Meet an analyst at UBS | Investment banking on The Gateway

UBS investment Banking Analyst

Banking Investment / April 21, 2016

The best advice I can give to students considering a career in investment banking is to speak to as many people from the industry, and to ask them as many questions, as possible. When I started university, I didn't know anything whatsoever about investment banking, but by talking to representatives at company presentations and recruitment events I gained some valuable insights. From there, I took part in a couple of Spring Week programmes to get a taste of the roles available within investment banking and I was impressed by how motivated and intelligent everybody was, which convinced me that it was the right career for me.

When I joined UBS, I had five weeks of training with all the other new analysts, which included an introduction to the bank, its culture, and its different divisions, as well as technical training. I had studied Economics at the University of Nottingham, followed by a Masters at Cass Business School, but everyone comes from very different academic backgrounds so the training is designed to make sure everyone is at the same level by the time they hit their desks.

The training is very comprehensive, but nobody expects you to know everything. I've been at UBS for nine months now, and I still have lots of questions and I'm learning new things every day. When I don't understand something, I try to work it out for myself first, but I can always ask someone else in my team or my Associate Director. My exposure to the senior directors is limited because they're very busy and often in meetings, but they're approachable and hands-on, so I can easily talk to them if I have any problems.

When you first join the bank it's challenging because there are so many new things to take on board and there's a lot of technical information to learn. But it becomes easier as you go along and it quickly becomes second nature to you. There are ten people in my team and we all get along really well, but we're from different backgrounds and have different working styles, so when I joined I had to learn how to integrate with them and how to approach each one when I need to talk to them.

It can also be difficult to fit your personal life around your work commitments, but I think it's possible to find a balance. It's typical for me to work from 8.30am until midnight, and often at the weekend too, so I try to meet my friends early in the morning for breakfast or on weekends when I don't have to work.

At the moment, the content of my work doesn't change much from transaction to transaction, but the situations can be very different depending on the deal and the intensity of the work, so it's an exciting environment. For me, the most enjoyable part of my job is the analytical tasks and research, and also how I'm learning from every project I do, which will help me to develop my role in the future.

08.30

I arrive at the office. While having breakfast, I catch up on the news and outline my tasks for the day.

Source: thegatewayonline.com