Pulak Paul | UBS

Pulak currently works in the India Investment Banking team at UBS since 2019. Before joining UBS, Pulak was at Bank of America Merrill Lynch during 2018 and previously did his CA internship at Deloitte, from 2014 to 2017. Pulak is a Chartered Accountant and holds a B.Com (H) degree from S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, Delhi University. Pulak will be sharing his experience from his stint at UBS and BAML focusing on sharing insights about the Investment Banking industry in India..

Interview

How did you recruit for this role? What would your advice be for potential candidates aspiring to get here? (recruiting strategy, cycle, process etc.)

I pursued an internship with BAML after qualifying as a CA. Post my stint at BAML, I actively started recruiting for IB roles with other global banks. UBS was, fortunately, one of the banks which was hiring then. I became aware of it through an ex-colleague. The process was less cumbersome, following a telephonic intro, in-person interview rounds with all the senior members of the team in a single day.

Recruiting can happen any time of the year based on attrition/requirement of the team to expand, hence important to be watchful. Apart from having decent business acumen, understanding corporate finance and valuations, I think, it is more important to have the right attitude and mental agreement before one signs-up for such roles, given the high pressured and demanding nature of the job. The interviewers do consider whether you will be a fit and will be able to deliver when the team is stretched (…which is most of the times)

What are the key skills that are required for this role?

Valuation and corporate finance foundation, decent working level experience of excel models, presentations, etc. Much of the learning happens on the job with time. Having an open mind and eagerness to learn is key – you will not be building models and making presentations 24*7, as there are many other work streams in which the IB team gets involved including Due Diligence, Internal Committee, Industry pages and Company profiles.

On a lighter note: If you want to understand businesses in a short span; learn to maneuver between multiple workstreams at the same time; Like a fast-paced work environment and have no chill- Investment Banking is for you.

What is the typical feeder profile (typical previous work experience) for this industry in general and for your firm in particular?

While all the global banks recruit Analysts from MBA colleges through their summer programs or during the final placements, there are also global banks that hire CA’s on a lateral basis should they have prior IB work ex. Try to make your way with some front-end internships to start with.

Is there an education path that is preferred for getting a role in this industry?

There is no dedicated or set path to get into this industry, however, as we know, in India, the majority of the global banks hire top MBA candidates from the top colleges (arguable): the sheer reason being the long hours, high-pressure environment and in that, getting quality outputs- which, I believe are generally prevalent in the top B-Schools

There are many CA’s who work at many global banks at different levels of the org. hierarchy. The key is to understand whether you will not just be able to survive such a work culture, but also grow and nurture with it. You would only realize if you like it after you have spent some time.

While candidates with an MBA are preferred, CAs and undergrads with relevant experience are also preferred.

What is your total team size and what is the typical team staffing on a case/deal?

• We are only 10 people in the India Coverage team, we are sector and product agnostic.
• No standard staffing criteria and depends upon bandwidth. However, generally a deal has an Analyst + Director + Executive Director

What is a typical day at work for you?

A typical day depends upon whether you are working on a live deal which is execution or preparing proposals/pitches which is origination. Live deals demand to be on top, where you are working on different workstreams like working on presentations/models/Internal Committee memos (workstream depends on the kind of deal you are working on), attending calls with management/investors/counsels, etc., taking notes, co-ordination the entire process, etc. Originations, however, include working on and attending the pitches.

We also have help from our back offices in India to work on materials, our sector bankers in the SEAI region who help us with the global sector level expertise.

What are your key responsibilities and deliverable on a case/deal?

Responsibilities include preparing marketing materials, coordinating processes, clearing internal processes, etc. again, depends on the deal to deal whether a private placement, buy-side, or capital markets-related

What is the typical exit that people get from this role?

The typical exit is standard- move to a PE, another global bank, or a Corp. Dev. role

What are the pros and cons about this role?

Investment Banking is a high performance, high rewarding career with good exits. Opportunity to understand different businesses/industries and interact with multiple stakeholders while at the same time, long hours, high pressure, and demanding job (you would end up working either voluntarily or you would be asked to work almost every weekend – hence very important to like the work you do!)

What are your typical work hours in a week (including weekends)?

Varies – sometimes it goes over 100 hours a week and sometimes up to 70 hours. However, a typical work week-day ranges anywhere between 12-16 hours

How do the responsibilities evolve as one grows in this industry into senior roles?

• Analysts and early Associates are engaged in the core execution of deals.
• As one moves up the ladder, the primary responsibility shifts to less of execution and more of supervision, heading a particular project.
• This is followed by client coverage and bringing in business as one moving further in the ladder (Director/ED levels)

What would be your advice for people aspiring for a similar role?

• Advice would be to understand how Investment Banking works in the first place, identify your real motivation for getting into such a profile, and network as much as possible to bridge the gap between your idea of the industry and what is expected from you on the floor.
• This career is lucrative, however, on the flip side, it also comes with its own set of caveats, and one should be aware of the same. Do your research before you sign-up.
• On a lighter note: Investment Banking is subject to mental / health and social life risk, please understand the flip side before investing (yourself).