Summer Analyst Review

I was placed within the Acquisition & Leveraged Finance team which works with sub investment grade companies to issue Term Loan B or other junior debt (e.g. PIK) The role predominantly revolves around supporting the team in their daily tasks. This can take many forms, such as creating powerpoint slides in advance of client pitches or going through vendor due diligence. Additionally, we may often be tasked with creating financial models (mainly LBOs) on Excel

I have learnt many new technical and soft skills. Through having to manage between all my different tasks, I have learnt how to improve my time management skills as well as communication through telling others about my other deadlines. On a more technical side, I have been able to grasp the relevant knowledge required in the credit sector such as key terms and legal covenants. Furthermore, my Excel and Powerpoint skills have been greatly improved upon.

I was able to be given a lot of responsibility during the internship and was always highly involved in the various live deals that the team was working on. The team trusted us to deliver and we were able to work on materials that would be sent to the client. Furthermore, they trusted us to work independently and this was reflected by being delegated to work on sections of the presentation on our won. It truly felt as if we were treated as being part of the team

I received a lot of support during the internship. Firstly, I was sat next to an analyst and was able to turn to them to ask for help whenever I had any questions on how to complete a task. Moreover, the team would conduct masterclasses with the other interns in my team to teach us how to complete specific tasks such as viewing secondary trading levels for loans as well as how to access and read credit reports

There was a very strong company culture with the team talking to each other a lot and involving us in the conversations. They would all joke around which helped to create a very positive atmosphere. Moreover, the team were very supportive of each other which was reflected in the way that we were treated. It was also great that the team would meet up after work to have some social drinks, and invite us along to them

I enjoyed the internship to a very large extent. I feel like i was able to learn a lot from it and was able to gain many new skills. Additionally, I believe it gave me a very valuable insight into the finance industry and understand what a future career in the sector will entail. I believe that the positive culture of the team further enhanced my time in the firm and made it a truly enjoyable place to work

Yes

I would advise others to research the firm and understand its strong culture as a key differentiate to other competitors. They should also note that different teams have starkly different roles and cultures and they should therefore research heavily to understand which teams they would be most interested in joining. Finally, they should leverage their determination to learn new things in interviews as there is clearly a heavy emphasis placed on appetite to learn by the firm