Is 33 yrs old too old to get into ibanking as an analyst? I was a fixed income trader for 6 yrs at a regional firm in the Southeast and now I am a financial advisor (absolutley hate it with a passion!). I know I would be considerably older than the other analysts, and associates for that matter. I’m not at all afraid of the hours or the hard work I just don’t know if anyone would even give me a shot at 33. I just failed Level II and I need to figure out what direction to take before signing up for Level II again. I know this forum can be rough on people. I am not looking to get ripped a new one. Any helpful advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
F you man you suck! Kidding, this forum isn’t that rough unless your question has been asked 10000 times or is just lame. As someone who is not in ibanking I offer my sliver of knowledge to say that I would not worry about being too old for a position like that. I would think people prefer youngsters cuz they can grind them for crazy hours and build them how they want. You on the other hand have some real experience which no matter what is worth something. As long as you let them know you are there to work just like the kid getting coffee next to you I dont think age would be a huge factor. Again, I am not the best source, but I would never let age dictate what I can and cannot do (theres even viagra now, so anything at any age truly is possible)
I don’t know how much you know about investment banking and what your finance skills / educational level are (presumably not that good if you failed level 2). If you hate being a FA, I think you might really hate being an ibanking analyst. You would basically be formating documents and manning the printer 100 hours a week. You might get to do a little bit of interesting stuff like modeling (the amount will vary by shop and team), but really, the “analyst” position in ibanking is not that analytical and contains a substantial amount of administrative work. I can’t really imagine wanting to do that job unless you were right out college (and even then I personally can’t imagine wanting to do it at all). I think you should do a lot more research.
maybe you should try for an associates position. I had several banks interested even though I didnt go through analysts program.
33 years old with 6 years of finance experience, you are golden. They will have no problem hiring for analyst or even associate. If you did not get the job with 6 years of legit experience, i am assuming you have a college degree, CFA level 2, then i need to switch career before it is too late!!!
joewho- what is your background like?
Another thing to be aware of, besides the administrative aspects, is that almost all analyst/entry associate i-bank positions require a decent amount of sales and showmanship. If you haven’t read it yet, I would recommend picking up a copy of “Accidental Investment Banker”, it will give you a snapshot of the industry. I am older as well and looked at i-bank analyst/associate jobs, had some interviews in NYC, but ultimately decided that I wanted to focus more on actual fundamental analysis, rather than pitch-books and endless presentations. The firms I interviewed with were all smaller, boutique, industry-niche shops. In every case I meet with a senior executive, not an HR person, and they all focused on the need for salesmanship. They were not particularly concerned with my older age, and figured I could quickly learn any modeling skills that I wasn’t already familiar with. Decided in the end to not go this route, instead I am working in business consulting and P.E. analysis. Good luck in figuring out your path.
Why do you want to go into Investment banking? The positive would be that you could probably do a 2 year analyst stint (maybe 3 year) and then they would move you to associate (depending on the firm). You could try to come in as an associate, but I don’t know if that would fly.
I appreciate all of the responses. Just curious Bromion did you pass all 3 levels consecutively? I didn’t realize my education level and finance skills were no good because I failed level II the first time. Anyway, obviously I would much rather go in as an associate and not have to do the meaningless grunt work 100 hours a week. I was under the impression that you had to have an MBA or a pretty good deal of modeling experience to skip the analyst programs and interview for associate positions. Ultimately I would like to move into private equity, but I know that will be difficult with no IB experience. Again, thanks for the feedback.
I don’t agree with Bromion that failing L2 means you don’t have finance skills or education. That was a d-bag comment to make.
train00 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I appreciate all of the responses. Just curious > Bromion did you pass all 3 levels consecutively? > I didn’t realize my education level and finance > skills were no good because I failed level II the > first time. Anyway, obviously I would much rather > go in as an associate and not have to do the > meaningless grunt work 100 hours a week. I was > under the impression that you had to have an MBA > or a pretty good deal of modeling experience to > skip the analyst programs and interview for > associate positions. Ultimately I would like to > move into private equity, but I know that will be > difficult with no IB experience. Again, thanks > for the feedback. I passed 3/3 in 18 months. I was not trying to imply that you are a dumby or some how less worthy for having failed a level. What I was getting at is that, unless you have an MBA or even a BBA, you might not have a lot to sell in terms of a skill set. I do think that level two is a kind of measuring stick for one’s analytical training, but it is not the only measuring stick. Further, FA experience is not exactly the preferred route to investment banking, and I think it’s fair to say that most people will see you as a guy that deals with whiny clients but doesn’t do a lot of analysis. That’s a desirable skill set in itself (I’m not being sarcastic) since you will be finessing a lot of clients at the higher levels in banking, but it will likely raise doubts about your analytical ability, which they really look for in ibanking. What is your educational background, by the way? I just interviewed for an ibanking analyst role and was not even being considered for an associate role (I had just taken L3 and not yet received the results), and I actually have analytical experience that is relevant to banking. At any rate, I don’t know if an MBA will be enough or not – it can be hard to break in if you did not do so right out of school, although it’s not impossible. Also–and this will seem to contradict what I said before but actually doesn’t–ibankers don’t care that much about the CFA, except that it may signal that you are a smart and hard working guy.
dieselbp67 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don’t agree with Bromion that failing L2 means > you don’t have finance skills or education. That > was a d-bag comment to make. You need to work on your reading comprehension skills. I specifically said that I don’t know how much training and experience he has. If he failed level two though, it’s pretty safe to assume that he is not a financial wizard.
> > You need to work on your reading comprehension > skills. I specifically said that I don’t know how > much training and experience he has. If he failed > level two though, it’s pretty safe to assume that > he is not a financial wizard. Nobody is talking about being a wizard. If you are going to give someone advice, that’s great. I am just saying there is no point in attacking somebody. Read back what you wrote regarding failing Level 2. Does that seem like a helpful comment?
Bromion - I have a BBA from a state school. I played Div I college basketball and then played ball in China, Europe and Australia. Unfortunately, basketball was my one and only focus until I was 26 years old. My academic pedigree is not strong at all, but I was a pretty solid VP level fixed income trader for a number of years until my shop got bought. As for CFA Level II, I have a 4 yr old and a 2yr old. My dad was diagnosed with MSA(which is a terminal disease) in December of 2007 and my mom was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer in May of this year right before the test. I am not complaining. I should still have passed and ultimately I have no excuse, but I cannot totally judge my financial and analytical skills by the result of the 6/08 CFA Level II exam. I agree with you about my recent FA experience which is exactly why I am trying to change career paths. I know that ibankers do not care much about the CFA Charter and that is why I am trying to figure out what direction my careeer will take before registering for Level II again. I am also debating trying to get into a top 10 b school, but again my age is not helpful.
Why not. I think you are a perfect candidate for top b schools. You have good experience, you were a professional player which shows leadirship and dedication, you have a degree, you pursuing CFA, i think if you got a 700 gmat score, you could go to top 10 schools easy, a lot of people wihtout your record and older than you managed to enroll in top business schools. I think you are all right just go for it.
investment banking anlayst route is effectively closed for you. that’s not a bad thing, the job wouldn’t look right on your resume and you would probably be miserable, especially with a young family. i say go the b school route or try to leverage your bond trading experience into a fixed income job.
Thanks for all of the advice. I had done my own homework on an ibanking analyst position and it really did not seem to fit my situation. Just wanted to get more opinions. Guess I need to hit the GMAT books and try to make a 700+
you need an MBA. but with your work exp, you can get into a top 20, easily. then you get into banking at 35. i know people personally who have done it. 33 is not too old for i banking. and the others are right, no one cares about CFA in i banking. the 2 most important things are - do you have a reputable MBA - will you work 100 hrs a week and never complain honestly, that is it. there is FAR more “analysis” in investment management, whether you are a PM, analyst, etc.
God I would love to hear a farley comment on this thread