My second year in Banking

Gosh... I haven't been writing on my blog for almost a year now! This tells you how busy I am! I am still working in Investment Bank in Fixed Income Division and I enjoy it :). I was thinking that in this post I will tell you how my typical day looks like.

I wake up at 5.50 on every weekday. I live relatively close to the office - I commute on Docklands Light Railway. During my trip on DLR I review emails on my Blackberry - I check also the most recent analysts' reports. I am in the office at 6:45. First, I start with the review of the overnight risks of my trading book. Every night all the exotics and vanilla positions in my book are repriced, so I can see what are the risks first thing in the morning. I see current deltas, gammas, vegas etc. of each of my position in the trading book. If there are significant unhedged positions I put orders to neutralize them.
At around 7.30 we have a floor meeting on which all analysts provide their insight about the current situation in the market. They provide advice where we can expect to see flows in the markets and what are the key drivers of the market in a given day.
At 7:50 I am back into my desk and I review all incoming client orders (first I deal with Asian clients as their day is coming to an end, so I want to provide the with the indicative pricings). If I have any firm orders from the client I execute these orders and hedge resulting risk in the market. In the mean-time I am checking if my book prices correctly (if there are any problems with the book - I ask our excellent MO team to review the instruments that did not price). During the day I am also pricing complex trades that require additional analysis - I check if the models that we have are suitable for these complex trades.
At 12:30 I grab a lunch in a nearby restaurant and I am back on the desk after 5-10 minutes. At 13:30 - I have a risk meeting where I discuss with the head of the desk and the risk officer the risk exposure of my trading book. I need to explain why I hedge particular things in a particular way - for example why I hedged vega with short term options rather than with long term ones etc.
At 17.30 I have to "save the book" (I need to sign-off the end of day risk and end of day P&L). This usually involves some heavy interactions with MO - they are recalculating values of all positions for the end of day. After 19:00 till around 22:00 - when the trading floor becomes quiter I have a chance about RV strategies that we could try implement ourselves or we can recommend to our best clients. I am back at home at around 22.30.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Results of 14th Survey

It seems you are not very optimistic about the prospects of the industry. Big portion of you expects that banks will be not hiring this year. I wouldn't be so pessimistic - when I look around I see that there is big number of interviews happening - people are getting and changing jobs. The biggest number of opportunities are now on the corporate side.

My year in Banking... (Part 1)

Time really flies...

It's been almost a year since I started working in Investment Banking (BarCap Fixed-Income) - I didn't really have time to update my blog, but I will be now trying to write more frequently.

Probably you are wondering how is the life in Investment Banking in Fixed-Income. First - it's very, very chaotic. You have hundreds concurrent things to do and the most difficult part is to control and manage all these tasks so that everyone is happy.

People are really at the very high level. Everyone is from top school and present very good intellectual level. There are many guys from France from all Grand Ecoles and they are always working very closely together. On my desk (10 people) three people have PhD, two people have CFA, one person has FRM.

The pay is very good 60k pounds per year plus some possibility of the bonus (apparently this year will not be too good in this respect though), but there is some really though work to back this salary.

I next couple of days I will continue with my banking story.

Pick-up in hiring!

It seems that we are very close to good times of getting hired by financial industry. Many of my friends (and I - as you remember I started in BarCap) found good jobs in recent months (in CS, Sig, MS etc). Many companies are still very cautious (JPMorgan in particular), but the the situation is definitely getting better (especially in NYC)...
I definitely think that 2010 will be a good year to be hired in good job in Financial Services. For me really good hiring atmosphere will come if S&P500 goes up by10 more percent - people will then get confidence that the recovery is sustainable.
It seems that particularly good demand will be there for junior and mid-level hires. The season for MD hiring is already there - hiring at the junior end needs to catch up.
I also think that this is a very good time to start with MBA or CFA. If you do this at this stage of the economy you maybe almost sure that by the end of the program you will enter the hot job market and you would be able to get a decent return on your educational investment .

My (subjective) timeline of hiring:

1. 2Q-3Q 2010 - Hiring in M&A divisions of investment banks.
2. 3Q-4Q 2010 - Hiring in Equities in Banks that didn't rebuild their Equity Groups yet
3. 4Q 2010 - Hiring in Wealth Management Divisions
4. 2H 2010- Hiring for Emerging Markets roles
5. 1H 2011 - Restaffing of Hedge Funds and Private Equity Companies
6. 2011 - Poorer year for Fixed Income Markets

If you agree with this expectations or your don't please discuss in comments.

The V-type recovery of Investment Banking

It really seems that the Investment Banking is picking up. Number of companies (like Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capitals, Nomura, Goldman Sachs and some small investment boutiques) are hiring actively. At the moment hiring is mostly in the space of seniors and middle-ranks. The reason for this is a huge number of experienced people, who stay our of employment - firms are willing to take advantage of the state of the market to hire experience people at low cost. I expect that this hiring fever will soon spill to the junior job market as well - I believe that this year will give excellent opportunities to find a job in lucrative sector at the junior level. I don't believe that the financial industry could be hit again anytime soon.

My advice at the moment is: Don't be afraid of working in companies that performed badly during the crisis (like RBS, UBS, Citibank etc.). It's very likely that especially these companies will provide extremely interesting opportunities for all juniors. This organizations cut big part of their businesses and hence now they need to rebuild rapidly to remain competitive and profitable.

Yet another proof of the improvement of the business conditions in the investment banking is the fact that I got a job recently! I am soon finishing my PhD and I will be starting in Barclays Capital in their Investment Banking Division.

Usefulness of CFA in Managment Consulting

As you may see in the 13th Survey I just started on the blog, people are thinking that Management Consulting would be a next "place to be" after the crisis. I thought that it would be interesting to analyze how different financial credentials are applicable to management consulting job.

CFA - This credential is very well rounded. When you study for CFA you need to learn not only about the basics of financial mathematics, but you learn in depth about companies balance sheets and accounting in general. You learn about ethics, about rules of proper conduct etc. This knowledge and especially the breath of this knowledge may be a good preparation for the career in Managment Consultancy. In fact I know number of people, who got their charter and joined top consultancies (McKinsey, Bain, BCG). From what I hear, it seems that the knowledge they got from CFA is much more valuable than what they learned in their Masters degree for example.

FRM - Some of my friends with FRM work in Consultancies (like KPMG, Ernst) in risk departments. In fact these departments grew significantly in recent years and there is really quite a lot of hiring in these space.

CAIA - This certificate is very focused on alternative asset managment, and I haven't heard of anyone, who had it and worked in consultancy space.

PhD - There is some demand for PhD from Consulting Firms (mostly McKinsey), but from my observation PhD in Finance or Economics are not really prefared. It seems they like more PhD in "soft" sciences like PhD in Public Policy, PhD in Medicine etc. Companies like McKinsey attract PhDs to inject some non-standard thinking into the firm. However, PhD in Finance or Economics think very alike MBA students and CFAs, so they don't add much.

MBA - MBA has been the most standard way of getting into Managment Consulting. Companies like Bain or Booz Allen Hamilton recruit most of their employees from MBA students at the best universities. Some companies (like McKinsey) put so much emphasis on MBA business education that they tend to send majority of their non-MBA employees to MBA courses at Top Business School around the world.

Summing up, considering the costs of the degree CFA can be an interesting alternative to MBA for everyone interested in managment consultancy jobs.

Good luck to CFA delegates!

The date of CFA exam is approaching very fast. Although I am not taking my level III this year (because of my commitments at the university) I feel the excitement of the moment. At my university half of the library is filled with just people, who are reading CFA textbooks. Some of them use Schwesers, others are studying directly from CFA Textbooks (which is good thing, but maybe not really just before the exam as the CFA Textbooks are really heavy-weight).
This CFA exam is administrated at important time for the financial industry. It is soon to be decided if the finance industry recovers from ashes and would provide attractive employment opportunities not only for CFA Charterholders. Even if you expect the financial world to look bleaker now than some years ago, do not lose the fighting spirit before your CFA exam. Yes, there are less jobs, yes, salaries are lower, but still with CFA designation you will be able to find a job which would be better than average.
As you could see from the survey which was published yesterday CFA is expected to be the most desirable credential in the new finance world. I expect this is because of two important characteristics of CFA. First it provides really rigorous knowledge. The crisis was caused in fact by PhDs, who knew stochastic calculus, market microstructure theory, but they had real problem with taking the holistic view of the world. CFA with its broad curriculum, provides you with everything what is important to have a global overview of the situation. Second, I belive there is no other designation that puts so much emphasis on ethics and good standards and in fact lack of regulations and ethics is a root of the recent crisis.

All candidates, good luck!

Results of 13th Survey

The light for financial industry is even brighter...

After the word of Soros, who claims that the lowest point of the downturn is behind us, and number of other market practitioners there is now even more optimism in the financial industry.

The most notable signal I observe is the revival of the job market for graduates. In last two weeks I observed number of companies approaching students in London. Just to mention few, I have seen a private equity company (Blackstone) willing to find 4-5 interns for the summer, a management consultancy (Bain) willing to find 2-3 graduates for full time job from summer 2009.
It seems that companies are now expecting the worst to be over and they are preparing themselves for the possible recovery.
It seems that financial degrees and CFAs or CAIAs are not dead yet. It seems that people with these qualifications will probably be able to find a job really quickly, when the markets improve. This means that starting CFA or a Masters degree in a respected institution might be a good choice right now. When markets recover (and they surely recover sooner or later) graduates will be able to profit.

Results of twelveth survey

Light in the tunnel

After very strong Q1 results from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Wells Fargo some people claim that the situation of the financial industry starts to improve. The banks, which suffered extremely large losses during 2008 are now coming back to profitability. Citibank recorded the first positive (and solid) quarterly result for the first time since the middle of 2007. It is worth to mention that vast majority of these results was generated by sales&trading divisions.

Although it's far to early to claim that the banks are coming back to health, I firmly believe that this is definite sign of the recover of the financial industry.
Of course the banks will not restart hiring immediately. It's even possible that they will continue with firing, as the crisis in real economy is still unabated. However, recent increase in profitability gives a very good prediction about the future of the financial industry. It seems that the news about the death of financial sector are overstated - banking will still be here and will be strong - there is no other way. Any economy needs a healthy and profitable financial sector to sustain an economic growth.
I think it soon will be the best time for the newcomer to enter the industry. Now, it is really hard to find a job in the industry, but soon the demand for quality workers (with CFA for example) will pick-up. And at some point it will outweight the supply what would lead to wage inflation.

(If you want to discuss this article please visit: http://forum.examhub.org)

Declining interest in Finance

One of my recent and important observations is that the interest in finance is declining. As I am teaching n London Undergraduate courses in Economics and Finance I see that people are less and less convinced to pursue a career in finance. My students claim, that "they found that Investment Banking is not for them...". They now prefer to go for management consultancy or government organization. The same is with my fellow PhD Students. Many of them decided that they want to abandon their Investment Banking dream, as the industry will probably not offer opportunities for many years to come.
The falling interest in finance is a big concern for many Banks in London. They now that if they lose the reputation among graduates it will be very difficult for them to fuel expansion when markets recover (if they do). The situation similar to that from 2001-2002 may be repeated... Then banks just couldn't find qualified graduates to fill their graduate programs.
Situation may be repeated, as nowadays the banks not only lost their earnings potential, but also a big part of a reputation. This is not likely that banking will be treated as prestigious profession anytime soon.

Results of Eleventh Survey

What to do when you were fired?

This is always a problem. In any industry, at any time being fired is not a pleasant thing. However, circumstances in Financial Industry are very extreme. All companies are firing people, so the market is extremely competitive and in fact it is almost impossible to find a replacement job. In addition to this some of you work (worked) in such areas like trading and your skills are almost non-transferable to any other industry. So what can you do?

First, think about your future. Don't assume (of course) that you will not come to finance again, but anyway think about what else you can do. Think about alternatives - where your skills would be applicable and where would you be able to use your potential. I privately expect that there will be a lot more money to be made outside the financial industry in like 5 years to come. I think that really good bets for now would be consulting and law. Some skills especially from the IBD (Investment Banking Division) are really very easily transferable to consultancy (ability to work long hours included :) ), so redundant Investment Bankers should have no problem with finding a new job in consultancy. I also think that talented assets managers would be able to find a job in mainline companies in treasury departments, which now have difficult time managing the liquidity and require talented asset managers/traders. Another tendency I expect to see in following years is the rise of the job market for professionals in emerging markets. I think there would be soon no large discrepancy between opportunities in let’s say China and UK for the professionals. In fact it may be wise to come back to you country of origin, as it may positively affect your career.
Second, consider entrepreneurship. Don't assume that the only possibility is a job in someone else’s company. In fact you may be able to create a business on your own – just look around on what is good in place you live and try to copy this to the region or country you are originally coming from. Think about creating a restaurant, internet shop or anything else you understand.
Third, keep on looking for a job. Even in this market people are hired. It is best to have a good head hunter (for all readers of my blog – if you have good CV I can forward it to my friendly and solid headhunter for consideration – use the email: phdstudent2007@gmail.com) and to be in touch with him regularly. Maybe at some point he will have an offer that would be interesting for you.
Fourth, enjoy your free time. Study languages, exercise, meet friends etc.
Fifth, boost your profile. You should spend a big part of your free time on improving your profile – remember that the world is not standing in one place just because of the financial crisis. People are gaining new prestigious qualifications everyday and you should not lag.
For the list of most relevant business qualifications please visit http://examhub.org.

Good luck in your endeavors!
PS: If you want to ask me specific question please post message on http://forum.examhub.org.

Results of tenth survey

Why qualifications will be crucial for new financial world?

I know that all of you know what is happening in the financial markets. There is almost no financial company that is unaffected by the current turmoil. People are fired in almost every institution on every level in corporate hierarchy.
Many people wonder how the financial world will look like after the situation stabilizes in the longer term. What kind of people will earn good money and what type of services will be provided by financial institutions?
I think that financial industry will still be an important sector in the economy in the future. Stock markets and bond markets will still be there. There will be people managing the risk and allocation of other peoples money. However, the wild-wild west of last decade is over. It will no more be possible that people will earn millions just because they were lucky and some risky bets turned out to be profitable. I think that financial industry will resemble more and more the law industry. What would count most would be reputation, knowledge and hard-work. Those who count on quick-profit in a short term will be forced to look for different profession.
I think that the changes that are about to reshape the financial industry will favour people with solid skills and strong educational background. I suppose that CFA or other technical certificate like (PRM or FRM or CAIA) will be prerequisite for any front office position in any financial organization.
Certificates and good education will be a proof of you knowledge and will improve vastly your reputation. The will be no place in financial industry, where 0-education and no technical knowledge will be enough to get millions!
My prediction is that the financial industry will start hiring around summer 2009... But only those well educated and reliable will be employed.

PS: If you have any questions, or you want to talk, please join discussion at forums.examhub.org...

Merry Christmas!

Nineth Survey

The winners and the loosers

Financial Crisis is not equally bad for all financial institutions. There are some banks, who will be better-off after the crisis is finished. Some organizations will end up as new leaders in specific market segments.
The banks that will really benefit in my opinion are: JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, Santander and to some extend Deutsche Bank (although it is very highly leveraged at the moment).

JPMorgan wins a lot of business from Hedge Funds because it considered to be a very well capitalized organization and because it was able to aquire very sucessful Bear Stearns Prime Brokerage Franchise. JPMorgan took a lot of business from beleagured ex-investment banks like Morgan Stanley, Goldman and Merrill Lynch, but also because it is very well capitalized it will be able to attract best talents as other banks are not recruiting at all. If markets recover JPMorgan is the place you should be in.

Credit Suisse finally won its small war with UBS. For many years people have considered Credit Suisse to be a weaker and less clever brother of UBS. However, this lack of sophistication of Credit Suisse resulted in smaller loses in Subprime market. Clever and greedy UBS invested just to much into complex credit derivatives. Today, Credit Suisse is able to steal the business of UBS and it will soon become a leading Banking group in Swiss.

I don't need to say much about Santander. This bank is buying falling financial institutions for bargain. I expect Santander to become one of top 5 banks in the world in terms of financial firepower in a year or two.

Deutsche Bank is similar case to JPMorgan, but it's financial standing is much worse.

It is important that you stick with the winners of course :D

Banking in the dark...

Banking industry is still under the water and it seems that near future will not be better. While reading the Financial Report of UBS from Q2 2008, I came across an apparently gloomy forecast of the chairman and CEO of the company:

Outlook: In the second half of the year we do not expect any improvement in current adverse economic and financial market trends. We will continue our program to reduce personnel levels, costs and risk concentrations.

12 August 2008
UBS
Chairman Peter Kurer
Chief Executive Officer Marcel Rohner

It seems that new lay-offs are on the way (a number of my friends in this bank was laid off already... :( ).
It is really very bad time to be on the job market. If you are able to embark on any academic programme in order not to have blank period in your CV its very good time to do it.

In coming months, quarters and years many people will have to adjust their aspirations and ambitions to survive on the job market.

Let the power be with you!

Results of 8th Survery