Ask an Associate working in Private Equity on Wall Street anything

[Hank Scorpio]

Hey, what's up NT. I know there are some people here that want to get into finance/banking/Wall Street etc but don't really know how. There are also some people that have general questions regarding working in finance or what Wall Street is like. If you guys have any questions please feel free to ask.

Before we start, I want to set up some ground-rules:

1. I cannot talk about what company I work for( for obvious reasons).
2. I cannot divulge who I am outside of Niketalk.
3. I cannot talk about current or past deals that I've worked on for my company presently.
4. I cannot release my companies address. All I can say is that it's located in NYC, specifically in Midtown.
5. I cannot get you an interview or a job. I am willing to only give you tips on how to land an interview and network.
6. I cannot talk about my family or divulge my identity.

My Background:
-I'm 25 years old and I started working in Private Equity (referred to as "PE") in the beginning of this Summer.
-Before going into PE, I was in Investment Banking (referred to as "IB") for 2 years at a very well known Investment Bank on Wall Street.
-During my time in IB, I worked specifically in the Mergers and Acquisitions group focusing on valuations and Leverage Buyouts.
-I came from a "Non-target" school here in NYC.
-I'm from NYC, raised in Queens.
-My family were immigrants and didn't have much money when they first came here.
-I graduated Summa and didn't major in Finance.

Ask away

 

[timelessflight]

I have a non business degree background but I want to be a financial analyst. How or where do I start?

 

[nawghtyhare]

not related to the topic at hand but should i get overdraft protection????
i heard it can raise ur credit score since a line of credit is this true?????

 

[blkrstr21]

thoughts of penny stocks for someone compleltely new to investing?? etrade a good idea??

 

[derryj3]

Could you help me pick out the investments that my 401K uses? they give us these options to pick and i have zero idea what to pick....

 

[newmoanyuh]

are you single?
loljk

 

[ohmygosher]

- What company do you work for?
- Who are you outside of NT?
- What deals have you worked on (whether they be in the past or current) for your company?
- What is your company's address?
- I need a job. Can you set up an interview for me?
- Names of your family members and each members social security number.

 

[carver]

What that income like

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I have a non business degree background but I want to be a financial analyst. How or where do I start?

I have a degree in Biomedical Engineering and Economics. Getting in finance isn't imperative on what degree you have. It's mostly imperative on who you know. Especially for your situation. Usually the bigger banks recruit right out of college. I'd suggest you take a couple courses related to finance such as Money and Banking, corporate finance, Financial modeling etc etc. Go on Linkedin and reach out to professionals. If you're not located in NYC, this is your best option.

not related to the topic at hand but should i get overdraft protection????
i heard it can raise ur credit score since a line of credit is this true?????

Technically it can, but it won't have a significant impact on your credit. Loans such as Auto or Home are really the "rainmakers" when it comes to boosting or destroying credit. My guess is that what you're trying to do would have a marginal impact.

Your question is more suited for a financial adviser who works for individual investors. I work more on a corporate institutional side.

thoughts of penny stocks for someone compleltely new to investing?? etrade a good idea??

I was never a big fan on penny stocks. It's almost impossible, but highly improbable to make any kind significant money or gains. Now If you want to use penny stocks as a method to learn how the market works--then yes, it's a good idea.

You're better off working with market simulators and playing with "fake money" before doing all that though. If you Google search this, you'll find plenty of options.

Places like eTrade, TD, Scott Trade etc are all OK, but you have to do the research yourself. Try to find a place where the transaction cost is minimal. Anything over $8 a trade is ridiculous.

What that income like

Income when I was in Investment Banking:
1st year: Base salary of $80k, Signing Bonus $10k, Year-end bonus $70k
Year-end salary=$160k

2nd year: Base salary of $85k, Year-end bonus of $90k, completion of 2 year program bonus=$20k
Year-end salary= $195k

Income in Private Equity:
Current Year: Base salary of $95k, Singing Bonus of $20k, Year-end bonus TBD (top bonus $120k)
Potential Year-end salary of $235k

The bonuses got taxed about 30% and I was in a higher tax bracket because I'm single. The gov't takes away a lot of my money.

 

[oidreez]

come on what do you drive and what type of housing do you live in? what do you do for fun? do you "ball out"?

 

[carver]

Damb year end bonuses more than the base salary good stuff brosef

 

[miniojw]

Where do you go for happy hour? Where can a get me some high class yambz?

 

[theworldisyours]

I have a couple questions I'd like to ask...

How many hours are you at the office per week? And, how many hours are you actually "working" out of these hours you're at the office?

What percent of skills did you learn from college vs. learn at your job?

Is a background in the government sector frowned upon if it is your only experience before the private sector?

What is the interview process like? Do they want to know your technical skills? Your experience? Your personality? How much of a mix is it?

Were you drug tested? If you were, was it a urinalysis or hair test?

Thanks in advance.

 

[lazyj10]

- What's your view on carried interest
- What type of companies do you seek out (industry)
- Does your firm feature LBOs?

 

[Hank Scorpio]

come on what do you drive and what type of housing do you live in? what do you do for fun? do you "ball out"?

I live in NYC, so I don't really drive a car. If I were to have a car, I'd probably get a C63, M5, RS5 or GT-R. I live in a 1br apartment on Madison Ave, exactly 3 blocks from where I work

I play sports for fun. I joined a young professionals sports league and we get together and play season sports. Typically, I'm involved in Basketball, Football, Softball and Dodgeball. Now that I have more free time, I try to do a lot of activities such as kayaking and rock climbing. I can't forget about golf either. I've grown to love golf ever since I started working. I don't necessarily "Ball out" too often, but occasionally after bonuses I'll treat myself to a new suit, watch or shoes. I save most of my money for future investments.

Damb year end bonuses more than the base salary good stuff brosef

It's great, but if you calculate the hours we put in to work--it's just really overtime pay. When I was in IB, I was working roughly 90+ hours a week. Now that I'm in PE, the hours I work decreased significantly.

- What's your view on carried interest
- What type of companies do you seek out (industry)
- Does your firm feature LBOs?

-I'm not a fund manager, so I guess it's OK with me. They're really the ones who worry about that type of stuff. General Partners worry about this, because they're the ones who really reap the benefits.
-My company as a whole seeks out a diverse array of companies and industries. We have a net AUM of well over $20 Billion.
-Can't answer last question

I have a couple questions I'd like to ask...

How many hours are you at the office per week? And, how many hours are you actually "working" out of these hours you're at the office?

What percent of skills did you learn from college vs. learn at your job?

Is a background in the government sector frowned upon if it is your only experience before the private sector?

What is the interview process like? Do they want to know your technical skills? Your experience? Your personality? How much of a mix is it?

Were you drug tested? If you were, was it a urinalysis or hair test?

Thanks in advance.

-Now I'm at the office around 50 hours per week. I actually "work" about 35 hours. Most of the work doesn't really come in until noon anyway

- In college I learned how to model and familiarize myself with basic stuff that I learned in finance courses in economics, but most of the stuff I learned was at the job. You learn a LOT more in a professional setting than in an academic setting. When I was in IB, I had a 1 month course teaching me how to use Excel

-No, absolutely not. You need to find a way to show how your previous experience relates to what you want to do. It's not hard, well in most cases.

-The interview process is intense, very intense. When I was interviewing for IB, I had to go through 3 rounds of interviews and within the interviews I was in front of 3-5 different people. They asked a variety of interview questions, although the initial stage of the interview consisted of technical questions. As I got further along the interview process, they were more concerned about my personality and focused more on behavioral and fit questions. The same applied for the position I currently hold.

-I was drug test and also had my finger prints taken. They did a urinalysis test.

 

[nawghtyhare]

Hey, what's up NT. I know there are some people here that want to get into finance/banking/Wall Street etc but don't really know how. There are also some people that have general questions regarding working in finance or what Wall Street is like. If you guys have any questions please feel free to ask.

Before we start, I want to set up some ground-rules:

1. I cannot talk about what company I work for( for obvious reasons).
2. I cannot divulge who I am outside of Niketalk.
3. I cannot talk about current or past deals that I've worked on for my company presently.
4. I cannot release my companies address. All I can say is that it's located in NYC, specifically in Midtown.
5. I cannot get you an interview or a job. I am willing to only give you tips on how to land an interview and network.
6. I cannot talk about my family or divulge my identity.

My Background:
-I'm 25 years old and I started working in Private Equity (referred to as "PE") in the beginning of this Summer.
-Before going into PE, I was in Investment Banking (referred to as "IB") for 2 years at a very well known Investment Bank on Wall Street.
-During my time in IB, I worked specifically in the Mergers and Acquisitions group focusing on valuations and Leverage Buyouts.
-I came from a "Non-target" school here in NYC.
-I'm from NYC, raised in Queens.
-My family were immigrants and didn't have much money when they first came here.
-I graduated Summa and didn't major in Finance.

Ask away

can u tell us any scam stories????
or conspiracy stories????

 

[Hank Scorpio]

can u tell us any scam stories????
or conspiracy stories????

All I can say is that Investment Bankers are partially to blame for the 2008 financial crisis. So much greed along with so much money. It's really unfathomable to gauge how much money was being thrown around. Quite the marval to think about.

 

[nawghtyhare]

can u tell us any scam stories????
or conspiracy stories????

All I can say is that Investment Bankers are partially to blame for the 2008 financial crisis. So much greed along with so much money. It's really unfathomable to gauge how much money was being thrown around. Quite the marval to think about.

 

[Top Boy]

Im currently an undecided sophomore in college interested in majoring in finance....

HOW CAN I BE YOU?

EDIT: And I also work at a bank right now. Will be promoted to Personal Banker in a few months.

 

[703 hwy]

Jelly

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Where's the hammock district? And why the Denver Broncos?

 

[703 hwy]

Read some, do you have a MBA and/or higher?

 

[franco23x]

GPA in college?

 

[suberzat1]

Ahhhhh yes education time on NT. I'll be lurking.

 

[guzzy]

What are some things I should do or start while I'm young???

(Ex. Have savings acc, dont overspend, stuff like that)