their act. The survey looked at the 30 firms with the longest working hours, as self-reported by bankers. The average work-week for investment bankers at those firms was 82.3 hours in 2018, down a touch from 83.1 hours in 2013 before work-life balance issues became front-page news. However, the 2018 average for those 30 banks eclipses that of last year, 81.3 hours, suggesting that the worst-of-the-worst are actually adding to the workload of junior bankers.

Current investment bankers tell us to take the survey with a grain of salt. “I find it very difficult to believe that anyone is averaging 80-plus hours a week these days,” said one VP at a large New York bank. “I’m sure there are crazy weeks here and there where they’ll near [80 hours], but no one averages that over the course of a year anymore.”

A former Deutsche Bank associate agreed, but said she wasn’t surprised with the results. “Bankers love to bitch about their hours. Everyone always over-exaggerates. Take the [self-reported numbers] and knock off 15-20%,” she said.

Working hours are still longest at boutiques and small firms. Experts contend that boutiques tend to provide junior investment bankers with a more interesting workday than big banks – with more time dedicated to execution than putting together pitchbooks. But it seems that workday also happens to be longer. However, the hours don’t seem to have much ill effect. The same survey placed Evercore, Moelis and Lazard in the top 5 in terms of overall employee satisfaction.

Follow @BeecherTuttle

“”

↧

Brevan Howard takes bigger leap into AI with key appointment

December 17, 2018, 9:03 am

≫ Next: COMMENT: It’s almost Christmas. In Asian banking, this is no time to stop working

≪ Previous: Have work hours at investment banks gotten worse?

Over the last two years in particular, quantitative hedge funds have begun integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning as part of their strategies. Two Sigma, Citadel, AQR and Man Group come to mind as some of the more notable early adopters. Now Brevan Howard appears to be making a bigger push.

The hedge fund giant has promoted Karim-Patrick Khiar to the head of artificial intelligence in New York, where he’ll work on driven systematic investments. Khiar started with Brevan Howard in 2017 as its head data strategist but moved into his new role last month.

The move doesn’t mean that Brevan Howard is only now incorporating AI and machine learning technologies. Founder Alan Howard invested in artificial intelligence data venture Quant Insight back in July. He said at the time that Brevan Howard was a current user of Quant Insight’s service, which “helps [the fund] untangle complex markets and identify what is driving asset prices.” However, the hedge fund has even deeper ties to Quant Insight, which was co-founded in 2014 by Krishnan Sadasivam, a former partner and macro portfolio manager at Brevan Howard. The startup poached veteran Brevan Howard equity strategist Amit Khanna in 2017, but clearly there is no bad blood between the two firms. Even so, with Khiar now in his new role, Brevan Howard appears to be making more of a direct investment in AI itself.

Khiar has one of the most eclectic backgrounds you’ll find. He spent roughly eight years as an aerospace engineer in Paris before moving into finance, according to LinkedIn. He later ended up at BlackRock as the global head of structuring for fixed income and, eventually, a director of risk and quantitative analysis and research. He began delving into AI as a managing director at Morgan Stanley in 2015. He has both an MBA and a master’s in financial engineering from the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Management. He has also done master’s-level work in artificial engineering and aerospace engineering.

Follow @BeecherTuttle

““

↧

COMMENT: It’s almost Christmas. In Asian banking, this is no time to stop working

December 17, 2018, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Morning Coffee: The bad news about your bonus for 2018. Google’s new jobs in Manhattan

≪ Previous: Brevan Howard takes bigger leap into AI with key appointment

It’s a common enough scenario in investment banking: you’re in the office over the Christmas season, but you don’t have nearly as much work on as usual (unless you have a bond deal to launch immediately after the New Year). Because Christmas in Singapore and Hong Kong isn’t quite as big an occasion as in the West, many bankers in these cities still clock in at work in between the public holidays.

I would often be among them during my 20-plus years as a banker (I worked in Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and am now an Adjunct Associate Professor at HKUST). I made sure I used the end-year period, especially the really quiet days between Christmas and New Year, to focus on my career and upgrade my skills in order to become a more successful banker. And I’d strongly recommend that you do the same.

In the first half of my career, I mainly used the festive season to improve my technical skills. I think it’s best to boost your knowledge in new areas that might help your career and your clients in the future. One December, for example, I read up on financial maths, and during another I programmed Black-Scholes pricing model using Excel VBA. And most Decembers I tried to deepen my understanding of new products, such as CDS, total return swaps and single-stock financing.

How did I manage to learn the basics in just a few days in late December? I chatted with my colleagues in other departments who’d worked on deals in the areas I wanted to know more about. I bought them lunch in exchange for in-house material to read. I certainly learned a lot more by reviewing actual pitch books than by reading generic textbooks or looking online.

Late December is also a great time to approach HR and volunteer to help at campus recruitment drives in 2019. One year, I also volunteered to design leadership training programmes for the children of ultra-high net worth clients. Don’t underestimate how important these small gigs can be when you’re building your profile within the bank, especially when you’re a junior trying to rise up the ranks. And by securing speaking slots at campus-recruitment (and other events) now, you can steal a march on the competition.

During the more recent years of my banking career, I used some of the festive period to work on my ‘social selling’ skills. I’d recommend this to all bankers. For example, make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and tells a good story.

LinkedIn is no longer only for job searching; it’s important if you want to succeed at your current bank. I have successfully closed deals referred to me by my LinkedIn connections. Clients will often remember the banker whom they last saw online – perhaps they read a post of yours in the New Year that you took the time to write in late December.

You could also use late December to connect online with colleagues from other departments (wish them ‘Merry Christmas’ on the invites – December provides the perfect excuse to connect). I can tell you from experience that having a wide internal network (from the back office to the front) will help you get deals done more efficiently. Expanding and strengthening your online networks is now key if you want to make MD, bring in clients and manage teams. And now is the best time to do it.

Eric Sim is founder of Institute of Life, whose mission is to help young professionals become successful at work and in life. The former Hong Kong-based UBS investment banking MD is currently Adjunct Associate Professor at HKUST and teaches at Renmin University and National University of Singapore.

Image credit: Ridofranz, Getty

↧

Morning Coffee: The bad news about your bonus for 2018. Google’s new jobs in Manhattan

December 18, 2018, 12:12 am

≫ Next: How French banks are using AI to help salespeople and regulators

≪ Previous: COMMENT: It’s almost Christmas. In Asian banking, this is no time to stop working

Christmas is coming, but the closer we get to the end of the year the less bountiful things may seem if you work in a bank. The S&P 500 has put in its worst December performance since 1931 and banks have been making some nervous noises about revenues (and therefore likely profits). Bonus pools are therefore looking more feeble than they did in – say – November. Bonuses may still rise, but not by much.

The Financial Times has spoken to ‘people’ at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, who say bonuses are, “likely to increase by low single digit amounts.” The FT says Citi’s bonuses are likely to be flat or down as it tries to preserve its margins and that Bank of America is going to pay its investment bankers less because they’ve had such a bad year. There’s no mention of Deutsche Bank, which despite repeatedly its intention to pay good bonuses this year must surely be tempted to renege on that assurance as revenues dwindle.

A report last week from Buckingham Research helps explain banks’ bonus predicament. As of November, the report says that some of the areas that were previously doing badly (rates derivatives and corporate bonds) have improved compared to November 2017, while some of the areas that were previously doing well (eg, equity capital markets, where Buckingham says fees were down 52% year-on-year in November) are doing very badly. Allocating bonuses for 2018 is not going to be easy.

One business area which is supposed to be outside the confusion is equity derivatives. The Financial Times quotes Mike Karp, chief executive of recruitment firm Options Group, who says equity derivatives desks are the “shining star” of 2018, having made money from volatility. Not all headhunters are convinced though. One, who specializes in equity derivatives in Europe, tells us things were going ok until late summer. “This year was a good year – until August. Then some banks had the worst August and September months in equity derivatives trading that they’ve had for 10 to 15 years.” This will affect bonuses, he says: “The very top performers might be 10% up, but most people are going to be paid flat on 2017.”

Separately, if you’re tired of banking and looking for an alternative that isn’t private equity or hedge funds and you have the right to work in the U.S., there’s always Google. The technology company announced yesterday that it plans to invest $1 billion in a new campus that includes an old biscuit factory in New York’s Hudson Square. Due to open in 2020 and 2022, the new buildings will house an additional 7,000 staff (in addition to the 7,000 Google already employs in New York). Significantly, if you currently work in banking, they will be dedicated to Google’s commercial operations – these are not going to be heavy coding jobs, but jobs that disaffected bankers might be capable of.

Meanwhile:

Credit Suisse is advising some of its very wealthy clients to move their assets out of the UK because of Brexit. (Financial Times)

“The [Deutsche Bank] retention awards have been as useful as a chocolate teapot.” Payment is triggered at €21-€23; Deutsche’s current share price is €7.82. (Financial Times)

Goldman Sachs is being sued by the Malaysian government over the 1MDB affair. Goldman has “fallen far short of any standard,” said the Malaysian attorney general, “they have to be held accountable.” The bank says the charges are “misdirected.” (New York Times)

Malaysia wants “well in excess” of $3.3 billion from Goldman Sachs. This would cover the $2.7 billion misappropriated from the bond sales Goldman arranged and the $600 million in fees collected by the bank for facilitating the sales. (Washington Post)

Qatar already controls over 9% of Deutsche Bank stock and might buy more. (Reuters)

Deutsche Bank’s problem: As of September, it had just 4 euros in capital for each 100 euros in assets — and poor prospects of raising more, given its low share price, mounting legal issues and uninspiring profit outlook. (Bloomberg)

This time last year, Vanguard expected to spend $5m on investment analysis in the year to come. This year it expects to spend $2m. This is bad news for banks’ equity researchers. (Financial News)

Barclays hired Dominic Nash and Peter Crampton from Macquarie for utilities equity research. (Financial News)

A 26 year-old Fidelity fund manager died at a music festival in Croatia. (The Sun)

A Frankfurt banker wants to set up a fund to invest in violins, which he says are appreciating by as much as 8% a year. (Bloomberg)

““

↧

How French banks are using AI to help salespeople and regulators

December 18, 2018, 2:05 am

≫ Next: “None of those equities hires have been game-changers, except….”

≪ Previous: Morning Coffee: The bad news about your bonus for 2018. Google’s new jobs in Manhattan

Machine learning and AI are talking points in many different industries. Finance is of course no exception. Like other industries we are trying to grapple with how they could impact us and as such these topics are regular talking points at many industry conferences.

At the recent Paris market microstructure conference, a panel sought to understand how machine learning and AI could impact market structure. The panellists were drawn from differing sectors of the finance industry, Laurent Carlier (BNPP), Laurent Fournier (Euronext) and Franck Railton (AMF). Moderating the discussion was Charles-Albert Lehalle from CFM, a large quant fund based in Paris.

Carlier noted that historically quants have been focused mostly areas related to trading. This has ranged from areas such as pricing derivatives to risk management, and more recently, in electronic trading. However, there has been one area, where they have been conspicuous by their absence, namely in sales. As a result, two years ago, BNP created a data lab to use machine learning and AI to change how sales work. Carlier said that 90% of what his group did, was on “applied” machine learning, that is doing projects which had been sponsored by the business.

The idea was to change the way sales people managed their relationships with clients. Part of this, involved making them more efficient. Another part of this was trying to be predictive, trying to understand what type of information could be useful to a client. There were of course lots of challenges, notably that clients behaved very differently from one another.

However, it was very much a step by step process to build up trust. He noted that in areas, where machine learning had been very successful, such as computer vision, the ground truth is known. A human can easily judge whether a computer algorithm has correctly identified an object in a picture. All the information is there. In finance, by contrast, we have incomplete information. Carlier noted how a complicated approach proved difficult, because it was tricky to explain the results, when an algorithm had too many inputs. There was a trade-off, where the performance of certain “black box” techniques, like neural networks could be at the cost of being explainable. In practice, using a simple approach, which was more easily explainable to clients proved better at first.

Working in a regulator, Railton had a different perspective on how machine learning and AI could be used to look at their dataset. He noted that since the start of the year, the AMF have had access a much richer dataset of transactions, which now also includes the final beneficiaries of a trade. With more granular data it would be possible to detect market abuse quicker. He also noted how clustering could be used to detect outliers and errors of declarations. Clustering was also used to group together member firms, so that their behaviour could be compared to their peers.

Fournier explained how machine learning and AI could be used to help his exchange in many areas. As an exchange they wanted to be able to explain price movement. Furthermore, a key objective of an exchange was finding ways of improving liquidity for its participants and also increasing market share.

French banks are not alone in using artificial intelligence, but they are pushing the envelope in applying the technology away from the trading function. As AI becomes more predominant across finance, other banks are likely to do the same.

Saeed Amen is a systematic FX trader, running a proprietary trading book trading liquid G10 FX, since 2013. He developed systematic trading strategies at major investment banks including Lehman Brothers and Nomura, and runs Cuemacro, a consulting and research firm focused on systematic trading.

““

↧

“None of those equities hires have been game-changers, except….”

December 18, 2018, 5:40 am

≫ Next: Don’t fake it or mention swimming. – Top banks’ recruiters reveal pet peeves

≪ Previous: How French banks are using AI to help salespeople and regulators

If you work in equities and you haven’t had a call from someone representing either Barclays or Credit Suisse in the past 18 months, you can forgiven for questioning whether you are generating a bad smell. Both European banks have been doing some huge hiring in 2017-2018. Both have been scouring the market for new recruits.

Barclays yesterday said it has made 49 research analyst hires since July 2017, and 70 hires to its global equities team. At the time of its investor day last week, Credit Suisse said it had hired over fifty people in equity derivatives and 10 “senior research analysts” who have “initiated research coverage on 13 sectors and 185 stocks” over an unspecified time period.

Barclays proudly reels off a list of its new additions, which date back to Rupert Jones, the former head of European equity research at Morgan Stanley whom it hired in July 2017, Stephen Dainton, the global head of equities at Credit Suisse, and – more recently – Dominic Nash and Peter Crampton, the utilities analysts it just hired from Macquarie.

Credit Suisse is less forthcoming with names, but the big additions began with Benoit Rauly and Mike Stewart from UBS in 2017, followed by a litany of new recruits such as Gary Geiler from Commerzbank in London in early 2018 and Hippo Agkpo from Bank of America in September 2018. In sign that all might not have been going to plan, Rauly left again in September 2018 and Credit Suisse promoted long serving employees Julien Bieren and Thibault Dufour to run the equity derivatives business instead. Meanwhile, Steve East, Credit Suisse’s European head of equity research, quietly left the bank in August, and is understood to have been quietly replaced by Tim Ramskill, an existing MD and leisure analyst at the bank.

With each hire likely costing $250k at least in salary and bonus, Credit Suisse and Barclays have clearly spent some very big money on their equities businesses. Accounts released for Credit Suisse International show the London equities and equity derivatives business making a loss of $6m and $76m respectively in 2017. – New recruits don’t come cheaply.

Both banks, however, already have something to show for all their spending. Credit Suisse said its equity derivatives revenues rose 70% year-on-year in the third quarter (even though its overall equities revenues fell by 2%) and is pinning its hopes on further big revenue increases in 2019 as its headcount investments come to fruition. Across equities as a whole Barclays has outperformed the entire market this year; its equities revenues were up 33% year-on-year in the third quarter, and the bank was ranked top overall in the Thomson Reuters European analyst awards in July.

Even so, the two banks have their naysayers. For all the new recruits, fanfare and revenue rises, three London headhunters insist that neither bank has made sufficient “transformational” hires to make a lasting difference to their equities franchises in Europe at least.

“There haven’t been many game-changing hires this side of the Atlantic,” says one London equity derivatives headhunter, speaking off the record. He points out that many of Credit Suisse’s existing senior equity derivative professionals in London (Steven Jorgensen, David Cohen, Richard Sehayek) have only just been promoted to MD and that most hires in London report to them.

Similar aspersions are cast upon some of the new recruits at Barclays. “A lot of these guys are good, but they’re not the stars,” says an equity research headhunter, also speaking on condition of anonymity. “Barclays has picked up various people who were unhappy, or were at second tier houses,” he alleges.

In light of their rising revenues, both Barclays and Credit Suisse have good reason to disagree. Barclays in particular is deemed to have made some ‘game changing’ hires in Europe in the form of Naseer Al-Khudairi and Matt Cousens (both from Credit Suisse) and Stewart himself has clearly transformed Credit Suisse’s equity derivatives business.

2018 has also brought a warning, however, of what can happen if change doesn’t come quickly enough. As we were first to report last month, Berenberg announced in November that it was, “re-setting equities headcount back to the beginning of 2017.” Another London equities headhunter said Berenberg was the big hirer in the first half of 2018, but has since been flinging people on the street. “These people are going into 2018 looking for jobs,” he says.

Berenberg’s unwanted equities professionals might want to try knocking on the door of RBC Capital Markets, which one headhunter insists has been making transformational equities hires in 2018 after recruiting Jas Sandhu, the former head of algo strats at Morgan Stanley, and Julian Livingstone-Booth, the former head of the European real estate equity research team at Goldman Sachs, both in October, plus the likes of James Bell from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in June. “RBC are the bank to watch in equities,” he says. “They’ve quietly been doing a lot of hiring in London, particularly in research.”

While equities professionals were popular in 2018, their popularity may not endure next year. “In the last quarter equity research hiring has been hit by various headwinds including MiFID II, Brexit, a lack of IPO activity,” says Zaki Ahmed, a recruiter at Financial Search in London. “These headwinds will probably continue for at least the first quarter of 2019 as there is still overcapacity in equity research,” he adds.”- You do not need 20 analysts covering a stock.”

““

↧

Don’t fake it or mention swimming. – Top banks’ recruiters reveal pet peeves

December 18, 2018, 6:37 am

≫ Next: Goldman Sachs just promoted 1,500 people to VP

≪ Previous: “None of those equities hires have been game-changers, except….”

Most career advice that banks dole out on their website is rather generic and unnecessary for the majority of applicants. That said, internal bank recruiters can sometimes slip in more useful advice through videos, interviews and blog posts that are less boilerplate. Oftentimes these tips are specific to the firm in question, which can be particularly useful.

We combed through recruiter profiles, company blogs and some of our own previous coverage to lay out what each big Wall Street bank hates to see, whether it be on a resume or in an interview, along with a bit of advice that is less generic across the industry. These are their main pet peeves, many refreshingly blunt. (If not specifically attributed, the quotes were pulled from links posted to a bank’s career site that didn’t include a byline).

Morgan Stanley

“Don’t fake it. Don’t act overly enthusiastic. Any extreme enthusiasm comes across as you trying to impress me too much. Be comfortable with yourself, polite and engaging. Apart from your skills, we are also trying to evaluate whether you’d pass ‘The Airplane Test’: would you be pleasant to be around for long periods of time.”

“Pigeon-holing yourself. Sometimes someone will try to over-impress by showing their knowledge in a particular industry. If it’s a general position you’re going for, it could end up making you look as if you are not interested in anything else.”

“Try not to ask us questions that you can easily find answers to by reading our website and marketing materials.”

“Show that you have a life. Academic success is important, but so are signs that you have passions outside of work. It’s good to see that you can manage your time well enough to have both good grades and a life.”

Citigroup

Utilizing the copy-paste thank you method at Citi will get you busted. “If you have multiple interviewers you should write something unique and different to each – they will compare notes!” – Ellen, campus recruiting manager

“Do not try to memorize answers. You’d be surprised how easy it is to tell when someone sounds scripted.” – Michael, campus recruiter and program manager

“’Tell me about yourself’ is an introduction to your interview, but it should not be the entire interview. Keep your elevator pitch to two minutes or less.” – Ellen

“Aim to arrive 15 minutes early. As the saying goes, ‘If you’re early, you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late.’” – Michael

Goldman Sachs

Don’t botch the “why do you want to work here” question. The most common poor response is: “I want to work with people,” a Goldman recruiter noted during a webinar on interview skills. “We all want to work with people!” she said incredulously. Instead, talk about aligning your values with the company and how you fit in the specific department for which you are interviewing, she said.

Not having any interest in or knowledge of current events is a massive pet peeve for Goldman recruiters. They mentioned reading the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times on a half-dozen occasions during the webinar. You should be dropping knowledge of recent news clippings often, particularly those that affect the division in question.

“Avoid administrative questions which may put the interviewer on the defensive.” (likely pay, benefits etc.)

“Don’t be the first to speak in meetings. Listen to what others are saying, read their body language, and remember that everyone at the table has unique insights to share and learn from them. – Christina Minnis, global head of acquisition finance, on advice she would give to her younger self.

J.P. Morgan

“Talk to a recruiter and write down the language that they’re using…and make sure that when you’re creating your resume, you’re putting your strengths and experience at the top where it aligns with their criteria,” advised one J.P. Morgan recruiter in a recent video post.

“DON’T LET DEADLINES DRIVE YOUR DECISION. Take the time you need to make an informed decision. Be transparent with your recruiter and negotiate a timeline that suits both of your needs. You should feel comfortable asking other employers for more time so you can make the right career decision.” (Yes, those were J.P. Morgan’s caps).

“You can submit applications for up to three programs, so choose them with care. Withdrawing an application will still count as one of your three applications.”

Bank of America

“Remember, that arriving too early can have a detrimental effect; 5 -10 minutes before the interview is plenty of time.”

“Dress for the role you are applying for to make sure you look and feel your best – the same way as if you were meeting us in person.” – a BofA recruiter’s advice for video interviews. (This is interesting as it differs from guidance offered by Goldman Sachs recruiters, who noted in a recent vlog that you shouldn’t dress overly formally for video interviews, suggesting instead a business casual approach. The video depicted a male candidate wearing a button-down shirt with no tie or suit jacket.)

On your resume, “don’t include anything that isn’t relevant. For example, don’t mention your fondness for swimming unless you want to work on the water. Don’t include references.” (Look at Bank of America dropping a joke!)

Bonus: Deutsche Bank

While it’s not one of the five big U.S. firms, we felt obliged to include Deutsche Bank as their recruiters drop some interesting knowledge, including admitting publicly that they will check out your photos on Facebook and other social media platforms and assumedly cast judgements.

“Take a look through the photos of yourself that appear across social media channels. Are you happy for a prospective employer to see these? Make sure that you keep these professional. Potential employers are already using these touchpoints – everything from Facebook and LinkedIn connections to publications and projects – to build a richer and more transparent picture of a potential candidate.” – Matthew Barnes, head of recruitment for the UK and Ireland

“It’s good to be ambitious, but applying for a role that’s clearly beyond you could sabotage your chances of getting a job you are right for. ‘Having a go’ rarely ends well – particularly if you end up somewhere you’re not really qualified to be.” – Jim Norris, head of executive recruitment for corporate and investment bank

“In banking, it’s important that you can make the best use of other people’s time by conveying important information quickly and concisely. An interview is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate this skill; resist the temptation to speak at length, or offer extraneous detail. Answer the question you’ve been asked as succinctly as you can, and wrap it up quickly.” – Faye Woodhead, manager of graduate programs and employer brand

Follow @BeecherTuttle

““

↧

Goldman Sachs just promoted 1,500 people to VP

December 18, 2018, 9:24 am

≫ Next: Awful phrases that Asian recruiters hate seeing on banking CVs

≪ Previous: Don’t fake it or mention swimming. – Top banks’ recruiters reveal pet peeves

If you know anything about Goldman Sachs, you will know that the bank has a lot of vice presidents. – They’re one of the most populous groups in Goldman’s hierarchy, accounting for over 12,000 of its 39,800 employees. This being so, it might be said that getting promoted to VP is no big deal, except that it’s a necessary condition of advancing further still to the truly illustrious ranks of Goldman managing director or partner.

Goldman Sachs promoted 1,500 people to VP this week. It’s not clear whether this was more or less than in previous years, nor is it clear how the promotions were distributed between divisions. But it does seem that making VP in some areas of Goldman Sachs is quicker than others.

This year’s promotions include Padraig O’Connor, a macro rates salesman who joined Goldman as an analyst in London in 2013 and took five years to make VP. There’s also Asim Sheikh, a technology analyst who joined Goldman as an analyst in 2015 after completing a masters degree, and John Andrew Stone, who just made VP in equities strats after joining Goldman as an analyst in 2012.

For the moment, it’s not clear who’s been promoted in the investment banking division (IBD) – possibly because not all divisions have been informed yet. In theory, however, it’s possible to make vice president in IBD at Goldman Sachs in around four years thanks to the bank’s accelerated analyst program, introduced in 2015. – Although many people in IBD still seem to take longer than that.

There are some signs that quants or strats at Goldman get promoted more quickly. Last year, for example, the firm promoted Sarah Eugene, a Cambridge University mathematics graduate with a mathematics PhD from France’s ecole Polytechnique, just sixteen months after hiring her as an associate. In IBD, people hired at associate level had to wait three and a half years for a similar promotion.

Even if you make VP at Goldman Sachs, there’s no guarantee that you’ll continue to flourish. While 1,500 VPs were promoted at Goldman this year, no one at all was promoted to managing director in 2018 because the firm only makes MD promotions biannually. Last year’s Goldman MD class only comprised 509 people. – For most Goldmanites, VP is therefore the end of the line. This is why there are plenty of people working at the firm who’ve been VPs for 10 years or more…

Plateauing at VP can be a bore. – Witness the disgruntlement of Greg Smith, the ex-Goldman VP who wrote a book complaining about his predicament in 2012. Back then, Smith said Goldman only promoted 1,000 people from VP to MD every year and that although he’d had excellent reviews, he never got moved up. However, Smith also revealed that he was earning $500k as a Goldman VP, so it wasn’t that bad.

For 2016 to 2017, recruitment firm Arkesden Partners says Goldman Sachs paid its newly promoted London-based VPs in IBD a salary of £134k ($170k) and an average bonus of £105k. Within two years, Arkesden said they could expect to have their salary and bonus increased to an average of £160k and £161k respectively.

““

↧

Awful phrases that Asian recruiters hate seeing on banking CVs

December 18, 2018, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Morning Coffee: JPMorgan traders told to rein in their bright ideas. Goldman gave bankers a prize for dubious deal

≪ Previous: Goldman Sachs just promoted 1,500 people to VP

Asian recruiters are deluged with CVs in Q4 and Q1 as candidates start planning new year job moves. This is not a good time to send them a CV cluttered with the same old catch-phrases as all the others.

Some resume phrases have become so overused by banking professionals in Singapore and Hong Kong that recruiters can’t stand the sight of them. Here’s what to avoid.

“I’m bilingual”

There’s a growing trend for candidates in Singapore to include “bilingual” on their CV when in reality they are only fluent in English. “They use this word because some banks these days are looking for fluent Cantonese, Mandarin or Japanese speakers and they believe it adds weight to their application,” says Komal Mehta, a partner at recruiters KS International. “Always mention your level of fluency in the second language – for example, mention any courses you have done – otherwise it’s misleading for recruiters and HR managers if you’re not genuinely bilingual.”

“I managed 100 staffs”

Pluralisation problems often plague English-language resumes in Hong Kong. This is one of the chief offenders: candidates who’ve managed more than one person sometimes incorrectly refer to their employees as their ‘staffs’. “The word is always staff – whether it was one person you supervised, or 100,” says Tracy Tam of recruitment agency Ambition in Hong Kong.

“I’m creative and hardworking”

This phrase is so overused, especially by junior banking professionals in Asia, that it suggests a lack of creativity in the drafting of your CV. “I think candidates don’t reflect on whether these clichéd words add value or have any relevance,” says Lynne Roeder, managing director of recruiters Hays in Singapore. “Only express the factual and measurable aspects of your experience. ‘Managed 150 full-time employees across five teams, with five direct vice-president reports’ is much better than writing that you’re a ‘seasoned’ or ‘hardworking’ leader.”

“I efficiently and effectively….”

These adverbs can be applied to just about every task in the banking sector – therein lies the problem. “This phrase is too generic, especially if the candidate doesn’t back it up with some actual examples that these words describe,” says Orelia Chan, an associate director at Profile Search and Selection in Singapore. “And it doesn’t really catch the hiring manager’s attention because a lot of candidates use the same phrase without any differentiation.”

“I’m an ambitious and goal-oriented young professional”

“This is usually the first line on a CV from a job seeker who’s early on in their career search – but it’s throwaway line, it adds no value and if anything may seem a little too exuberant,” says a Singapore-based recruiter. “I’d always think that the person sending me their profile is genuinely looking to develop their career and is working towards goals – there’s no need to state it. Instead let the reader know that you’re a consistent achiever in your tasks and responsibilities and have been active in the development of your current role.”

“I was involved in…”

“This term immediately makes the reader second guess the content of the candidate’s profile,” says the recruiter. “While I can appreciate that you may not want to take ownership or credit for the overall project, opening a sentence with the word ‘involved’ casts a shadow of doubt on the achievements mentioned. My suggestion is to reference your responsibilities within the project and the achievements made from fulfilling, or overachieving your obligations.”

“I’m skilled in Microsoft Office, Word, Excel and Outlook”

Listing generic computer skills is a sure-fire way to repel a banking recruiter. “Why even bother to include such a phrase? Everyone is expected to have those skills,” says Adrian Choo, CEO of Career Agility International in Singapore. “It makes me think you have run out of ideas to put into your CV. It’s better to use that space to put in ‘special achievements’ like ‘climbed Mt Everest twice’.”

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: smortlock@efinancialcareers.com

Follow @simonmortlock

Image credit: airdone, Getty

↧

Morning Coffee: JPMorgan traders told to rein in their bright ideas. Goldman gave bankers a prize for dubious deal

December 18, 2018, 9:51 pm

≫ Next: Centerview Partners: The M&A boutique with the enormous pay

≪ Previous: Awful phrases that Asian recruiters hate seeing on banking CVs

Creativity is a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, you want people to make suggestions for improvements and new markets. But on the other hand, you don’t want your technology systems to turn into a swamp of half-finished projects, all unable to link up with each other and each one needing to be separately maintained at vast expense.

David Hudson at JPM knows this as well as most. He was originally hired to be “Morgan’s Moonshot Man”, carrying out Google-style big initiatives to disrupt business areas and enable mass replacement of employees by technology. But now his role has developed to a place where he is turning down new ideas as much as trying to generate them.

The problem appears to be that it’s difficult to get business units to take a view across the whole bank. Everyone was trying to launch their own system to solve their own local problems, without considering whether it could be scaled up across the whole operation. Lack of “scalability” is the number one reason that Hudson intends to be saying no to what the Financial Times describes as ’employees pitching projects’ in 2019. Given that Hudson’s official title is head of markets execution, it seems fair to assume that these ideas are coming from the bank’s traders.

The thing with having big bank-wide moonshot exercises is that you only want one of them in each system; not a load of overlapping mega-projects set up by bosses who were keen to deploy some of the $10.8bn technology budget. Guy Halamish, the co-head with Mr Hudson of the Digital and Platforms Services team, notes that “managing a large organisation with competing priorities” is always a problem.

One indication of how much of a problem it might be can be gleaned from the org chart. In order to coordinate activities, there are now 18 senior managers in the Corporate & Investment Banking team with responsibility for digital leadership as well as their own business area. Eighteen dotted line reports to a pair of divisional co-heads is usually a sign that either you’ve had the consultants round, or that you’re dealing with some tricky turf war issues. An unnamed senior executive said that “the old system [of every division building their own platform]… was clearly bananas”, but we’ll see whether the new spirit of cooperation lasts when favourite projects start getting cancelled.

Hudson regards the problem as “existential and urgent”, which is dramatic enough in itself, but becomes even more so when you consider that JPM actually has a pretty good reputation in the industry for management of its technology spending. In future, Hudson says the bank’s technology focus will be ‘payments’ – building a streamlined and universal backbone for all the payments business in the investment bank, and nothing is going to be allowed to distract from that. Old systems may find themselves starved of necessary investment, and new projects are only going to be pursued if they fit in with this agenda. Mr Hudson hopes that this sense of urgency will spur more creative thinking. “Too much undisciplined spend can actually be a problem”, he says, “People stop inventing and being creative”.

Separately, people were also inventive and creative at Goldman Sachs’ Southeast Asian business when it came to dealing with Jho Low at 1MDB. A deal under which Goldman underwrote a bond issue for 1MDB to carry out an acquisition of some power plants, taking a $200 million fee but effectively pre-selling away nearly all the risk, was such a great example of “solving an important client’s problem through outstanding firmwide cooperation” that it won the Michael P Mortara Award, the top award at their internal equivalent of the Oscars.

Only trouble was … well, 1MDB. The power plants were written down in value shortly after the transaction closed, and the seller had made a side payment to 1MDB’s charitable fund, which is currently the subject of prosecution in Malaysia. It’s hard to say whether having given this transaction an award is good or bad for Goldman in its struggles to keep the corporation out of the 1MDB affair. On the one hand, it makes it harder to characterise the banker responsible (Timothy Leissner) as a rogue operative acting without knowledge of senior management. On the other hand, it does make it look less like there was intentional wrongdoing. After all, this wasn’t a deal that everyone wanted to cover up and keep at arms’ length; they were happy to be giving it awards!

Meanwhile…

In the Netherlands, the “awkward conversation with your dad” over bonus payments is set to be enacted into law. In the latest proposals to tighten the Dutch law on compensation, as well as mandating five year clawbacks on payment in shares and bonds, banks will have to explain how the pay awards relate to the social value of the job. (Bloomberg)

Former JP Morgan superstar, inventor of the Credit Default Swap and recent blockchain entrepreneur Blythe Masters has stepped down from her position as CEO of Digital Asset Holdings (Fortune)

Might not be many end-of-year awards at Citigroup’s FX Prime Brokerage team; there appears to be a loss of as much as $180m on a loan to a hedge fund. The FX PB division is being restructured as a result of this loss and placed under the overall prime finance unit rather than the FX division (Bloomberg)

Labour’s Shadow Chancellor agrees that there is a “problem of trust” between him and the financial sector (Financial News)

Successful people talk about their “worst job interviews”. As you’d expect, most of them are humblebrags (New York Times)

Paradoxically, despite a poor year for hedge fund performance overall, it has been a record year for new fund launches. The mega-launches of Point72, D1 and ExodusPoint raised $18bn between them, with other startups sharing another $10bn in total (WSJ)

The New York Department of Financial Services has fined Barclays $15m over the Jes Staley whistleblower affair. This was a corporate fine for not having sufficiently compliant governance and controls, and so can’t directly be compared to the FCA fine from May. (Financial News)

Deutsche and Commerzbank have taken part in a “trial run” organised by a subsidiary of BGC Partners, to practice moving swaps positions from LCH to Eurex in the event of a no deal Brexit. (Bloomberg)

A profile of Donald Knuth, master of algorithms and “Yoda of Silicon Valley” (New York Times)

““

↧

Centerview Partners: The M&A boutique with the enormous pay

December 19, 2018, 12:04 am

≫ Next: COMMENT: How to survive your first 100 days at Goldman Sachs

≪ Previous: Morning Coffee: JPMorgan traders told to rein in their bright ideas. Goldman gave bankers a prize for dubious deal

M&A boutique Centerview Partners has made some big hires from investment banks this year. The company’s latest UK accounts, released today for the year to March 2018, help explain its appeal.

In the 12 months to March, the average of Centerview’s 36 UK employees earned £323k ($409k). The average of its seven UK partners earned £5.2m ($6.6m), with the highest paid partner earning £9.1m – more than most hedge funds.

The lavish payday came after Centerview’s UK business made a loss of £221k last year, down from a loss of £886k the year before. The boutique was profitable, however, before cash was distributed to its partners. Revenues rose 44% to £52m in the year to March.

Centerview has had a good 2018. In October, Business Insider reported that the boutique ranked 11th for global M&A deals announced in the first nine months of the year, up from the 20th one year earlier. Founded by star bankers Blair Effron, Stephen Crawford, and Rob Pruzan, formerly of UBS, Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein respectively, Centerview’s U.S. operation has worked on major deals, including Disney’s purchase of $71bn of assets from 21st Century Fox.

While extremely high by most standards, Centerview’s pay isn’t out of kilter with that at some other boutiques. The average employee at PJT Partners globally is on track to take home $750k for 2018, while Evercore bankers are on around $600k.

Nonetheless, Centerview is certainly a lucrative place if you’re a partner. The boutique recently hired Tadhg Flood, Deutsche Bank’s co-head of global financial institutions group (FIG) banking. Flood was appointed as a partner on December 7th 2018.

Follow @MadameButcher
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

““

↧

COMMENT: How to survive your first 100 days at Goldman Sachs

December 19, 2018, 3:30 am

≫ Next: The hedge funds and private equity firms with the worst work hours

≪ Previous: Centerview Partners: The M&A boutique with the enormous pay

When I joined Goldman in 2005 I was told the following: “Remember this: Goldman is always a tough place. It is tough to be hired, it is tough to work here, and it is tough to leave”.

With that in mind, the first 100 days at the firm can be critical. Mismatched expectations, trying too hard too quickly or not developing the right relationships can make a dent on the career prospects of otherwise very talented people.

Breathe the Goldman culture

As in any other firm with a strong culture, there is a “Goldman way of being and working”. Pay attention, take notes. Learn what drives people around you. GS is all about hard work, client focus and excellence in everything you do. Are your personal values aligned with such a culture? If they don’t, you will have a hard time making any progress.

Focus on becoming a reliable professional who makes few mistakes

We are all prone to making mistakes. But when you start, you are building the critical part of your reputation: being seen as a safe pair of hands.

Identify your weak spots and hedge them. For instance, if you are absent-minded, use apps or make it a habit to notes of everything on a notepad so you don’t rely on your memory. I kept a “learning notebook” that helped me digest the vast amount of information that was being thrown at me on a daily basis.

Be happy and enthusiastic doing things below your pay grade

I brought lunch to my team on busy days as an analyst, and I picked my boss’ laundry at the end of the day. I did not need to be told. I offered myself. It did not matter that my boss was 2 years younger than me. When you are a junior person you need to figure out how you can add value to your team, even with small things.

Ask yourself: how can I be of help, here and now? Do that consistently and your team will notice. You will become a valuable member of the pack, someone helpful that is worth training and developing, and you will soon find yourself adding value through more complex business contributions.

Leave politics to your boss

Let’s be honest: when you start, you don’t have a clue about the internal dynamics. So don’t try to get in the middle of things. It is very easy to get in trouble (and to get other people in trouble) with mindless comments, copying the wrong people on emails or joining a seemingly innocent conversation in which someone is being trashed.

Ask yourself: is this adding any value? and when in doubt, be back off and focus on doing your job. You will have plenty of politics to deal with later on in your career!

Rafael Sarandeses is a former Investment Banker & Pro Racing Driver. Performance junkie. More @ rafaelsarandeses.com

““

↧

The hedge funds and private equity firms with the worst work hours

December 19, 2018, 4:58 am

≫ Next: The new best jobs at U.S. banks in London for early 2019

≪ Previous: COMMENT: How to survive your first 100 days at Goldman Sachs

While investment banks are generally prestigiously places to work, there are reasons that many bankers look to jump to the buy-side after they gain a few years of experience. The opportunity to make more money while enjoying a better work-life balance tends to fall first on most people’s list.

As we reported earlier in the week, work hours at investment banks may actually be getting worse, at least at some firms, despite the big industry-wide push starting in 2013 to lessen the workload on analysts and associates. The average work-week for investment bankers at the 30 firms considered the worst offenders was 82.3 hours in 2018, down a touch from 2013 (83.1 hours) but actually up from last year (81.3 hours), according to a new survey from Wall Street Oasis. How do private equity firms and hedge funds compare? Favorably, though you’d rather be trading than buying and selling companies if time at home is a big consideration.

The average week for hardest-worked private equity professionals is 74.5 hours, compared to just 66.5 hours at hedge funds. Again, the data only takes into account the 30 firms with the longest hours, but it still paints a fairly clear picture when the industry averages are lined up against one another.

Interestingly, both hedge funds and private equity funds appear to offer shorter hours than investment banks.

We’ve ranked the top 30 worst offenders for both buy-side industries in the charts below, courtesy of Wall Street Oasis. As you can see, the work hours at hedge funds drop off considerably once you get past the top 10. Plus, the hours at most of the bigger-named funds on the list, including Point72, Citadel, Man Group, Bridgewater and Millennium, fall below the average. Unsurprisingly, two big funds that didn’t make the list – Two Sigma and D.E. Shaw – rank highly for work-life balance in the same WSO survey.

Meanwhile, there is much less variance among the 30 private equity firms. Employees at two of the biggest names in the industry – Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management – report working 70-plus hours a week. However, it’s important to note that Blackstone and Apollo finished first and fourth, respectively, in terms of compensation and overall employee satisfaction in the same survey. If you pay people enough, the hours don’t take quite the same toll, it seems.

Hedge funds

Private equity

// ]]>

Follow @BeecherTuttle

““

↧

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Credit Suisse MD list 2018

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Meanwhile:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

Related articles:

“I’m bilingual”

“I managed 100 staffs”

“I’m creative and hardworking”

“I efficiently and effectively….”

“I’m an ambitious and goal-oriented young professional”

“I was involved in…”

“I’m skilled in Microsoft Office, Word, Excel and Outlook”

Related articles:

Meanwhile…

Related articles:

Related articles:

Breathe the Goldman culture

Be happy and enthusiastic doing things below your pay grade

Leave politics to your boss

Related articles:

Related articles: