hope you guys enjoy this piece, was blown away by how bad some of these PE-backed stories got.
Transition to IB
Looking for some advice on FT Associate recruiting. I am an 2nd year MBA and I didn't do an IB summer; instead, I was in Corp Dev and market Research and my background is in corporate finance and post-merger integration.
I’m very comfortable with the accounting, financial statement mechanics, and the operational side of M&A, but I lack the reps of building valuation models from scratch in a live deal environment.
For those interviewing FT Associate candidates:
-What should I be studying right now to prove my technical chops are up to par with the IB summer class?
-How can I best pitch my integration experience so it comes across as a value-add rather than a lack of transactional experience?
-What are the biggest things I’m likely missing about the IB Associate role that a traditional summer intern would already know?
Thanks in advance!
Hey Erik, whatsup man. First can I reshare this on my story to encourage some more responses? Can block out name tho.
I think personally if you're technically sound and have integration experience then there is an M&A adjacent role out there - will have to hustle ofc tho like everything.
While i think AI speeds up the modeling process, firms will still grill you on the plumbing - and u need to be able to go under the hood to toggle adj. Practicing on ur own is kinda excruciating but it's the way to get practice reps in.
•AMAs
August AMA
Busy month ahead! We have our Investment Banking Comp Report, several editions of The Wall Street Rollup, and I'm heading back to the drawing board on HYH Newsletter research topics.
In the meantime, I'm continuing to be here as a resource. Lmk any AMA questions I can answer and if I can broadcast to X/IG to garner more answers for you/to promote the community.
Leopold Margin Called
Incredible day of memeage on my X feed & IG carousel.
Golden boy Leopold Aschenbrenner had to sell his positions to Ken Griffin.
https://x.com/HighyieldHarry/status/2082818067864735844?s=20
AI is coming from your sports teams
AI is coming for your sports teams
And not in the way you might expect
via High Yield Harry's Newsletter
Echo star piece
Hi Harry - I subscribe to the mailing list and enjoyed the piece… have you done other similar write ups previously (I only just signed up)? If so, can I access them please. Thank you!
Hey we organize some of these writeups via business case study labels - take a look https://highyieldharry.beehiiv.com
What are your thoughts on the CFA designation?
Curious to hear your thoughts along with the rest of the community. I currently work on the research side of a CRE firm and primarily deal with REITs, CMBS and other areas of capital markets. My firm is contemplating starting an investment management side of the business, similar to CBRE, and I’d love to pivot over to this area. I know the CFA is a huge commitment, but I have a decent work life balance that gives me plenty of time to study. Thanks in advance for your input!
Hey I think you're better off spending your time recruiting for a role and then once you land it, you can see if a CFA designation is something valued by your team. I didn't think it was needed pre-2022 either, but I think AI has changed the game where AI-enabled skills matter much more than the CFA. BUT it's been a 50/50 tossup in my experience on whether analysts do or dont have a CFA. Ultimately too, you need to know the fundamentals and technical, CFA studying helps w/ that - but its still a piece of paper
Case Studies
What are the best sources to get case studies for private/public credit roles?
Hey take a look at my paid side of my newsletter - most relevant pieces will be on how to write a Credit Memo for Private and Public Credit roles + the things you need to hammer out in diligence and in your model. I avoided the modeling element in HYH Premium because there's so many free resources on the modeling side out there - we have a free LBO model template on Buyside Hub if that helps too. We've had 650+ HYH Premium customers since 2024. https://highyieldharry.beehiiv.com/abouthyhpremium
•AMAs
Director of Data & AI
hey all-
I'm a director of Data & AI at an Asset Management firm. Our senior partners and our interns have been asking me all sort's of questions. I've gotten a lot out of Harry's newsletters and community in general - feel like it's time I return the favor.
Not sure if you implement AI solutions or analyze AI related stocks, but I'll ask some of my questions.
1) How do you add value through AI at an asset management firm to help save senior analysts as much time as possible? Are there any custom workflows your team built that your colleagues loved?
2) How would someone already uses AI tools (LLMs and agents) at a surface level for research and synthesis take their usage to the next level?
3) Are there any resources you would recommend for understanding the economics of the AI industry at a deep level and understanding the business models of AI adjacent firms across the value chain?
4) Any advice for pitching yourself if you want to to break into AI at an asset management firm at the junior level?
IB -> PE pivot (London)
Guys, i’m a MSc student of A&F at a semi-target school to London IB (based outside of London), targeting IB in London and then a pivot into PE. In September, i’ll be doing a PE internship in semi con / high-tech industrials / defense working on value creation. I will be doing a 2nd MScs (Finance & Investments because it’s a closer study to IB “theoretically” and more of a target program for my university)
1. Currently have 2 referrals both in London one in TMT at a “T2 BB”, another in M&A “T1 BB”. I want to use the T2 referral to secure an OC between Jan - May 27 and then use the T1 for a SA in Jun - July 27 (contemplating SA (more headcount) vs graduate route (less seats) T1 firm doesn’t publicly post OCs apparently). Is what i’m doing logical on how i’m using the referrals? Can taking the SA after OC be interpreted in a wrong way? Is the 2nd MSc frowned upon in London if not how would i structure them in my resume?
2. When does PE recruiting start in London? I heard firms reach out to candidates somewhere in Q3-Q4 2-3 months before they start. Is that true or is there an accelerated timeline such as the U.S. (2 years in advance)?
Appreciate any insights.
Hey man, I'm American so tbh have no clue what referrals & OC mean in this context + London PE timeline. I think there's a little too much complexity & overthinking here - if you want to be in PE and have a PE internship then try to see if that can be ur full time gig.
If you need to do IB first then do the one you enjoy the most, has the best exit opps, and is covering the right industry you want.
How are you using AI?
Anyone using it for anything beyond CIM review / expert call prep? E.g., good tolos (or claude) for excel, funds flow, PPTs, etc.
I see a lot of people using it for building tools to help them with their own workflows (Ie: writing a python script that can run and ingest data/transform it, and deliver to something else - so AI creates the code and we run it through a scheduler or as needed), rapid data visualizations and it's also been very useful in building pitch decks.
•AMAs
AMA
Hey Guys, I'm going to be running an AMA next week.
Let me know what questions I can help answer.
As the Community scales, there will be more experienced folks beyond just to me that you can bounce ideas off of.
I’d love to know how AI in schooling is changing new student hiring across the industry. At my regional commercial bank we’ve seen an overall decline in quality of applicants and a noticeable decrease in the floor but found that the ceiling for exceptional individuals has risen noticeably
Download the Community Mobile App
Hey guys, when logging onto https://highyieldharry.beehiiv.com/community
via your phone you will now be able to download this community as a mobile app.
Channel Organization
Small Admin items - we're going to have a few channels set up, a general feed, a news feed, and most importantly a Buyside Hub feed.
The Buyside Hub feed will cover the career, interview, recruiting and other advice content in one spot.
HYH Test
Testing Testing 1 2 3....
Setting up the Community.
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