Breaking Into Investment Banking

Breaking into Investment Banking1

Tobin & Company Investment Banking Groupі

Tobin & CompanyJustine E. Tobin – Managing PartnerJustine Tobin brings thirty-five years of experience in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance to the clientsof Tobin & Company Investment Banking Group. With extensive financial, analytical and deal-making experience,Ms. Tobin brings unsurpassed bulge-bracket execution expertise to Tobin & Company’s clients.Prior to founding Tobin & Company, Justine served clients as an investment banker at Bank of America, SalomonBrothers Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Company. In her roles at these premier financial institutions, Justine advisedFortune 1000 companies on every aspect of their corporate financing and strategic activity. She also co-founded theHigh Yield Finance Group at Bank of America and was an instrumental member of the mergers and acquisitionsgroup of Salomon Brothers Inc. Justine guided clients through a complex acquisition strategy of a nationalizedtelephone system, executed several IPO’s and secondary equity offerings and completed financings in the high grade,high yield, bank-financing and convertible-debt markets. Justine also wrote fairness opinions and complex valuationassessments for several high-profile companies.Justine earned her MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School in New York City. She also earned her BBAwith a double major in Finance and International Business, along with a minor in French, from the University ofTexas at Austin. She holds the Series 28, 24, 7, 79, 63 and 99 securities license designations from FINRA. Justineserves as the Executive Representative, the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer of Tobin &Company Securities LLC.іі

Table of ContentsUnderstanding Investment BankingWhat is Investment Banking?Different Services Financial Institutions ProvideInvestment Banking StructureBeing a Successful Investment Banking AnalystBreaking Into Investment BankingWhat to do NowWhat is a Target School?Target vs. Non-Target SchoolSelecting a Major and GradesHow To Get InvolvedWork Experience and InternshipsWhy You Need Work Experience and InternshipsInvestment Banking Interview PreparationMy Story and Behavioral QuestionsTechnical QuestionsInterview Nerves and Being On TimeJob SearchFinding Job OpportunitiesContact InformationPage1234567891011121314151617181920

Understanding Investment Banking1

What is Investment Banking?Investment BankingAn Investment Bank is a broad term that refers to organizations that do some combination of thefollowing functions:Source: Market Business NewsInvestment Banks act as intermediaries between investors (who have money to invest) and corporations(who require capital to grow and run their businesses)2

Different Services Financial Institutions ProvideInvestment BankingooooProvide strategic, financial and valuation advisory servicesRaise capital through the issuance of equity, debt, or hybrid securitiesAdvise companies in merger and acquisition and restructuring dealsOffer specialized products and services that satisfy the needs of corporate and government clientsRetail BankingCorporate Bankingo Maintain checking and savings accounts forbusinesses and individualso Offer credit and debit card serviceso Provide mortgages and personal loanso Insuranceo Fund managemento Loans and other credit productso Treasury and cash management services formanaging the working capital and currencyconversiono Underwriting serviceso Employer servicesWealth ManagementoooooRetirement PlanningTax PlanningInvestment PlanningInsurance and Liability ManagementEstate and Legacy Planning3

Investment Banking StructureFront, Middle and Back Office RolesFront Office: High pressure, long hours and generally have the highest salaries (Investment Banking,Sales & Trading and Research)Middle Office: Usually consists of risk management, financial control, corporate treasury andcompliance departmentsBack Office: Referred to as ‘Operations’; usually are tasked with administrative roles, which play a vitalpart in overall functioning of the bankHierarchyoooooooHead, Vice Chair or another special titleManaging DirectorDirectorVice PresidentAssociateAnalystIntern4

Being a Successful Investment Banking AnalystResponsibilitiesIncludes but not limited to:o Creating financial models such as: discounted cash flows, public comparables andtransaction comparables.o Analyzing financial statementso Performing due diligence on various projects and dealso Preparing marketing material and pitchbooks for senior bankerso Conducting industry researcho Managing emails and administrative tasksRequired Skills and QualitiesooooooHighly analyticalAbility to take initiativeAbility to be a good listener and pay close attention to detailPossess the qualities of a self-starter but also the ability to work as a team playerBusiness communication and email/phone etiquetteProficient in Microsoft Office Applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook)As you move to more senior positions at an investment bank, your ability to network,communicate and sell becomes more important5

Breaking into Investment Banking6

What to do NowDeveloping your “My Story”This is your foundation for breaking into Investment Bankingo From the very start and throughout your college/professional career you are crafting your storyo You want whoever you are speaking to be genuinely interested in you and impressedo It is extremely important to have a well-crafted, interesting and non-fictional story about lifeleading up to your decision to pursue Investment BankingNetworking - Start NOW!ooooooUse your friends and familyBe resourceful with Alumni Databases and LinkedInDo research before a call or meetingAsk for informational interviews and show genuine interest in that person before “Your ask”“Your ask” – For advice, introductions or an opportunity to join their firmFollow-up with email or handwritten lettersMost important thing to remember when networking is to demonstrate: Business communication skills Email and phone call etiquette7

What is a Target School?Target Schools are universities that investment banks focus their recruitment for their incomingAnalysts. These universities provide informational sessions, networking events and on-campus firstround interviews.List of U.S. Target SchoolsSorted Alphabetically:oooooooooooAmherst CollegeBates CollegeBowdoin CollegeBrown UniversityColby CollegeColumbia UniversityCornell UniversityDartmouth CollegeDuke UniversityHarvard UniversityMiddlebury CollegeooooooooooooMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyNorthwestern UniversityNew York UniversityPrinceton UniversityStanford UniversityUniversity of ChicagoUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Texas at AustinWilliams CollegeYale UniversitySource: www.corporatefinanceinstitute.com8

Target vs. Non-TargetBenefitsTarget School:Non-Target:o On-Campus Events & Interviewso There are noneo More than a handful of candidatesget invited to “super-day” interviewso Recruiting process tends to beexpedientBottom-Lineo If you’re at a Target School that’s greato If not, you CAN break into investment banking from a Non-Target school, but it will require morededication and networking9

Selecting a Major and Getting your GradesBusiness Related MajorsNon-Related MajorsThese majors will translate well in your career inInvestment Banking:o Accountingo Business Managemento Economicso Financeo International Businesso Supply Chain Management and LogisticsNon-related related majors are acceptable but: You will need to justify your interest in Finance Demonstrate ability to learn the technicalconcepts in your interviewsSuch as:o Foreign Languageso Journalismo Historyo PsychologyOther MajorsGradesThese majors translate well into finance becausethey demonstrate your ability to handle technicallychallenging problems:o Chemistryo Computer Scienceo Engineeringo Mathematicso PhysicsMaintain a high GPA:o Important metric used by Investment Banksto evaluate a candidate.o If you have a low GPA then be prepared toexplain why and justify.10

Involvement on CampusClubsBeing involved oncampus is a great way to:o Build your networko Demonstrate social andleaderships skillso Express your interestsand passionso Business or non-business-related clubso Great opportunity to further education and networko Hold positions such as: President, Vice President, Treasurer etc.Social/Greek Organizationso Great opportunity to make friends and networko Hold positions such as: President, Vice President, Treasurer etc.Tutoring/Other On-Campus Serviceso Tutoring fellow students is a great way to show your willingnessto help otherso Volunteering to participate in other on-campus services showsyour time management skills11

Work Experience and Internships12

Why You Need Work Experience and InternshipsWork ExperienceIt’s important to demonstrate your experience working and earning your own moneyo This can be any seasonal or part-time job you have workedInternshipsIt’s important to have some professional work/internships experience because you:o Demonstrate your ability to work in a professional environmento Gain experience in a field that interest you and helps you decide if you want to continue pursuingthat pathGetting these early internships:o Use friends, family and alumni networkso Be resourceful online searching through job boards such as: LinkedIn, Glassdoor and IndeedMake it a priority to get this type of experience because it usually results in full-time offers oropens doors for your next job13

Investment Banking Interview Preparation14

My Story and Behavioral QuestionsFirst question asked: “Tell me about yourself ” or “Walk me through your resume”At this point you should have a well-crafted “My Story”Structure Example:o Background (Such as: where you were raised or School you attended)o Why Finance (When you first found interest in Finance)o Growing Interest (Skills and work experience over time to prepare you for this job)o Your Future (Why you want to work at this firm or group)Source: www.mergersandinquisitions.comBehavioral QuestionsThe best way to prepare is to familiarize yourself with common questions found online and to use theSTAR method when answering:Situation: Introduce the situation to the employer and set the contextTask: Describe the task you had to complete, including expectations and challengesAction: Explain what you did, and how you did itResults: Explain the results of your efforts, with accomplishments, rewards and impactThese questions are asked to determine who you are, how you operate and if you’ll be a goodaddition to the team15

Technical QuestionsUniversity Library and Textbookso Unlike behavioralquestions, there are wronganswers for technicalquestionso So the best thing to do isto use all your availableresources to educateyourselfo Use your University Library to research and read books on: Accounting, Finance, Economics and Valuationo Purchase or rent books online if they aren’t available at yourUniversity Library Recommendation:Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers andAcquisitions by Joshua Rosenbaum and Joshua PearlOnline Financial Modeling CoursesUnderstanding financial modeling will give you an advantage asa first-year analyst and in interviewsComplete courses such as:o Breaking Into Wall Street(breakingintowallstreet.com)o Wall Street Prep(wallstreetprep.com)o Training The Street(trainingthestreet.com)o Udemy(udemy.com)o Coursera(coursera.org)16