Really? Where can i sign up for 2x IB BB associate compensation? lol
Everything ACE says it legit brah. No exaggeration ever on AF.
el oh el
helps to be tall - there is funny stats out there that basically says that overwhelming majority of CEOs are over 6 ft tall. Not to mention US presidents - W Bush was an outlier.
does bigger d lead to bigger $$ or is it the swinging that adds $$.
This was the group. I interviewed with the head of IB and another associate. It was a very small group.
I’m confused. This place offered you $500k to $600k?
Yeah, $600K total ($200K base, $400K bonus)
It seemed like good gig. Ed said the plan was to take me under his wing and I was going to be in the same office as him for the first year, meaning a lot of exposure for me. But, they ended up giving it to an internal hire.
Sure, sure. Totally legit.
Ok bringing this back around. I just met with another ex MD for a boutique IB firm. His recommendation was for me to get into Equity Research for 4 years, then either look into IB, move to corporate finance, or stay in ER. He gave off the impression ER is very valuable experience and opens lots of doors.
His main points of advice:
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If your learning curve plateaus at your job you must change it. This will keep doors open as you continually learn and challenge yourself. The longer I stay a FA the more doors close to other opportunities. However, a quality FA job is not a bad gig, but you will always have the sales aspect of the job.
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Make sure my wife is on board with the plan. His work took over his life and was always put first, which has to be the case if you want to be successful in IB. It was a major part of destroying his marriage. I know I don’t want to do it long term for that reason.
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ER hours are long but more predictable than IB making it more conducive to family/work life balance.
protege for a janitor and call it a day
Typically ER is also weekday work (some analysts force weekend work but it seemed rare) , where IB bleeds over into the weekend. So it gives a little more balance with the more predictable hours.
A lot of advisors are looking for a succession plan. There’s a major concern that there won’t be a next generation of financial advisors to pick up where the boomer-advisors are leaving off.
Granted, a lot of this comes from the fact that the millenias largely opt for DIY or electronic wealth management, so the industry itself is taking a hit. But still, there is room for young advisors.
I think instead the future landscape will have less ‘bad’ advisors for sure. The human financial advisor won’t dissappear because no matter what there will always be a role for them to play (therapist) for the client that a robot can’t do.
Not all financial advisor jobs are the same. Are you giving financial advice, or are you gathering assets and selling insurance? I haven’t referred to myself as a financial advisor for several years. Mostly because I don’t lead the conversation with selling insurance or investments. I can do that but that’s not how I deal with people. Also, these days, most of my new clients come to me. Today I had coffee with an entrepreneur who just had a successful exit and is looking for more opportunities in VC. Not once did I try to sell him a managed account or a life insurance policy. I spent an hour learning about his business interests, discussing the local VC market, and talking about the regional economy. I think I know a real estate developer who should meet this guy. Last month I took on clients who need a bit of estate and retirement planning around long-term care needs. last week I spent time with an elder law attorney discussing their situation and determining whether I will recommend her services. Having them get this LTC plan in place with an attorney will help me identify the right strategies for their retirement savings and retirement income plan. I will probably make the introduction before I complete their financial plan. They also have cash from selling their real estate investments. I’m supposed to come up with a recommendation for that. Last summer I advised a recent nursing grad on managing student loans and planning for the next step in her career. I helped her open a retirement savings account (a teeny tiny 
account ), organize her finances, and plan how to pay down her debt. I also helped her determine if and when it is reasonable to start grad school.
My point is, not all financial advisors are equal. I’m not to worried about the ominous robo’s taking my job either. Main street business owners like to meet with peopls, shake hands, and make deals. I do have to make sales but that’s the nature of being in business. I’m truly independent with no B/D. I sell myself, and my services and I have a 90% close rate if they sit for a first appointment. I use the robo’s to evaluate and compare options for my clients.
Getting into IB is awesome if that is what you want to do. There are plenty of opportunities to advise on business financing, restructuring, sales, etc. as a financial planner as well but mostly with closely held SME’s. The fancy IB’s ignore that market. That’s why financial advisors who are fiduciaries won’t become obsolete anytime soon.
In the end, it all depends on where you work as an FA and the business model you use or subject yourself to. It’s probably the same in IB. Not all IB’s, PE’s, VC’s are the same…
I got into IB at 27 after working for a few years. I can tell you exactly what to expect. I went for a top boutique (I did have bulge options).
The forum .is right, no previous IB experience and no MBA outs you with the graduates even if you are 28. To compete against graduates is extremely tough as you compete vs the cream of the crop at Uni who are 4 years younger than .you.
If you can get 2nd/3rd year analyst with no expeirence, you will get eaten alive as a shit analyst. It is almost better to start lower. I had to start analyst 1 but the responsibility was that of an analyts 2/3 and I am hoping for a 2-year bridging into associate, which is fine as I am learning a lot of the skills that make investment bankers so valuable.
Point is, if you can take the IB job, take it for sure. You sound d like you think you have a choice between BB and EB, you will be very lucky to have an offer anywhere that is well known so if you have a connection, go for it.
The hours are as bad as everyone says, roughly 80 hours a week on a good week and you won’t see your wife/ kids for 3 years that often. But then again, how much do you want it? What is 3-years of hard graft that pays really well and sets you and your family up for life?
Your exits are 100x better coming from. iB than FA.
You are still young and go for it.
losing at least 3 years of your kids life - yikes
Come over to the water cooler and give Greenie some advice on an hourly fee model vs. % AUM.
agree not all financial advisors are the same…you have financial advisors
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at your local Edward Jones targeting middle class and working class mom and pop and shove them into mutual funds and call it a day
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“financial advisors” at some insurance companies who will sell you insurance and insurance-related market products
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and you got the financial advisors at big shops such as US Trust, JP Morgan AM, UBS Private Bank etc etc usually managing hundreds of millions and sometimes in billions of clients assets.
My guy at US Trust has JD MBA from a very good school and manages in the hundreds of millions of client assets. He probably pulls in 7 figures and has a very nice corner office in midtown.
i am not sure losing 3 years of your life and losing 3 years of family time is worth any kind of money…Money comes and goes. But time always goes…Time is undefeated…3 years is a long time. when you’re 22…sure you can do it but with family?? What if you drop dead in year 2?? then what??
Even if it were possible, I would never trade my age with someone 60 years old for even $10 billion…Of course I am no where near even a billion net worth but I value my time more than money.
There are plenty of former IB with a very avg career and okay lifestyle. sacrificing hours and years at work and discounting your own life expectancy at IB will not guarantee a NYC penthouse lifestyle popping cristal bottles with an instagram model with 10000 followers.