Over on the Ask Us Anything section we’re starting to see the same questions come up. This post is going to address why the advice won’t change and how we can save time together.
1) How Do I improve my Diet? We have covered diet advice in a post. If you haven’t taken a look then go ahead and read the post. If you’re slogging 80 hours a week you need to be efficient and as we stated before, if you don’t want to read the post, here’s the basic outline:
Breakfast: Fruit + Protein. Worst case a protein shake in the AM and a banana/fruit bowl on your way to work
Lunch: If you have a high paying job, lunch is used to improve your political positioning so you always eat with people so suck up the $10-12 meals
Dinner: You can get $25+ from your company, do not waste it on unhealthy food. Most people will eat terribly which starts the downward spiral. There are hundreds of options online using seamless. If you don’t have to work late… then make your meal at home after your day is done.
By doing this you guarantee 2/3 of your main meals are healthy. Lunch may be hit or miss, but if you’re smart all 3 will be perfectly fine and you won’t break the bank.
2) What Bank do I Join? Again this question misses the point by a country mile. The question is, which bank will allow me to get promoted the fastest. If you have no idea which bank then go by the rule of thumb
Elite Boutique (Moelis, Qatalyst, Centerview, Evercore, Lazard, etc.)
Bulge Bracket (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Citi, etc.)
Middle Market (Jefferies, Piper Jaffray, etc.)
No-Name Banks (simply make sure it is the same job function)
No, we will not get into a back and forth about “what exactly is E-Boutique versus not” it is up to you to make that decision but if you’ve done your due diligence the answer will be extremely obvious. If they pay above top bonuses at a bulge bracket… it’s an E-boutique. If it pays the same as a BB… it’s probably smarter to choose the BB.
After your very first job none of this matters at all anymore. From that point forward you choose the firm that is going to promote you the fastest. Think smart. It is about responsibility not prestige.
“F*** prestige get money”
Put that quote on your cubicle. People who obsess over prestige have never had a long career on Wall Street. Maximum of maybe 5 years. To put the nail in the coffin check out one of two blogs we recommend (we only recommend Danger and Play and Financial Samurai). Click on FS’s blog… notice something? He started at a top shop but his real money came in after getting promoted and generating a ton of revenue. **hint hint**
3) When Should I Work Out? Well do you even work out? If you’re under 30 years old and you don’t work out 6 days a week you’ve already lost in the first place. If you have been working out 6 days a week, you probably already have a healthy routine! See how that works? So the question is not when you should work out it is if you even work out in the first place. We got this question many times and the answer when pushed is exactly the same.
If you work on the East Coast you go to the gym first thing in the morning. If you work on the West Coast you go to the gym after work.
You can feel free to change this if you’re a morning person or a night owl but it really misses the point. The point is this:
“There is no science, there is simply consistency.”
Consistency is how you keep yourself honest. If you can make it to the gym every single day and lift correctly, you’re going to see gains.
4) What Do You Think About the Stock Market Levels? Always the same answer, do not care at all. You should not care if the S&P is at 1,700 or 2,000… simply dollar cost average into cheap ETFs such as VOO, SPY etc.
If you’re trying to beat the stock market and you only have a half million dollars or so in the bank, you’re wasting your time. $500K in the bank to invest is pretty much a waste of effort. It means if you beat the bench mark by call it 5% that is only $25K. You may as well go and chase real revenue in a business. $25K for 10+hours a week is only $48/hour… That is significantly worse than what you’re making on the job anyway.
If the economy collapses? It doesn’t matter again. Generally recessions last about a year so you simply sit around and take the extra cash that was on the sidelines and buy any time there is a large correction. Your cash was on the sidelines because you want to continue buying through the dips so you get lower entry prices. Maybe you lost your job for a few months. No big deal. You had cash on the side to keep buying and get your next position.
If the market goes up 20%? Great already exposed getting richer!
What if inflation goes “crazy”? Again already own assets… getting richer! Only poor people think inflation is a bad thing.
5) I Make $50K and I am X Years Old What Do I Do? Some tough love and inspiration at the same time. First why in the world did you do this to yourself? If you look around there is money everywhere. A weekend in a high cost city driving an Uber will net you $30+ an hour. That is an extremely low estimate and yet that gets you an extra $60K per year. Why is it an *extra* 60K per year? Well, if you’re not working at least 80 hours per week and you’re broke, you have no one to blame but yourself. Anyone who believes they should be rich working 40 hours a week is going to be in for a rude awakening.
If you attempt to come back with the “but i’m smart” argument, you’re going to get laughter on this side of the web. Why? If you were actually *smart but lazy* you wouldn’t be broke in the first place right? It is much smarter to control what you can control. Go ahead and start slogging those long hours because at some point everyone pays their dues.
Finally, to put the nail in the coffin on this one… If you believe that anything over 40 hours is “too much work” then how exactly are you going to catch up to someone better than you putting in more time? If Person A is working 60 hours a week making $100K per year and you’re working 40 hours a week making $50K… You’re already making significantly less than Person A on an “hourly basis” and there is no way you’re going to catch up by working less and learning less.
Get to the grind!
6) Does Money Attract Women? Yes. Anyone who says otherwise has never made a good amount of money. Here is a general guideline since the question is asked so frequently:
$50K or less: it will be a negative to your sex life because you are not making enough
$50K – $100K: in a regular city this will be perfectly fine, in a major city it is still a detriment to your sex life
$100K-$175K: in a regular city you’re doing well, in a major city it now has no negative or positive impacts to your sex life
$175-$250K: Positive impact to your sex life in practically every city
$250-500K: Significant positive, less because of your life but because of the value of your time. At this point you’re extremely busy, you’re traveling, you’re not available, these are traits that will make you incredibly attractive. It won’t be possible to fake these trips/traits.
$500K+: It is practically impossible to blow through this type of money with common sense and everything in the previous tier are truer.
$1M+: If you can make this income at any point in your life you’re set. Your life changes because all of your actions value your time and comfort. You fly business/first class and do not care. You live a life that is impossible to fake.
Given the range and scope of this blog, it is certainly possible to get to $250-500K (before mid 30′s of course). This is achievable for anyone who wants it. When you start pushing up on high 6 figures and 7 figure numbers, you’re going to have to do something special.
Finally, there is no need to bother asking people like us. You can check out James Altucher’s blog, a multi-millionaire, who comes to the same conclusion… money gets girls.
(Caveat: before all the guys who live on shoestring budgets come in, yes you still need some social skills. That is about it though. If you don’t have some sort of social disease you’re going to be perfectly fine if you ever obtain large amounts of money)
7) Can You Hire Me? No
8) Are You Writing a Book? Maybe, not enough page views as of today. Creating a book that will take a long amount of time. It is certainly not worth it for a 5 figure payoff.
9) Industry Overview on XXX Sector? Probably, these are for Wall Street folk and the blog is currently a ~50/50 split it seems. This means it’s likely but no promises.
10) Resume Reviews? Nope! Hate them.
11) Can You Redesign the Blog? 100% agree needs to be re-done, no time-table yet though.
2) I am XX years old What do i Do to break in? We also get this one far too many times here’s the general guideline. Unless you have something spectacular you are holding back, this is the backdrop.
Analyst: If you are 25 years old or younger, keep gunning for an entry level slot as an analyst. This means you pass CFA level 1 if you have absolutely no finance experience to prove you understand the basics and then you get straight to networking. If you’re at a non-target then read our post on how to network/recruit. Now if you are from a no name school, no work experience and low GPA. You have next to no shot and are better off going to get an MBA later in life. This is the truth. As a non-target or older candidate with no experience, you need to have something to bring to the table otherwise you will lose time and time again to 22 year old candidates with banking internships, top GPAs and a great school.
Associate: If you are 26-33 years old this is your second chance to break in. If you have nothing related to finance, probably best to get an MBA.
Vice President and Above: Likely 33+ years old and you’re making a switch from a revenue generating career. In this case you should already know if you’re well qualified. Generally speaking, if you’re in a sales role or run a product line at a firm and are paid $300K+… You’re likely a good fit (this is general as most people who are in this slot know if they have the skills to move to the sell-side or not)
There you have it, it will answer 99% of questions. If you’re young you simply network and spin your resume assuming you have some skills that are transferable. If you’re in your late 20s you’re likely better off with a top MBA.
I am currently in the process of recruiting into groups for full time. I could either go back to the group with which I interned or switch into another one. I am in the process of talking to people in my old group and the group I am thinking of joining. How do I handle switching into the new group while still keeping the option of going back to the old group without being dishonest?
They will forget about you in two seconds. So simply choose the group with the best prospects.
If you choose the new group say thank you to everyone, be professional and don’t burn any bridges.
There are no guarantees in this industry, make the best decision for your future. IE: choose the group that is the best from a prestige/exit opp standpoint.
What an exit opp standpoint which is better – one of the top coverage groups or financial sponsors group?
Neither. Choose the one with the best historical exits. IE: by name alone you’re not going to know which one to choose between FSG vs. every other sector.
Go through the alumni and find out where they went after 2 years, that’s the real answer. As they say “the proof is in the pudding”
How would you best use evernote or other note taking apps for journal use? I like your blackbook idea in one of your article what other notebooks would you create inside the app. I’ve have one for mood and thoughts of the day (blackbook), gym, ideas.
Never used it so not sure, simply type into word and save it down.
Notepad ++ is great for note taking. Plain text but it fires right up, multiple tabs, works blazingly fast, and is free. Pin it to your taskbar and it will pull up exactly how you closed it last. Good stuff.
Penzu is a pretty good cloud based/online journaling tool. Also free. It automatically pulls up to a new page with the current date and auto-saves and archives when you close. Click on icon, write and close, and you can access remotely when needed.
Just saw your tweets. Did one of the writers of WSP actually meet Mike from Danger and Play? What was that like?
Yes, it was a positive experience and we still keep in touch.
Strongly recommend attending one of his meet ups.
WSP,
I’m South African, 18. Approximately have a 3.5 GPA. I’m planning to study finance in the US (New York, specifically) next year, since I don’t feel that there are any real opportunities here. I plan on doing IB post-graduation. Two questions:
1) As an international student what are the chances of me landing a job offer (and permanent residency) after graduating?
2) In your opinion, should I rather stay here, study finance and then move there, or study finance in the US now and get an early start?
1) it is more difficult as an international student because you are bigger hassle compared to a domestic hire. With that said, since you’re only 18 it should be possible to break in assuming you attend a good university (since you mentioned New York a place like Cornell would suffice). You should do everything possible to obtain entry into a target school. If you go to a non-target AND are an international student, it will be much tougher to sell your story to the good firms.
2) The earlier you enter the industry the better, so it would be first get into a TOP school. Not an average school. Get into a the best school possible then plan accordingly once you have an acceptance letter to a target.
I’ve tried looking into universities to see which are target, but most of the time information about banks that recruit is available only to students. Would Fordham and NYU count? Also, with regards to Ivy League schools, is there any realistic chance of me attending, if I apply and haven’t done sport, very few cultural activities, but I did community service and took the most rigorous subjects?
For NYC Cornell/NYU are your best bets (yes we are likely missing a few other options, so simply go on linked-in and search for investment bankers who came from School X, it shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes)
We do not know about realistic chances of entrance, simply get your grades/exams and extra curriculars as high as possible, write an outstanding essay and see if they accept you. We’re far removed from the college admissions process at this point.
Read your fantastically hilarious No-marriage pitchbook. On the whole, def agree, but my income isn’t extremely high yet and my girlfriend isn’t the lawyer-up type (simple country girl, serious aversion to complicated paperwork and legal matters). I was thinking that marriage down the line with a solid pre-nup would be a good way to reduce taxes. Thoughts?
No point because it is more expensive to be married than both of you filing as single. Run the math my man.
My understanding is that this is only true if your combined income pushes the two of you into a higher tax bracket. If this is not true (i.e. you make considerably more than your wife) then you save money because your income is being taxed in a lower bracket.
Am I missing something?
Pretty simple if you’re already at the top bracket, your spouse gets taxed at the top bracket as well.
So no point at all.
Go google the federal tax break levels, you’ll see it makes no sense as you make more money.
What structure would you use in a cold email to an alumni contact at a bank if you know there’s an open experienced hire analyst spot open, in your city, on their website?
Thinking slightly different than just a cold “networking” email.
This is the exact same as a cold one.
3-4 sentences max.
1. Name info
2. Background quick why they should hire you
3. Quick why you want to work there
4. Thanks for time and résumé attached
Unless it is a small bank, it is best to be short and sweet.
Great thanks… What is the difference in structure for a small bank?
Small banks are okay with longer winded explanations of why you want to join them.
As an example it’s not hard to understand why someone wants to work for Morgan Stanley. But… if you want to work for [unknown] investment bank, you can talk more about why you are interested in them.
Overall it is usually best to stick with the 3-4 sentence structure if you’re a strong candidate (for all banks), if you’re a weaker candidate you target smaller banks and try a 9-10 sentence email that shows 1) you understand the firm and 2) exactly why you’re a good fit.
I’m a 20 year old first year IB analyst in NYC. What can I do during my limited downtime to learn game seeing as I’m not old enough to drink?
In no way shape or form do you need to drink to meet women. You can start with day game and move up from there. NYC is packed with opportunities and you’re right next to NYU.
Hundreds of options.
Regarding the D&P post you tweeted about, if I wanted to attract, say, models, how would I go about “marketing” myself?
Models have a choice when it comes to men, so you can’t lack in any of the main categories 1) looks, 2) money, 3) fitness, 4) charisma.
You’d have to live a life that a model would want to be a part of so you could also have a chance to interact with them. If $500 a night is too much to swallow it’s going to be hard to market yourself for the cream of the crop.
PHD, Catch and lebain are all good places to start.
This is why you need money, you don’t need $1M a year, but $50K a year is not gonna do it unless you look like Brad Pitt and somehow have free entrance into all the hot spots.
As an aside, can you lack in all the other categories if you’re worth $10m+?
No, not if you’re aiming for the top tier.
Go talk to a Quant who is worth millions and you’ll see he is more likely than not, terrible with women.
You have to be the total package to get the top tier. It make sense, because top tier women have their pickings in men, they would have no interest in a socially awkward guy with no personality who is fat.
If you’re a billionaire then sure, you can always pay for it, chances of becoming a billionaire? Next to none.
would really appreciate you guys advice here.
am in finance on the buyside. spend +80% time in front of computer, modeling, pitchbooks, etc, and social skills have seriously deteriorated over the years. last straw that broke the camel’s back was when serious gf broke up with me after seeing another guy. trying to pick myself up after all this. been trying to practice day-game to talk to girls on the way to work, etc, but just have so much approach anxiety that i can’t do it. not sure what it is… low self confidence, fear of rejection,…i just can’t. what do you guys recommend i should do to help myself? how do i improve my social skills with people in general, so that it applies to work and life? really want to improve myself to be a better man.
Some cold harsh truth. If you cannot even gather the courage to say “hi” to a woman you don’t deserve to get laid… Ever.
That said, if you’ve already had a girlfriend your fear is 100% unwarranted and you need to force yourself to approach. Make it as simple as this: start asking attractive people what time it is or how to get to xyz station even if you already know, force yourself to be social.
Once you start doing this, go read the game book we recommend for beginners on the approved products section.
So 1) you don’t deserve women if you can’t even say hello (you’re not going to die, and yes this comment is “mean”), 2) once you force yourself to be social by asking innocuous questions your approach anxiety will go away.
All fear in approaching is 100% unwarranted, nothing bad is going to happen. Ever. Worst case a chick throws her drink in your face, oh well, you’re not gonna die. Happens to everyone at least once.
thanks for responding back. better straight forward so i can work on things than bs comforting words. i get mixed results on my night game, which i can deal with and work on gradually but the day game is just a disaster. approaching a woman walking towards me, walking away throws me off entirely.
also, i noticed guys who really excel at both day game and night game, everything about them screams confidence. from the way they project their voice, to the way they look at you, body language, everything. and women can sense it. how does someone who’s average jump to that high level stage?
will check out the book.
No one in the history of mankind goes from average to great in a week, a month or even a year.
Just remember that you absolutely will get better with each approach, and the only “bad” approach is the one you never make.
will do. thx.
Guys thank you so much for everything you do. I follow everything you guys preach to the letter especially all the books I already read. Thank you for your feedback..You guys are amazing.
Wall Street Playboys,
I am between 16 years old, between my sophomore and junior years in high school. I have a 3.65 GPA and am class rank 38 out of 166. If I work my *** off, I can get that up to a 3.825. I’d like to work on Wall Street.
Investment banking is the first job I should get out of college, correct? Will I get into a good target school with a 3.825 GPA and a 34-35/36 ACT score? What schools should I apply for? I know you have said Ivy League, top ten business schools (according to who?) and schools where many IB firms recruit. I really don’t know a lot about colleges or investment banking so a list of target schools would be nice.
Thank you,
-Alex
You are jumping the gun by about 2 years. We suggest you take your questions to
collegeconfidential.com
We are many years removed from college recruiting, good schools are essentially anything in the top ~25 in US news rankings. Good luck!
Hi
Just a random question from an ignoramus here. Just working through the Rosenbaum book on IB. I just wanted to ask, how can you deduce EBIAT by applying a tax rate to EBIT, when interest is tax-deductible? Not sure where the tax-destructibility comes into play..?
And does ‘interest’ in EBIT/EBITDA also include principal and if not, where are principal payments accounted for – just under financing (cash flow statement)?
Thanks!
To be honest not sure what your question is.
In forming a DCF valuation, eventually towards the bottom you look at EBIT, then taxes, then EBIAT (earnings before interest after tax).
So this is my main question. How come we can apply a tax rate to EBIT to get EBIAT, when interest is tax-deductible? Because interest would reduce the tax bill, how is it accurate to find taxes before interest?
Example:
EBIT = 10
Tax Rate = 30%
Tax Bill = (0.3 x 10) = 3
EBIAT = 10 – 3 = 7
But if interest was included…
EBIT = 10
Interest = 2
Tax Rate = 30%
Tax Bill = (0.3 x (10 – 2)) = 0.3 x 8 = 2.4
EBIAT = 10 – 2.4 = 7.6
So how can we jump to finding the tax bill before taking into account the interest payments, because they will reduce the tax bill?
Both answers are not EBIAT…
Your second equation = Earnings or net income. You took out Interest already. So your last equation is actually net income correct?
Your first equation is correct because it is EBIAT. “Earnings before interest but after tax”.
Well no because I didn’t take out interest, I only adjusted the EBIT to account for the interest payments, and then based my tax bill on the adjusted earnings… this in effect reduced the tax bill, but I still included the interest back in EBIAT towards the end (I used 10 and not 8 at the end i.e. I included interest).
Clearer explanation of second equation:
Interest = 2
Tax Rate = 30%
EBIT = 10
Tax-adjusted earnings = 10 – 2 = 8
Tax Bill = 30% of 8 = 2.4
EBIAT = EBIT minus Tax Bill = 10 – 2.4 = 7.6
Looks like we are talking past each other because your question is still unclear.
You are showing two different equations which naturally lead to two different results.
If you’re asking why they don’t match, it is because one is going to over or under estimate depending on the exact interest/tax rate applied.
EBIAT =/= Net Income
As an additional side note your equation is incorrect
EBIT – interest of 2 = EBT ie: Earnings Before Tax not Earnings before interest after tax (EBIAT).
If you’re referring to the second line of my bottom four-line example i.e. “Tax-adjusted earnings = 10 – 2 = 8”, I’m not calling this EBIAT, but rather than the amount of TAXABLE earnings.
Anyway, it doesn’t look like we’re going to settle on anything. Investopedia interestingly says at the bottom of their page on NOPAT (i.e. EBIAT):
“NOPAT is a more accurate look at operating efficiency for leveraged companies. It does not include the tax savings many companies get because they have existing debt. ”
So maybe that’s the answer… it’s just an over-statement of tax paid.
Yep looks like we’re talking past each other. These types of questions are usually better served live (which we don’t do)
Hi,
Starting an operations summer internship next week at JP Morgan and have a few questions.
1) Any tips on how to prepare?
2) Any tips on how to excel in the internship? I have read your office politics post, im guessing that will be alot to do with it.
3) Is it possible and if so how, to use this internship to put myself in a better opportunity in getting a front office position at the firm?
Thanks very much
1) we don’t work in operations so our advice would not work in this case
2) office politics is likely the only post that applies since your work will not be the same, your best bet is to get exposure to anything that would be considered closer to front office work. This way you can spin your resume in the future.
3) Unlikely at the same firm. Your best bet would be spinning this experience into a position at a lower/MM firm in a front office position. You can try but they are usually separate recruiting processes.
Your spin, since you’re going to ask, is “I worked in back office at XX firm and realized i was more interested in front office work at XXX groups” use this as the back story if you can get interviews at smaller banks come full time recruiting.
Where do you typically exchange currency when travelling abroad? I’m thinking the airport when you land there isn’t going to give you the best rates.
There is no typical but there are really two options:
1) get on yelp and find the highest ranked currency exchange location in your area. they will have significantly better rates than the airport
2) get a no foreign transaction fee credit card, not sure of your personal financial situation so go and search one out
If you absolutely need a recommendation, start at Bank of America.
Why the shift in recommendation from Isopure to Egg White protein?
No major reason, simply looking for something more natural. Isopure is still great for those that have a hard time keeping body fat off since it has a low calorie count.
If you were a first year (not FO – working to break in still), and you and your roommate got a new apartment….
One room is significantly larger than the other and you’ve decided that room is $100 more a month. Would you worry about which room that much?
The real question is how much is that $100 worth to a first year in terms of something like that.
You’re a first year, take the cheaper room. Again you’re never going to see your place so no reason to pay more.
Starting the IB analyst position soon and was really pumped up for it when I got the offer and went through the interviews(the hard work paid off). But now I just finished with my last year in undergrad and am lacking motivation for some reason. Maybe it’s because I’m leaving family and friends behind for a new city.
My question is: How can I get myself siked up/motivated for the job so I am performing at the top of my game come July/August?
The truth is that there is no way to teach motivation. This is what the saying “you can lead a horse to water but you cannot get it to drink” means.
Again it is impossible to teach motivation, motivational speakers in general are a sham and just make people feel “amped up” for a day or two then take their money and run.
The reality is that if you have an opportunity to become a millionaire (possibly many times over) and are not motivated… Well it’s going to be tough because everyone around you is certainly going to be motivated.
Many many many many people burn out, hopefully you’re not in that group because they rarely ever recover to make good money again.
What are your takes on spending money on watches? Any suggestions for first year IBD analysts?
5% of gross income rule. Maximum. Therefore, usually not worth it until you’re at $200K+.
What do you guys think about dating and screwing married women?
Go for it, your decision. Just remember the guy may go crazy on you, or even the girl
Any suggestions or tips for finding an apartment in SF? Working in the Financial District as an IB analyst.
1. Living with a roommate to save money
2. Areas interested in: Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Pac Heights, FiDi, or Marina
3. Finding it really hard to find an apartment that is affordable. You guys preach here to save as much as possible and to find something under $1500/mo. It’s been very hard and competitive to find even that. Everything is north of >$1700/mo. per person. Not sure where to look, which realtors to use etc. Suggestions?
Not sure how to help beyond saying to look at craigslist. That is usually the best option for major cities in the USA.
That said, if you must, get even more roomates if you need to. Again the focus is to either give yourself good social logistics or to save a lot of cash. We suggest the latter because you never know when the economy tanks and it is better to have cash earlier.
I finished reading the investing book that you recommended. I dont know whether to invest on index funds like the total stock index fund from vanguard and keep throwing money in there or individual dividend stocks. Now that I know the truth thanks to u guys I want to save as much money as I can and invest it. I dont want to live off a salary. I want to live off of interests and dividend income and be financially free. Any suggestions?
We have answered this in many posts in the past. Invest in ETFs/Bonds/diversifed items. Do not try to pick individual stocks unless you no longer have to work for a living.
In short. Index funds.
Use the search function for investment priorities
Hello,
I was on track to intern in the IBD of BOA. Prior to starting I had my offer rescinded and since then I have been “off track”. I thought my life was over at that point and moped around and basically wasted one year of my life after being throw off track. One year later I have accepted an offer to do consulting for a small consulting firm where I’ll be doing risk advisory.. Any advice on how to get back on the Wall Street path at this point?
Best Regards,
C
Also, I really appreciate you guys’ blog/twitter posting. It is nice to have a blog that acts as a distant mentor for myself and others. Thank you.
Your best bet is to try and go to a small investment bank (immediately/fast). Otherwise you may have to go the MBA/CFA route if you start to approach 25+ years old.
Your take on religion?
Just like politics avoid the conversation as much as possible. If you’re religious or believe in XYZ better to just keep it to yourself.
Maybe worth a post, but can you discuss basic clothing for NY nightlife. I understand the basic staples for the office but a clear post on style would be clutch.
Cool may add as a post idea. At your age, however, best to stick to the gym and run lower end bar game in a nice v-neck/blazer. Save the suits for your late 20s early 30s
How can you learn the useful skills (life skills) that college doesn’t teach? What resources are available and how did you teach yourself?
This is a bit too broad of a question, what skills are you looking to obtain?
In your investing priorities post, the last step of priority one is 401k to lower taxes. Would you advocate using whole life insurance to take this a step further? I’ve heard this is a fairly popular strategy among investment bankers and those on the buy side. Assuming the policy has the flexibility to lower/halt premium payments without penalty, I’m struggling to find a downside.
Very astute observation.
The only adjustment to the comment is this: most won’t go down this route until they have 7+ figures in the bank. Once you have a sizable chunk of money in bonds and stocks you can then switch over to this investment idea. This is also why it would not appear until the very end of the priority list.
In addition, if we went down that route, we would have to talk about setting up trusts etc. (assuming you want/have kids)
What are your thoughts on municipal bonds especially the revenue ones and also master limited partnerships? Good investment s or bad investment?
All investments have a risk profile, this would be under a low risk low reward investment.
Ie: used for capital preservation. If your goal is to simply protect money and not grow it then it is fine.
Hi, how do I keep super valuable contacts fresh without being in the position to offer them anything of value yet? For example, I’ve got in touch through email with a very wealthy/experienced person before, and they were very receptive.
Later I want to build my own company, and this contact would then be very valuable to have as a mentor. However, until then there’s no point in sending him pointless messages. But at the same time I don’t want to suddenly get back in touch years after I first did (out of the blue), because a) I might lose contact and b) it might seem a little self-serving.
So how can I maintain a network without being of much value to potential future mentors?
The best way is to show promise/potential in a field he/she knows well.
If you haven’t shown any potential it is 100x harder to gain traction. Accomplish something he/she can relate to, build rapport on the topic, then keep a soft once a month contact in the future.
Successful people don’t hand out free lunches so make sure you have potential in the area. Ie: build a relationship when it is clear you are quite good at X. This man/woman would be more than happy to help an ambitious person who reminds him of… Himself.
Never buy a depreciating asset. If it drives, flies, floats or fucks -lease it. This was written by the rock Dwayne Johnson. If this is true then what appreciating assets should we buy?
The three Bs
Business (yours), Bonds, Batches of companies (etfs)
We have covered this already in the investment priorities post.
I got an interview and was all ready for it but got a call for it to be rearranged because I didn’t confirm that the date was OK (stupidly). I had to check the time was OK first and then never confirmed by sending a follow-up.
The guy on the phone asked if it was OK to rearrange for tomorrow instead and I said that’s fine. I also just sent a follow-up email to that call expressing my apologies and how I’m very flexible.
I fucked up. Any advice for me in this situation? Shall I say sorry once more when I meet in person and then just pretend it never happened thereafter?
Already rearranged it now… I said sorry more than once, and he said no problem and we’re going for tomorrow. Still, I guess my question still stands if you have any advice.
Don’t apologize more than once.
If you’re recruiting for lower end finance positions, these mistakes are okay since you are learning. Based on your previous questions/results it sounds like you may be doing more harm than good trying to network into front office positions at this time because 1) your resume is not where it needs to be and 2) you’re not presenting yourself in the best light.
If you’re comfortable with you resume being strong enough to land a FO role, then this is likely a mulligan. If you are simply trying to network, without the *proved* potential/talent to work on the Street, the we would suggest starting lower on the totem pole before re-networking again so you don’t burn bridges for the future when you are better prepared.
Good luck!
It’s not a high finance job, but it’s still very good. Got the interview today and going to nail it.
Awesome sounds like the right track then!
Do you have tattoos or ear piercings? Any risk of a interviewer rejecting you based on that?
While it is not legal to do so (reject based on tats/earrings), it would be wise to have no visible tattoos or piercings.
If your ears are pierced, do not wear a stud to work/interviews. If you have visible tattoos… you’re hurting your chances since the business is client facing (CEOs/CFOs etc.) and it won’t look like you’re mature/well polished.
If you get an interview at a smaller firm (M&A advisory), should you tell the truth that you eventually are interested in going your own way in the future (in a few years time) i.e. starting your own business, or should you avoid saying anything of the sort as they might think you are consequently of less value since you won’t be around “forever”?
Already covered please use ctrl+F for the questions we have already answered:
http://wallstreetplayboys.com/interview-qa-investment-banking/
#13.
How long would you to suggest studying for the series 79? How about 63? Whats the most effective study method for these?
Ha all of the Series exams are a joke. On Wall Street when you take the Series X the “winner” is the guy who scored exactly passing on the dot. Every year they have a competition where whoever scores the closest to 70 without failing gets drinks from everyone else.
If you fail though you’re a idiot and labeled as such for a long time (or even worse fired).
That said 30 minutes to 1 hour a day to be extremely safe. There is one exam series 6x (forget at the moment) that is the most difficult. That one is more of a 1.5 hour a day to be certain you pass with ease.
Having some trouble finding an affordable apartment in SF. We (my roommate and I) have used Craigslist, padmapper, livelovely, apartmentfinder etc. We are in the city for a few days and have been checking out many places. They are however not in our price range or does not meet criteria(like not a safe neighborhood etc, not clean etc.). $2000/bedroom seems to be the norm.
What suggestions do you have? Resources, people to contact?
Answered twice (above you) we honestly don’t know much beyond craigslist and having more roomates.
After asking around if you really want to go cheap maybe China Town, it’s located near FiDi.
Again as an analyst you won’t see the light of day, so save your money and work on getting that promotion/buyside job.
Is $2050/mo. too much? It’s close to work, very nice, and safe(ish)
IB analyst with 70k base and 2050x12months = 24600 in rent for 12 months
70k base assume CA takes out for taxes left with 50-55k
50000-24600= 25600
$25600 in salary plus 20-40k(after tax bonus) = $40,000?
So the two questions are
1. is that too much for rent? Everything in SF we were looking at was above 1800-2000+ and we didn’t want to live in a terrible old rundown place for 1500($3000 2 bedroom apartment).
2. Is that money breakdown for what my compensation will be about right? Over estimating or underestimating.
To be honest… yes it is too much for an IBD analyst. If you absolutely must, go ahead and get a third roomate.
Most people really underestimate how bad the hours will be their first year. You’ll unlikely get 8 hours of sleep a day so you’re going to be hard pressed to enjoy your apartment at all. Working in banking is significantly harder than anything you will ever do in college or your internship because they no longer care if you take the internship offer (you’re on a 2 year stint and they know it) and college is honestly a breeze compared to the pain on the Street (hours wise).
All of that said, yes ~$4,100-4,300 sounds about right. So if you’re going to spend $2K per month… That’s about half of your salary on rent. We recommend 33% or less.
Hi, I don’t work in Finance but I wanted some general career advice. I work at major accounting firm and recently I’ve been trying to change my ways and this blog has helped me improve my focus in life and work but a little too late. I was recently put on a pip the past couple of months my performance has been suffering. The reasoning behind is a mix of lack of motivation, the death of my grandfather and both my parents losing their jobs due to economy and me having to repay my student loans. So essentially my financial situation is not in the best of places at the current moment. I was planning on working a 2nd job while maintaining my current one but the improvement plan has detered me a little bit. So my current options are to sign the improvement plan be closely monitored for two months improve and keep my job or face being fired or I can opt of my job be kept as an employee for two months while I find another job and still be paid but don’t have to show up for work. So I pretty much don’t know which one to choose on one option I can hopefully find a new job be more motivated and hopefully increase my financial situation or I can stay at my job fix my performance and then get a 2nd job after my performance has improved. I just feel the cons would be that if I stay my compensation at my current job wont improve since the pip will reflect poorly in my year end review and if I leave I only have about 45 days to find a new job and hopefully one that pays atleast 10% more of what I’m currently making. I also don’t have a CPA completed so that also reflects negatively and I was due for promotion at my current job which prob won’t happen either I’m 3rd year associate (Associate, Senior Associate, Manager, Senior Manager, Director, Partner) is the hierarchy at most firms. Usually promoted to Senior associate after 2-3 years this year would be my 3rd going to 4th. I can spin it since i transfered groups my 1st year so this would be my 2nd going to 3rd year with this current group but it would be tough. Sorry just exploring different avenues for advice especially since I have to make the decision by tomorrow morning
This is a very long winded post, essentially should you stay or leave correct?
1) we do not know much about politics in accounting but we’ll go ahead and say it matters
2) we don’t know much about how to get promoted in accounting
Therefore on a glance your best bet is to 1) focus on keeping your main job (don’t get a second) 2) begin recruiting aggressively – switch to another job and 3) begin looking for an alternative career that may be a 180 degree turn – it sounds like you’re not being paid much so moving into a trade is more helpful but again we don’t know the comp structure to the t.
Yes sorry for the long winded post it was actually beneficial for me as well to just write it all out to get my head clear should I stay or leave essentially. The comp structure is I’ve been given 3% raises for the past two years when you get promoted you receive a 15-25% bump so essentially I’ve just been keeping up with inflation on top of that I have a lot of student loan debt since my parents are unable to pay their portion of the loans essentially my expenses outweigh my income which is obviously not good. So for the most part you suggest I should stay improve my performance get off the performance plan, and while working look for another opportunity instead of looking for another opportunity fulltime?
Lets break it down in clear and obvious steps…
1) Do barely just enough work to NOT get fired. Why? It is significantly harder to get a job when you don’t have one.
2) Start looking for a new job in your field or a new unrelated field (look up the exact pay amounts)
3) if you stay in accounting get that promotion always always always choose responsibility over a second job flipping burgers for some meaningless wage. Why? You get paid much more for less or equal hours.
All set.
To be 100% crystal clear here.
By promotion we mean at a different firm. Not the one you are at. You need to do the minimum to NOT get fired and simply find a new firm since your footing on a political basis is at a low.
Gotcha thanks means alot!
how where can u stash your cash so that your baby’s mother won’t find out how much you have in the bank in the usa besides a regular bank account? I have heard about nominal bank accounts and safe deposit boxes. What are your suggestions..
Trust funds, under a corporation or in expensive items that don’t lose much value.
If you’re talking about a few thousand bucks $10-30K, keeping it in a safe is perfectly fine for a real SHTF scenario.
The thing with hiding money, is that when it is hidden it doesn’t grow. The only way to hide money and have it grow is to lock it up (IE business/trust funds/life insurance etc.)
What would you do in this situation…
You are in a middle office/back office role in NYC with almost a year left on your lease (with one roommate).
You’ve been networking hard and got an opportunity in SF in a solid MM bank in TMT, one of your favorite industries….
Obviously the sticking point here is your lease on the east coast/moving.
Any tips on handling something like this?
We need to change your mindset immediately.
There is no sticking point
Repeat.
There is NO sticking point
You leave. Back office means no career opportunities it means your life is no where near on track relative to front office roles.
Leave leave leave.
Congrats and good luck!
Thanks for the quick reply – you guys always help to motivate.
And in terms of moving and dealing with 11 months left on a lease on the east coast?
Try to get out of it as follows:
1) by helping your friend(s) find a roomate to replace you. This would fix your lease issue AND make sure no one is annoyed with you
2) If that falls through you’re going to have to bite the bullet for any break lease, but you should hustle extremely hard to get a person in there for them.
How useful is a law degree on Wall Street? How is corporate law lifestyle/salary compared to going into Wall Street straight from undergrad?
Not needed to break in, nor very useful to be honest. It can be helpful if you were say a “JD/MBA” guy who focused on finance for the MBA side, it would show you’re excruciatingly smart and hard working.
Compensation is much weaker compared to the street by a magnitude. Unless you go to the Big 3 law firms, you’re looking at trailing a Wall Street guy by a factor of about 1.5x based on age.
Eg. a good Wall Street guy is making $300K at 30 years old, a really solid lawyer at a great firm is closer to $200K.
If you look at age 40 the same theme applies. Wall Street $1M+ Lawyer we will call it $600K+… But of course if you make partner then law can be better than the street.
Overall? Go to the Street if you want money.
Community college student here. In the post about the education system, it was mentioned that one should apply to majors with the least resistance to gain entry into a solid university. The dilemma I have here is that if I were to apply as something like a philosophy major, I wouldn’t be able to transfer to the universitiy’s business school. Should I shoot for the business schools, or would switching to a math major/ take accounting as a minor after I matriculate be fine for front office roles?
Thank you for the time.
Yep in that case you apply direct to the business school.
To be extremely safe, say you apply to 10 schools. Apply to 2 schools as a “ethnic studies major” then simply switch to a more business related degree such as economics and take business school courses on the side.
This way if you get into one of the 9 business schools direct = great shape. Also you have hedged your bets by making sure you do obtain entrance into at least one good school.
Good luck!
Read the Benjamin Graham book that you suggested. Any other books on investing and making your money grow that’s not listed on the recommended books section? thanks…looking to keep learning and growing..
Nope. Until you’re worth at least $500K-$1M there is no point in changing strategies.
How would you go about applying your advice and mindset to not dealing with the street but finding a way to become an entrepreneur. I know you guys don’t have any expertise in it but would you ever recommend to someone to blaze their own path and attempt some risk or do you feel if you don’t have the neccesary skills or background it’s too much of an uphill battle. (I.e haven’t been coding, all you have is business knowledge and finance degree but not working on the street)?
You can start a company any time. however do not start a company with an “idea” you want to work and grind to make your money and start a company once you have beta tested the product several times.
Now you know 1) you have demand and 2) you have a product that adds value.
If you don’t have a product that people will pay for, you don’t have anything no matter how cool the idea seems.
I’m so close to going down a tax bracket, but I can’t contribute to a 401k in my present vocation. Now if I understand correctly, contributing to a Roth is post tax, so does it make more sense to instead contribute the maximum to a traditional IRA?
Sure
1. Have you looked into health care accounts? If you know you always wanted to get XYZ fixed go ahead and open that HSA account so you can go up a few thousand in there. As an example if you want to get invisalign.
2. You can contribute a little bit to charity
3. You can go the IRA route
4. If you are a home owner, tax credits are available for homeowners who install alternative energy equipment (not well versed in this but look into it to see how it changes your tax bill).
I’ve got my lifestyle down to a $1800 total monthly cost, which means I can just about cover it with unemployment if the need ever arises. Should I bother with 3 months of emergency savings or instead just keep a few grand cushion in the bank and invest/pay off debts more aggressively?
First congrats on the minimalist lifestyle, that is phenomenal!
Would still recommend having at least $5,400 in the bank just in case.
In a worst worst worst case scenario you are unfairly fired and then you get no unemployment. So play it safe my man.
I’m trying to eliminate all my bills except the food bill so that I can bank all of my income. All I have now is rent and food. For example: I dont have cable, I don’t pay electricity in my apartment, I dont have a cell phone or internet bill because of wi-fi,, my job is close so no commuting costs, I take my lunch to work, I have a gym at home so no gym fees, no car because I have all types of mass transit and cabs 24/7, so that leaves me with the rent and grocery bill.. I’m a renter who was thinking of buying a condo , coop, or house to live rent free however u guys are against this. What do u suggest when it comes down to eliminating my rent bill? Also I’m tired of keeping my money in the bank and getting almost no money on it back and having the bankers make billions so where should I throw my money so it can grow instead of evaporate due to inflation? I’m frugal and would love to become a minimalist any tips….
1) No way to eliminate rent bill. Again and again you have asked this same question. If you are fine living in the same city for life, then absolutely go for it.
2) you have asked the inflation question several times, re-read our same posts. Etfs/bonds
What do you guys do to keep up with time management. Apps? Paper and Pen? To Do List? Calenders? Reminder list? Basically how do you organize your day to minimize procrastination and bs time and get shit done to maximize productivity not just at work but with life. i.e. Balancing work, commuting, women, lifting, meal prep, reading, new skills, networking, socializing, entertainment obv if all else is finished. Thanks! You guys should write a book
Pretty simple really. 1) IPhone calendar handles all meetings and events and 2) keep a journal to track goals + plans for the next day as a double reminder.
Use search function for the word journal.
Whats the difference between etf, index funds and mutual funds?
For definitions simply check out investopedia
Hi, I wanted to know if by any chance you have any websites you can recommend that perhaps are similar to yours dealing with Venture Capitalism, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurship. I feel that for banking there are many good resources which I would say is this site, mergers and inquisitions and wallstreetoasis however as far as the sectors I previously mentioned I wouldn’t be able to recommend any of the top of my head perhaps one of you guys has seen a site or two worth mentioning. Thanks!
Good question, the problem is there is next to no demand for such products. Again the attrition rate at the sell side is about 80-90% after 2-3 years so your pool of readers drops to next to nothing by year 5.
Do not know of one on PE.
For Vc’s follow Marc Andreesen’s blog.