Inside the London MBA

Joy

Another reason for getting into a top business school presented itself tonight. I had first heard about Nassim Taleb when the head of the FX trading desk of Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong advised me to read his books. Ever since then I have realized not only how intelligent but also how famous this author and options trader is.

Tonight he gave a lecture at school (Mr. Taleb is a visiting professor at London Business School) and it was of course fully booked. But experience has shown that usually there is always a way. So 5 of us patiently waited and hoped that some people would not come. And it happened and we went in. It was definitely a very interesting lecture – for once a professor who discards modern portfolio theory as useless in real-life markets.

Once more – my two main reasons (apart from facilitating the career switch into finance) for doing the MBA are the network of people you build and the speakers on campus. Two weeks ago the CEO of Boucheron, THE French luxury company was on campus to present his career. He is an alum and we talked to him afterwards. This is unique and no way I would have ever had a leisurely chat with this guy – were it not for this environment.

Take care,

Don

Frustration

The milkround is coming to an end, at least for the people interested in finance and consulting. All the big players have made their offers and successful applicants have made their choices. Most of us will be staying in Europe while some (including me :-) will be heading to Asia.

The interviewing process was an emotional rollercoaster and the choice of the companies of who to invite or forward to the next round was not always very transparent - to put it in euphemistic terms. But this is a tough market right now and everyone who has an offer is happy. Those of you who don't - keep it up and come and ask for help and support!

This term has generated additional frustration: some professors manage to consistently exceed the expectations of 99% of all students - unfortunately to the negative. Additionally it is unclear why during the term of interviewing suddenly attendance is taken in class. If the school is unable to organize recruitment in a way that students do not have to miss classes they have paid for and want to attend, the school should at least not punish them for not being there (we are punished anyway by having to read up later and not making any class contributions). One professor has announced to grade down everyone who has not attended his class for 4 times. So students who have more interviews, thus are more successful in the recruiting process and help the school by increasing the placement at top companies are punished for being successful. Nobody has so far been able to explain this paradox to me - including the professor who complained (via email!) about - high-school type behaviour - of students.

Anyhow, some classes are very good and spring break is coming soon! And the Rugby tour to Duke!

All the best,

Don

Short break

During the past weekend some nice events took place. First of all of course the annual London Business School Rugby tournament. The Rugby club really runs this school – those of us who participated took an early sitting in the Finance exam (yuk 7.15 is too early for Modigliani/Miller) and then took a coach to pitches near Heathrow. The London Business School male teams A and B faced Harvard A and B as well as INSEAD while the female team faced Wharton, Columbia and two more teams. The wind was chilling but at least it was not raining.

I played in the B team in the second row scrum. I still don’t really understand much of what is going on so my strategy was to hit anyone really hard who was not wearing my colour. That sort of worked – and I learned that it is beneficial not to have your hand on the ground (people can step on it) and not to fall down (people step on you). But it was great! The girls even won the tournament!

The next weekend my girlfriend and me flew to Munich and went skiing in St. Anton am Arlbergand in Obertauern – both among my favourite skiing areas. The snow was really good and even off-piste skiing and mogul slopes were great. The Sunday we spent in a beergarden in Munich at leisurely 22 degrees before flying back to London.

Last week the rugby team played the alumni - and the students left no doubt on who was better! A great dinner and drinks evening / night followed - all very classical in black tie / suit / dress outfit.

Next up is the Lisbon trip organized by the Portugal trip. There are multiple things happening every weekend – the challenge is to choose which one to take!

Enjoy,

Don

No. 2

Hi all,

In the midst of milkround we were surprised by the new FT ranking. London Business School climbed 3 spots and is now number 2 worldwide, just behind Wharton. That means that at least on paper our school is now ranked ahead of Stanford, Harvard and Columbia.

While everyone can think of the ratings what they want – the international mix of students and faculty at London Business School is unrivalled. Additionally you can – within a 25 minute subway ride – meet with alumni at all big investment banks and consulting companies. This alumni network is extremely strong and supportive. Together these factors create a powerful and efficient platform for every student - it's up to us to use this platform. 

Don

Weekends - spent happy or frustrated

Hi all,

These past two weekends must have been among the toughest for those students interested in finance / consulting. Friday a week ago the first shortlists came out – and quite a few hopeful students found themselves without an invitation to interviews. During the past week classes were constantly short of people – interview preparation and interviews themselves took priority. Throughout the week more shortlists came in – and the first round interviews took place. The resulting atmosphere was an interesting study in psychology – people showed all signs of frustration and panic. People who had not used the previous months to network or had not prepared during the Christmas break suddenly realized that 3 vault guides, 2 brainteaser books and the daily FT and WSJ are just too much to read. Additionally the choice of the banks – and some consulting companies – sometimes seemed rather random: strong candidates only received 1-2 invitations for interview, while others who had not been shining previously received 5-6 invitations. However, in striking difference to last year, the markets had a strong effect on the number of interview invitations extended. Finally – you get to know your friends well. As well as those people who suddenly exhibit a strong interest in – only themselves. You learn who really helps out in a give- and take- fashion and who only takes. Oh yes, my personal favourite: the people who walk around telling recruiters of their great achievements in a certain field when it is quite obvious to fellow students from the same field that they did nothing of the kind. Careful – what goes around, comes around.

So, some tips:

-          Start preparing early!

-          Try to get a head start, either by attending a trek or by getting your application in early. You will interview before everyone else (ok, you need to have your act together earlier) which gives you (in case you are successful) a strong psychological advantage: while the rest scramble for interviews, you already have an offer on the table (if things go well).

-          Have friends who apply for the same as you – helps balance the workload. Don’t see each other as competition, help each other out. Chances are you will need someone else’s help somewhere down the line.

-          Have friends who apply for something totally different. Helps get the pressure out.

-          DON’T PANIC! The most important advice.

-          Don’t question why xyz got more interviews or was forwarded to second round when you were not. Those thoughts do not help. Focus on yourself.

-          There are no easy interviews. Talk of “this guy is easier in interviews than that guy” are absolute non-sense. People who talk like that forget that each interview has its own dynamic and it is up to the interviewee to steer the interview.

This week continues with second round interviews and – offers!

Regards,

Scuba-Don

Applications

Hi all,

Quick word on applications: you need TIME!!! I had done the process once before for the Hong Kong applications but again it took ages. The banks all have differently working application systems and want to know an astonishing amount of information! Be ready to provide high school grades!

Term has started again and we are on the way learning about entrepreneurial opportunities, organisational behaviour, marketing, risk analysis and, of course, finance. So this term is less number-heavy and more fluffy – but we have the interviews to prepare for. Anyhow – for the finance and consulting applicants it will all be over after February, one way or another. It remains to be seen how much the current economic developments, read recession, in the US will affect the summer internship hiring.

All the best to all of you,

Wherever you are,

Scuba-D

Hong Kong Finance Career Trek - Day 5

The resounding topic today was – tiredness. The week was taking its toll (of course it had nothing to do with Lang Kwai Fong).

We happily met at noon in front of Macquarie Bank and were updated on the strategies of this Australian bank which can call Asia its “home turf”. After the investment banking introduction a trader explained the usage of adaptive algorithms, specific for Asian markets, and how Macquarie tries to generate profit from it.

After a nice lunch we went to the event of Deutsche Bank which was great as they concentrated on networking. This reduced the pressure and gave everyone a chance to talk to the people they wanted to talk to. Funny story – again making my point about the observation regarding the US schools we met. The following conversation took place between a guy from Tepper and an employee at Deutsche Bank:

Student: I have a background in Software Engineering. Do you think I can be a success in markets? [argl! You must convince him, not ask him!!!]

DB: Well, sure, we have a lot of diversity. What are you interested in?

Student: Derivatives, options. DB: What do you know about options?

Student: Well, I have not taken the course yet. [!!!!!!!]

DB: Well, I recommend you take the course….

My point: Be prepared and be smart. Convince them that they must hire you!

The day ended, again, in Lang Kwai Fong, this time at my favourite Lebanese take away at 3 am in the morning …. A great trip! I continued to Shanghai where I spent Christmas and New Year – and met up again with Mike and Irfan from the trip. This signifies one of the greatest advantages of London Business School: All BSchools claim to be very international. London Business School is. It does not get more international than for a Chinese/American, a Kenya/Canadian and a German/English guy to study in London, do a career trek to Hong Kong and meet again in Shanghai.

Hong Kong Finance Career Trek - Day 4

We started off at Temasek this morning who, the only company except Toyota with a AAA rating) can look back at an CAGR of 18% per year. The 120 investment professionals look for opportunities mainly in Asia but increasingly world-wide. When making an investment Temasek does not only go for the ride but instead takes an active interests and tries to leverage its existing contacts and client base. Especially in the light of the recent acquisitions of Temasek this meeting was very timely and interesting.

Afterwards we headed to Credit Suisse where we met again the people we had met already on Campus for the CS Asia meeting. Kurt Ersoy, a director of Equity Derivatives highlighted the mix of cultures, the mobility and the diversity at CS. A bank whose offerings spans wealth management, investment banking, all kinds of derivatives and fixed income trading as well as real estate financing has a lot of exciting career opportunities to offer. Again – the Asian growth opportunities were emphasized. Splitting into groups we had smaller sessions with employees from the equities and fixed income side as well as investment banking.

This time we had to rush as the next event was JP Morgan. We convened and listened to an MD in investment banking who told us of the key differentiators of the company as well as recent success stories. The successful interaction of financial input, control, partnership and people is very important at JP Morgan.

I had to rush off as I had a private meeting afterwards. In the evening we again met at the Red Bar and had invited all alumni currently in Hong Kong. This event then moved to Lang Kwai Fong into an interesting bar and continued …

Hong Kong Finance Career Trek - Day 3

After a leisurely morning we met at noon to attend the event at Morgan Stanley. After a video (Thiri, an 06 alumn, is getting famous in the video!) the employees explained the possible career options. Especially the market of equity derivatives is exploding, due to tycoons using leverage and hedge funds modelling volatility expectations. Regarding China they mentioned that the developments, in a historical context, were just a reversion to the mean.

We had a free slot afterwards to enjoy some very delicious dim sum before we reconvened for Lehman Brothers. John Dere, an MD in Equities, used an overview of the history of Lehman in FI and securities as well as his own career development to help us understand the options in the growing Asian markets. Other attendees from ECM, FI and IM further encouraged us to seek out the chances in Asia.

By now we were all rather tired so this evening was rather uneventful and (at least I) went to bed really early.

Milk round

Hi all,

For those of you looking for a mobile phone and wireless portable broadband – I have had excellent experiences with 3. Although there seem to have been problems in the past, right now their network is excellent and I have had very good coverage wherever I go. Additionally the team around store manager Paul in the Baker Street shop is very friendly and accommodating. Oh – and the deals are very good as well! Definitely worthwhile to check it out!

Milk round: All the big companies come to campus for 45 minutes presentation and 45 minutes networking. Make no mistake: If you had not met some of the company representatives you stood a slim chance of making an impression. The greatest chances had those who could walk up to someone of the company and greet them again. All in all I was happy about the Hong Kong experience which had been more intense but also more productive.

Several observations:

- Student asks an IBanker: So, what is the lifestyle in investment banking? [argl! You should know that by now!!]

- Student barges into a group, no introduction, and steps right in front of the employee of bank XY and says: Here is my business card! [no comment]

- Group of students talk to an employee. Afterwards they want to shake hands. Both hands extended, suddenly someone shoots out a hand from behind the group and grabs the recruiters hand and shakes it firmly!

Bottom line: As well as recruiters remembering people they like, they also remember people they do not like.

Back to next term tomorrow!

All the best, wherever you are.

Scuba-Don

Hong Kong Finance Career Trek - Day 2

I convinced Paul to take the ferry in the morning and it was as great as the previous day.

Our first appointment today was with Citibank who sent a very senior and convincing investment banker, Mark Renton. Instead of telling us how great Citibank is he focused on his view on the Asian economies. He alluded to the global credit crisis and the fundamental change in capital markets and how businesses will have to deal with it. He mentioned the issues of collaboration or competition between China and India, the advent of Vietnam and Indonesia and the rising importance of SWF from Asia and the Middle East. This was excellent as all of us learned a lot and picked up valuable pieces of information.

After a quick break we attended the session of HSBC who, despite a lot of effort of our group, had only confirmed us at the last minute. After the HSBC presentation we ventured back (the maps in our trip bible book proved very valuable) and attended the event at UBS. In a great conference room with arguably the best view of all bank we listened to a panel of high-ranking employees who related to the unique positioning of UBS in Asia, especially in the area of wealth management.

This time I convinced some of our group to take the Star Ferry and all loved it. To finish this second day we went to one of the nicest places in Hong Kong to have a sundowner – the Felix Bar in the Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon. After a great G/T I left to meet old friends from Accenture; time for a great Japanese Dinner.

Hong Kong Finance Career Trek - Day 1

Waking up in the morning back in Asia was a fantastic feeling. I needed to get some toiletries and hunted for a 7/11 – in shorts and flip/flops. This must be the only metropolis in the world where you can do that!

As we took the subway and met in front of the Merrill Lynch building it became apparent that while back in London the most important item to carry around was an umbrella, in Hong Kong it were your shades! What a welcome change!

Merrill Lynch hosted a really interesting event and highlighted the tremendous opportunities available in both investment banking and markets in Asia. After the presentation and ample networking opportunities we went down and tried to make sense of the streets of Hong Kong. The great thing about Hong Kong – the financial district is really small. It is no problem to walk from one bank to the other. Additionally – no one walks the streets, you walk through shopping malls. As strange as it sounds – you can literally get from one tower to any other tower via shopping malls.

The afternoon event was hosted by Goldman Sachs where the current head of Asia, Dave Ryan gave us a view of careers at Goldman by describing his experiences in the firm over time. Subsequently a panel of associates answered questions. We were not alone this time – students from Chicago GSB as well as from Tepper (Bschool of Carnegie Mellon) were present as well. And we were surprised: by objective observation our group came across as more professional and better prepared (i.e. by the quality of the questions we asked). This definitely reflects on the preparation we did prior to the trip and also highlights that if London Business School has a problem than it is that our brand is undervalued!

In the late afternoon we ventured into Soho and took the escalators which go all the way to the top. This was my 3^rd time in Hong Kong and it was fantastic and intense to be back. The first time was the beginning of my very first backpacking trip – the start of the adventure. Back then I was quite inexperienced in a lot of things which just a year later should become very ordinary (such as traveling on your own for extended periods of time, not knowing where to stay the following nights etc.). The second time was when I was working in Shanghai and my parents came to visit me – I met them in Hong Kong. Now, job hunting in suit and tie was definitely a very different but not unpleasant event. We finished the day in the Red Bar with drink and employees of Olympus Capital, a PE firm. And what surprise – as it turned out the guy I was talking to had previously worked with my current flat mate at Booz Allen! Small world!

Still jet-lagged we soon left the bar and I took the Star Ferry back to Kowloon. Taking the Star Ferry and smelling the salty air of Hong Kong harbor while watching the skyline of the island was the perfect way to finish the day.

Hong Kong Finance Career Trek - Day 0

Hi all,

The school organized a Finance Career Trek to Hong Kong for students interested in pursuing a career in Finance in Asia! As I have lived in Shanghai for 3 years, am very bullish on the Asian capital markets and personally love Asia I of course went!

Day 0 was a very interesting day – fitting to a global business school student (hahaha). I was down with a cold for a week and had to finalize the applications for summer internships in Hong Kong, which had an obviously detrimental effect on my preparation for the accounting exam. So I got up at 5.30 this morning to finalize my “crib sheet” and go over the exercises and past exams one more time (in theory, in reality it was the first time I looked at them …). Alas – the accounting exams came and went and I was relieved to find that almost everyone found it as tough as I did …

Afterwards I unfortunately could not have a relaxed beer at the Windsor but rushed home, finished packing, met a good friend of mine for a quick tea and swooshed off to Heathrow – which, once more, lived up to all expectations of the world’s worst airport - I so much prefer the London City airport or Stanstead.

Unlike the other participants of the Hong Kong Finance Career Trek I am not going London – Hong Kong direct. I had the return leg of a Shanghai - Munich flight left which gave me the rather strange routing London – Munich – Shanghai – Hong Kong. A quick 2 hour flight brought me to Munich – unfortunately the short turnaround time did not allow me to go outside for the beautiful Christmas market at Munich airport. Instead I tried to break the record of how many wheat beers one can drink in 10 minutes in an airport lounge. At least my upgrade to business class on the Shanghai flight was confirmed so I traveled (and slept) very comfortable. Stepping of the plane felt strange – arriving in Shanghai strangely feels like home-coming now. The immigration officials were surprisingly friendly – they actively showed me the shortest queue (I used to get yelled at for taking a queue “not for foreigners”) and there are 4 buttons to rate the service of the immigration officer. Wow! It was great to finally see Nathalie again after 3 long months – but unfortunately not for very long, as I had to take the next flight to Hong Kong.

This was 2 hours delayed so once I finally reached the hotel I had been traveling for more than 24 hours. The room looked more like a shoe box (which I am used to after the room I had in London for the first 10 weeks) but it was only me (most of the other participants shared rooms) and - free wireless! :-)

Sleep came soon, despite the jet-lag. Off to the first companies on Day 1!

Scuba-Don

Top-Ten Tips

Hi all,

First of all apologies are due! I have been not very active in this blog and really regret it. I will be better during this year!

Happy new year! For those who turned in their applications – good luck!

Let me, for now, start with a list of the top ten things I have found important during these past weeks (in random order)

1. Be physically fit before the course starts – and stay fit. The program is demanding and there will be many long nights and weekends to study. Being fit helps
2. Create your circle of friends – across streams. Once term starts you tend to mainly be in touch with people of your stream – but it is very important to stay in touch with people of other streams as well. Different streams develop different dynamics as well and this contributes to the overall learning experience.
3. Be and stay organized – similar to work being organized helps you juggle team and individual assignments, preparation for class and summarizing classes, attending company events – and having fun!
4. Be focused but open – it helps if you have (at least a vague) idea whether you want to go into finance, consulting or industry. The different clubs organize events during the first term which give you a lot of opportunity to look around and explore different areas (from Asset Management over Private Equity and Turnaround Management to Marketing and of course all different areas of consulting). While these events help you understand the opportunities which are available to you it is necessary that within the first term you identify and focus on one area.
5. Networking starts with day one! While networking events organized by the different clubs and sports give ample opportunity to get in touch with alumni, the best network to get an inside scoop on the realities of any potential field you are interested in – your fellow students. Interested in working for XYZ? You will find fellow students in your class or in one of the other courses (EMBA, Sloan, etc.) who have worked in that company.
6. There are several luxurious problems you will face – such as the decision whether to attend a company presentation by Alvarez & Marsal or by Goldman Sachs. Therefore it is adamant that you focus as soon as possible.
7. Citibank hosted an outstanding weekend workshop on company valuation. It meant being at Canary Wharf in suit and tie on Saturday / Sunday (future Investment bankers – welcome to reality) and having to use evenings and nights to finish that week’s assignments. But we learned heaps about valuation and LBO financing.
8. There are many late nights and weekend spent at school – it is interesting spending Sunday evening in a study room at the school and meeting half the class while taking a walk. All of us going through the same pain is definitely a great bonding experience!
9. A word on spouses – a lot of students bring their significant other with them to London, others cannot or don’t. There are good arguments for both: While it is great to have your loved one close by, there will not be much time. Studying, networking and spending time with people of the class takes up a lot of time. So while it is tough not to have your spouse close, it allows you to focus on your objective. In any case – have a long conversation and be sure all involved clearly understand what will happen and that all need to compromise.
10. The professors are of an amazing quality and really dedicated to facilitate a great learning experience. For someone who studied at a German university it is outstanding to get an email answer within 3 hours from a professor – on a Sunday evening! And it add credibility if the finance professor can draw on real-life experience in Private Equity! The Managerial Economics professor even held a voluntary practice session on a Saturday!

Finally - The weather can be nice in London! We had an amazing Autumn and pre-Xmas winter so far! My time in London ended straight after the Accounting exam - more on to why later.

As usual - take care, wherever you are!

Scuba-Don

Finally ...

I am starting blogging ...

Apologies for the delay, but these have been some very intense days. I will later come to my current top-ten tips for the MBA, but this time I wanted to comment on the variety of offerings here at London Business School.

Apart from all the courses there are clubs for probably every possible area of interest. I could happily fill my whole week just with club activities. There are the professional clubs such as the Finance, Investment Management, Private Equity but also Marketing, Industry and Consulting clubs to name but a few. Then there are the regional clubs such as the Latin America, Africa, Asia or China Interests Club. Finally the sports clubs - Rugby, Tennis, Scuba-Diving etc. - as well as fun clubs such as the wine and cheese clubs. Aha - the wine and cheese club recently invited to a high-class event with wines from 1983 and Baron de Rothschild himself making an appearance. Ahem - at a price tag of 425 GBP. I prefer to pay 2-3 weeks rent of that ...

But also speakers on campus make for interesting breaks. On Wednesday, between Financial Accounting and Business Ethics I went to a seminar with Mr Sonu Shivdasani - the Chairman/CEO of the Six Senses Resorts & Spas on the Maledives and Thailand. Very interesting story - seemed like he was describing my dreamjob. The day continued with a meeting of the Rugby club where our revered coaches explained the subtle rules of the game to us - ensuring a constant flow of beer, of course. This fact worked favourably for the subsequent panel meeting of the Investment Management Club which was ended with a drinks reception. I stagered home tired but happy - and got up 6 hours later for early morning Rugby practice.

But again Thursday was action packed with Corporate Finance, study group meeting over lunch, a 3 hr introduction to speed reading, the club fair (more free beer from the Rugby club) and sundowners - a weekly institution of free drink, courtesy of a company (Bear/Stearns in this case). Afterwards I went for a Indian dinner with some guys from my stream and other streams. Fine day!

Today should have been a non-scheduled day but I had a 1-on-1 session with Mohan Mohan, a former top shot at Proctor & Gamble. Very interesting - after talking to me for 20 minutes he told me directly in which area I should work on myself and challenged several of my assumptions. Great stuff to think about. While getting a coffee I met Francisco of my stream and chatted with him (about jobs and life) and then returned to uni for the kick-off of the Private Equity Club. Off afterwards to a feedback session to help the Marketing department of London Business School and then to meet another good friend of mine ot chat about club involvements. Finally home and start working on those assignments!

My intent in writing all of this: the school offers an incredible amount of possibilities - it is up to everyone to use them.

Take care, wherever you are,

Scuba-Don