Most people need help with their investment decisions. It is not easy to try and decide how to invest money that you have worked hard for. You want to make the right decision and you don't want to loose your money.
The point behind investing is to make your money work for you. You worked for it now it is time for the pay back. The question is just how hard do you want your money to work? This is known as your risk profile. If you try to get your money working too hard the risk is that you will loose it. The rule of thumb is that the higher the return, the more risk associated with the investment.
So who is going to help you make your decisions? I would suggest to you now that you are only one who can decide your risk profile. You know just how much risk you are prepare to take on.
You might think an investment adviser will tell you what to invest in and how to invest in the various investment vehicles. Some people go down this track and fully believe that this is the only way to invest. Just hand it all over to an investment advisor. I believe that this is the wrong approach to getting investment help.
Ultimately, the decision about how to invest and what to invest in must be yours. If you see that your investment adviser is a millionaire and has a lifestyle to be envied, by all means just do what he says to do. But if he is not, then he must be looked at carefully and his advise considered carefully.
An investment adviser can assist you with information. He has access to information that you do not. He can recommend funds and various investments that are performing well at the present. He cannot tell you how those investments will perform in the future. This decision is yours, and at the best it will an educated guess and as good as anybody else who wants to give an educated guess.
Knowledge is power. The knowledge you will gain from your investment adviser will be extremely helpful in making your decision. You must look for other sources of this knowledge.
So where can you find this information?
Look to financial newspapers and web sites. Read as much as you can, and educate your self about your investment area. Find somebody who is wealthy and at the appropriate time ask them how they made their investment decisions. Learn from the mistakes of others. It is a far less costly way to learn. Go to financial investment seminars. Talk to people about their investment strategies and their sources of financial information.
When you look for investment help, look for information to learn. Do not seek out the most profitable investment. You may find it, but there is no guarantee that is will be profitable when you invest in it. The information and knowledge you gather from these sources will most likely give you the results you seek, and is therefore more valuable than a hot tip in the market.
How To Get Investment
Usually, they lack a hook. To get an investment banking job, it's not enough to show you can do the job well and have a serious interest in it.
You have to show them that they need you more than you need them.
Of course, this is never really true. You're just a resource. They're a $100 billion firm. But a hook makes them think differently, at least temporarily.
What's A Hook?
A hook makes you stand out from everyone else. It can be your extreme enthusiasm over the job that caused you to email them 59 days in a row. It can be the experience you had working at a Chinese Private Equity firm last summer. It might even be how you were a Varsity Athlete in that sport they've never heard of.
But it can't be, "I really want to do banking so I can learn!" or, "I like the fast-paced environment!"
Those are just standard reasons to say you want to do the job.
When bankers interview you, they try to check off 3 boxes - 1) smart 2) can do the job 3) like him. A hook makes sure #3 is a "check."
But I'm Just A Normal Person, How Can I Get A Hook?
One good tactic is to make a connection with your interviewer by having similar interests, asking questions about some topic he or she likes, or having friends/alumni in common.
This requires upfront research and isn't always possible. But when you can do it, it works well.
Was your interviewer in the Marines? Maybe your brother/cousin/uncle was too. Was he in the industry where your dad/cousin/uncle works? Same undergraduate schools?
No One Wants You Until Someone Wants You (Then Everyone Wants You)
Everything is just high school all over again.
Another "hook": Convince the firm that you have offers with other investment banks. When they find out others want you, they'll be afraid they're missing something and want you more.
The correct answer to, "Are you interviewing with other firms?" is NEVER, "No." Even if you're not, never say, "no." Just be vague and say you are interviewing and considering several options.
If you are indeed interviewing successfully with other firms, mention the names - this works especially well if they are competitors. Naming any of the bulge brackets when interviewing with a bulge bracket, for example, would give you a boost.
Worst Case Scenario
Sometimes none of these tactics above actually works. This is why you spread your net wide and interview at many different banks - because eventually your hook will work and you will land that investment banking job.
Ian Spellfield has sinced written about articles on various topics from Pets, Social Issues and Culture and Society. Ian Spellfield, a former investment banker, advises students and young professionals on and how to get .. Ian Spellfield's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
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