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Profiles - Day in the Life At Jefferies, our people are our most important asset. To read more about our Analysts and Associates, please choose one of the profiles below.
Joanne, Analyst, Silicon Valley
As a first year analyst in Jefferies' technology group, my role is to support the Vice President and Associate with researching markets and technologies, creating presentations, performing financial analyses, and interfacing with clients and potential clients. I have the privilege of having direct client exposure/contact daily through conference calls, and on-sight client meetings and pitches. In some cases I have the opportunity to directly communicate with the CEO and CFO of a company, which is an invaluable experience. On a typical day, I wake up around 8am and check my blackberry to make sure I didn't get any urgent emails during the night. I arrive at the office around 9am and review my email in more detail. I also make a to-do list for the day, although the list can change drastically as time passes. Once I've caught up on email, I might start creating or revising a pitchbook for a client and do any necessary research to ensure that I fully understand the company, its technology and the market. For example, once we win the pitch for a sell-side advisory assignment, the first step is to create an overview presentation of the client company to distribute to potential buyers. Around 12:30pm, I take a break and grab some lunch downstairs with other analysts. After lunch, I wrap up a financial model that I've been working on in preparation for a conference call later in the evening with an overseas client. During the call, my Associate, Vice President, and I probe the client for answers and take comments. After the call, I go get a quick dinner with my Associate. After dinner, I make changes to the model, based on feedback received during the call. I send out the revised model around 11, and I check my email one last time before heading home. Days can be long depending on work flow. The pace can be demanding, but at the end of the day, I feel like I've accomplished something, whether it's having a better understanding of a client's business, helping us get a bit closer to closing a deal, or landing a new client. I feel fortunate in that I have the opportunity to work with great companies in an industry I really enjoy. Back to top
My day typically starts at 7:30 AM in the morning with a review of the e-mails I have received overnight. Because the India team works across three time zones (EST - New York, GMT - London, HKT - Hong Kong) there are e-mails that need urgent responses to clients, lawyers, accountants etc. As a Senior Associate and generalist in my third year at Jefferies, my role is to focus on the execution of transactions across all industries and product areas for Indian clients. My main responsibility is to work directly with the client to prepare them for a potential transaction. In India we have been extremely busy on the capital markets side of the business lately, so my main responsibility is to work with the clients conducting due-diligence on them and working with various third party organizations including lawyers, accountants and stock exchanges to make sure the transaction is progressing smoothly. Also, a fair amount of my time in every transaction is spent working directly with the company to craft their story so it is well received in the market during the roadshow. My days are spent interacting with clients. Jefferies and especially the India office does not over staff any deal so it gives people at all different levels a lot of responsibility and a sense of ownership. People in this organization are given a lot of responsibility and client exposure at a very early stage, so I know that the work I'm doing is creating value for the client. Another benefit of getting early exposure to clients is that you are interacting directly with some very smart industry people who are leading multi hundred million dollar or sometimes billion dollar organizations. Through my many travels I have been exposed to many different cultures-in the past year I have traveled to the US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong. Before joining Jefferies in 2004, I worked at a bulge bracket firm. I wanted to move to an organization where I would get more responsibility and client interaction. At Jefferies I've found both of these things, and I feel that I've contributed a lot of value to the organization. Coming to Jefferies also gave me the opportunity to focus on the middle market sector, where clients need our advice and I feel we can add more. My job is challenging and sometimes I feel I've been at the office a bit much, but I enjoy what I do and have learned a great deal. Back to top
I usually arrive at the office around 7 am to review emails from my colleagues in the U.S. and other international offices and any market/economic/company news that may affect our existing clients or transactions. At 7:30 AM I dial into our morning call for a research briefing on news/factors that could effect trading that day. As an associate in London in on the Equity Capital Markets team, my responsibilities cover the three key areas of ECM - origination, structuring, and syndication. My typical day could include pitching to win the mandate to IPO a new company, where I would provide input on how the offering would be priced, structured, and marketed as well as how the transaction process will be organized. On an existing deal, I would be working with the client to draft the prospectus, liaise with the company's lawyers and accountants regarding due diligence on the company and briefing the sales force and, finally, handling the book building process at the end of the transaction. At any given time I could be working on transactions for a U.S. tech company, an African oil company and UK-based media company, all at once. My role has an enormous amount of direct and senior client exposure, both from the beginning to the end of a transaction. This is one of the most rewarding aspects of the job, as I need to quickly understand the client's business, strategy and goals. I probably learn more about a client and its operations in an hour spent with the CFO and CEO than any amount of work I could do at my desk. Additionally, I need to be able to analyze the fundamentals of a company's balance sheet, understand their debt and equity positions, and understand where they need to be in relation to their competitors. Quickly understanding the dynamics and challenges facing each client's sector is often taxing, but also one of the most interesting aspects of the role. The diversity of our client base and the knowledge I've gained is what I enjoy most about the job. The learning curve is always steep, but rewarding. Back to top
I am based in Singapore which is twelve hours ahead of our New York headquarters, so each morning I begin the day with emails sent from my colleagues in the US. During a typical week, I make a trip to Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok to meet with clients. As a third year Analyst focused on Southeast Asia, my work involves a broad range of products and industries. During the past year I have worked on several commodity-oriented transactions-a fascinating sector I hadn't contemplated when I started with Jefferies. I am a primary resource to the Managing Director of the office, which involves conducting data analysis and document drafting, as well as keeping clients, lawyers, advisors and bankers moving steadily toward deal closing. Our limited team size requires me to interact with clients on my own. It's empowering and rewarding to build rapport throughout a client's organization and to share personally in its growth and success. My position affords me opportunities to propose structural solutions to improve transactions for clients and investors-which I really enjoy. The biggest challenge I face is working so far away from my family and friends. However, helping to develop our franchise abroad and working in Southeast Asia has also offered me invaluable exposure to variations in language, lifestyle and culture. It's been a remarkable experience to help build an office from the ground up. The Singapore office has grown to include five bankers and we work very much as a team. Recently, I've been spending a lot of my time training our newer team members. I came to Jefferies because few other firms offered the flexibility to explore different areas of practice and pursue what interested me within an institutional framework. I began at Jefferies as an Analyst in the generalist "pool" in New York in 2004, and gained exposure to a lot of areas of the firm without getting locked in to one area right away. Throughout my career at Jefferies I have worked closely with my Managing Director, who has also been a great mentor. The investment banking skills I've learned from him and my other team members are invaluable. Back to top
As an Analyst in Leveraged Finance in Los Angeles, my day typically begins around 8am with a conference call with our deal team and the capital markets team. We discuss current market trends and estimated pricing of high yield and bank financing alternatives for current and prospective clients. One of our current clients, an aerospace company, indicated that they were interested in possibly acquiring a competitor. Earlier in the year, we had completed a bank and high-yield financing for the company, and they wanted to know if it was possible to do a tack-on financing. I read through the bond indenture and bank credit agreement to analyze how much debt could be added on to the existing facilities without violating current covenants. After a call with our internal counsel to discuss the bond indenture and bank credit agreement to determine what needs to be amended in the current legal documents in order to allow for additional indebtedness, we discuss the analysis and potential solutions for the client. Finally, the deal team calls the client back to discuss the options they have in making the potential acquisition. I was drawn to Jefferies over other investment banks because of the growth potential of the firm. We have only just begun establishing ourselves as a leading player in the international markets, and I've had the opportunity to work on transactions based in markets we had no presence in before. I've traveled for weeks at a time to Singapore, Indonesia, and Moldova to work with clients on financial models, roadshow presentations and offering documents. The environment at Jefferies is a balance of hard work and commitment, but at the same time friendly and collegial. Senior bankers are very willing to foster my development, and the skills I've learned from working alongside them are invaluable. In addition, Jefferies' focus on innovation has given me the freedom and incentive to work independently to generate new and creative ideas. Back to top
I got in early this morning because I had two back-to-back meetings and needed time to prepare. I spent the morning updating and finalizing presentations for both. I'd spent a lot of time on both presentations for a few weeks, so I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. As an associate in the Maritime Group, I work closely with senior bankers as well as clients. I'm given a lot of responsibility and the senior bankers are always there as a resource. I've been able to work on deals ranging from $40 million high yield private placements to $1 billion+ M&A transactions. The first meeting was with a current client of ours exploring potential acquisitions. The meeting went well, we learned a lot about the client's acquisition criteria and the Company gained significant insight about the potential target we've identified as a great strategic fit. I was given the opportunity to discuss the financial section of the presentation and answered several questions from the Chairman and CFO regarding analysis and how different financing alternatives would impact the results. The second meeting was to discuss a variety of financing alternatives with our client, with a presentation that reviewed equity, converts and high yield options. The company's CEO and COO gave an update on their current position and short- and long-term objectives. I was able to hear senior bankers from our Equity Capital Markets and Convertible Capital Markets teams discuss the outlook of their respective markets and potential structures for raising capital our clients could pursue. One of the Firm's greatest strengths is the array of products we have to offer which complements our industry expertise. Back in the office, I draft a summary of our first meeting for senior bankers in our Leveraged Finance group, and have a few conference calls with my team to finalize the details. After that I read and respond to all my emails, and then get everything organized and make sure I'm prepared for the next day. By this time, it's pretty late, but the meetings went well and I represented my team well and learned a lot, so I feel great. Back to top
My typical day will start with catching up on overnight emails from Texas or China or perhaps a call from a Houston colleague to discuss the business events of the night. As an analyst on Jefferies Oil & Gas mergers and acquisitions team in London, my primary role is working in execution of deals this year. I write the Information Memorandum and liaise with bidders to conduct due diligence for a sell-side deal as well as valuation modeling and presentations for buy-side deals. Staffing and training of interns and daily monitoring of public companies on live deals are my other responsibilities. I originally began as an intern and attended the Firm's analyst five-week training program the following year, which I found to be very rewarding. The training gave me a broad understanding of the Firm, a thorough review of finance and accounting and allowed me the opportunity to get to know my fellow analysts. I have been given a fair amount of direct client exposure and contact in my current role. I have traveled many times abroad to meet with clients-which in my view is definitely the best way to learn about the business. Within five minutes of a board meeting, I gain so much insight and knowledge of the client's business. I have many mentors in the firm-our team is a close-knit team and all of the senior bankers make a concerted effort to include junior bankers in key meeting and decision processes. They make sure we learn quickly and have a high-level view of every project we work on in addition to our more detail-oriented responsibilities. My colleagues and I work mostly in small deal teams of two or three. This working format means that there is no real sense of feudalism in the office, because juniors are working directly for senior bankers and not as a generic resource. The job is challenging-with its quick pace and challenge to keep clients satisfied by staying creative and aware of the trends in the market. However, it provides a steep learning curve that never levels off that makes the challenges well worth it. Back to top
The great part about my job is that no day starts the same and every day is filled with new tasks and surprises. Sometimes my day begins with a conference call regarding a current deal, other times it involves putting together materials for senior bankers who may have last minute meetings later that afternoon. If there's nothing urgent, I usually just pick up on a task from the previous night or start work on a new task altogether. My responsibilities, as a third year Analyst in the healthcare team, include creating presentations for client meetings, doing industry research, performing various types of financial analyses and attending client meetings whenever possible. I have the opportunity to work on many different types of transactions, varying from equity and M&A to debt. I was almost a pre-med major in college, and healthcare has always been a strong interest of mine. My interest was rejuvenated as a generalist when I had the opportunity to work with the healthcare group and directly with a client focused on drug discovery and development. I knew it was a perfect fit for me. I really enjoy working with healthcare companies and helping them secure the capital they need to continue their research and run their operations. Jefferies has allowed me to grow professionally by allowing me to be involved in a range of transactions. It continues to be a firm experiencing growth and as such, provides an environment where every person can contribute greatly to the success of the firm. The firm's growth also creates constant challenges and changes which make my job very interesting and stimulating. Back to top |
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