Job Responsibilities
Analytical/Quantitative (40% - 45% of work week during an
engagement project)
- perform financial analysis on targets (corporations)
- industry analysis(i.e. compute/obtain industry or comp ratios)
- accretion analysis (for potential buyers)
Qualitative (For divestiture engagements 50 - 60%)
- prepare go to market materials (One page summaries,
Confidential Information Memorandums, etc)
Admin (5-20% of engaged work week)
- Ensure all activities are compliant with regulatory bodies
- Develop templates
- General admin duties including obtaining client codes, etc.
- document all engagement related activities on server/database
system
Marketing ( 50-100% of non engaged work week)
- compile powerpoint presentation(s) to pitch to potential
clients our services
- compile industry presentations (for senior management team)
Research (25 - 50% of engaged and non-engaged work weeks)
- everything under the sun (economic forecasts, industry metrics,
understanding your sub industries, etc)
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Job Requirements
Undergraduate degree - Finance major.
- quality of classes for the undergraduate program was good, but
would not suggest this academic institution for graduate level
studies.
- classes were generally large enough to admit, if not all, the
majority of students that stated interest
- classes were scaled, hence you are compared against your peers
- grading is now performed on the alpha system to be translated
to the four point scale
- professors - some are exceptional, while others, mainly
doctorate students were awful - hence, they were considered
guinea pig classes
- workload - very managable, one is able to hold a part time job
(15 hrs) or engage in extracurricular activities without
detrimental effects on grades
- extracurricular activities were the key to resume building. A
portfolio investment management club was particularly helpful in
my career development.
- make sure to take AMPLE classes in Accounting and Finance. As
well, try to start the CFA/CBV program earlier in your career.
It becomes harder to juggle the post undergraduate coursework
once you start working 60 hour work weeks.
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Uppers
Best part, hands down, is helping a divestiture client sell their business at a
good price. We mainly work with middle market companies ($20 - 100 MM in
revenue). There's a sense of satisfaction because, at the end of the day, all of
your client's blood, sweat,and tears that they've poured into their business will
be greeted with a large well deserved financial reward that you've helped them to
obtain.
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Downers
It's a very lumpy business. I was never a "crammer" in
university. The best analogy I can paint is you can work like an
individual who's been slacking off all semester" and is now
tackling all four projects that are due tomorrow. My preference
is to foresee, at least a month ahead, what my workload is like.
Sometimes, when it gets crazy, you have to put in a few more
hours.
The fact that you don't get paid overtime bites aswell.
Unfortunately, you're not an I-Banker where you see a large bonus
at year end (more of a deferred revenue situation). The hours
are of course "less" lumpy than an I-Banker, but still, it would
be nice to be compensated for the time you're there.
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Lifestyle
The hours can really grind you. I've worked anywhere from 45 - 70 hour work
weeks. I plan to have kids some day and don't intend to stay in this industry
long term. For now it fits. Eventually this will be your personal decision
(work/life) when you enter into this industry.
Travel is minimal - thank God! You tend to do "site visits" and management
interviews once or twice per engagement.
Company social events - lumpy as well - there are times when the company spends
a lot to celebrate all of our closing engagements. There are of course the
obligatory christmas parties (yeah... note the enthusiasm), golf day, and poker
nights.
Dress code - business traditional in front of clients and in formal internal
meetings. Business "appropriate" when you're sitting like a your sun-deprived
cubicle, contemplating if you should email the memo you wrote to your boss about
installing UV florescent bulbs so you can quit looking like Casper!
Diversity - there are many senior managers and firm partners that are not old
white anglo-saxon males. Of course, on the other hand, I can't think of any
female visible minorities who hold the top positions either. The highest
positioned visible minority female is a vice president.
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Compensation
Starting salary - you can expect anywhere from $40 - 50k. This
of course increases if you have any designations
(CA/MBA/CBV/CFA). The only designations that are expected to be
obtained while on the job are CFA or the CBV.
Bonuses - 20% of base salary
Stock options - the firm is a partnership - you only obtain an
equity position when you reach the partner level.
Benefits - Subsidized healthcare, dental, vision care. These can
also be "topped up" where you'd pay a monthly fee (i.e. $30) for
full coverage of most prescription drugs and greater paramedical
benefits (i.e. massage therapists, chiropractic, etc) Provincial
health care is on your own dime. The company also funds a
portion of health related memberships (ie. gym memberships) and
offer personal counselling through a third party service
provider.
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Advice to Jobseekers
My best advice for job seekers is to learn as much about the job
before you sign on. This business is not for everyone. Culture
also differs from office to office - some are more laid back
where analysts swear they don't work more than 40 hrs a week. If
your personal life means something to you, ASK QUESTIONS at the
interview stage (what are the hours like here? what is the
expectation of working weekends? how many associates would I
serve... um... I mean aid.) On my first day, my coworkers
triumphantly recounted stories of previous candidates that only
lasted a morning. Ignore the fancy title, and really understand
what you're diving into.
Also, don't be afraid to live it up a bit. My boss, on my third
day, asked me "So do you have any children?"... I'm 25 years old,
recently engaged, but I look like I'm barely legal. My
answer, "Yes, I have four kids - there's been a bun in the oven
ever year since my high school graduation. It's been really hard
as a single mom. Yes, that means I need to be outta here by 5:30
as day care closes by 6pm"
Don't be afraid to laugh or be a bit goofy (well, not infront of
clients of course). This can be a very stressful environment -
laughter is a great outlet.
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