Urvashi Bhanot | JP Morgan

Urvashi currently works as an Investment Banking Analyst at J.P. Morgan since November 2018. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, she was at Grant Thornton from a brief period of 6 months, and previously was with Deloitte, based in Gurgaon. Urvashi is a Chartered Accountant and a B.Com (Hons) graduate from University of Delhi. She has also cleared Level I and Level II of the CFA exam. She will be sharing her experience from her stint at J.P. Morgan 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 am currently working as an analyst in the Debt Capital Markets team of J.P. Morgan as part of the CRG team. I applied to this role via networking through platforms such as Linkedin and then went through the interview process that involved two technical rounds and one HR round. Most of the jobs in Investment Banking are not advertized on any job portals and hence, my advice would be to reach out to people already working in these organizations to identify opportunities, if any and apply through them

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

To be hired at an analyst level, one would ideally be required to have a post graduate degree in finance such as an MBA or a CA degree. Previous work experience though preferred is not necessary. Most of the analysts are usually hired through campus placements from B-schools such as IIM, IIFT etc

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

At the CRG level, analysts assist the front office IB team in market pitches and executions. There is no client interaction at CRG, so ideal day-to-day work is with the front office bankers. Work typically involves preparing pitchbooks for marketing purposes, market research, preparing generic market updates as well as client specific updates, financial analysis, assisting bankers with deals in execution phase

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

An MBA or a professional finance degree such as CA degree would be ideal

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

Usually, for every location for example APAC, a team of 5-6 people would exist to assist the front office bankers sitting in North and South Asia. Depending on the amount of work, there could be single or multiple staffing on a deal.

What is a typical day at work for you?

Each day at work is quite busy and constantly involves coordinating with bankers sitting in Hong Kong and Singapore office (since I work for the APAC region) and quick turnaround of deliverables

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

As a senior analyst in the team, my work involves preparing marketing materials, meeting pitchbooks, financial modeling, analysis and working on execution projects as well as assisting the juniors in the team and delegating when needed

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

Typically, from an IB role in the middle office team of J.P. Morgan, one could look at exit opportunities in IB front office roles or even Private Equity roles.

What are the pros and cons about this role?

The main advantage of working at a firm like J.P. Morgan is that there is a huge learning potential given exposure to complex deals and the competitive work environment

The con would be that since this is a middle office role, there is no client interaction and exposure to that extent is limited

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

A minimum of 50 hours in a week is a given which could go up when things get too busy

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

At a senior level, one expects a good understanding of technicals and efficiency in regular workflow to enable quick turnaround of error-free deliverables. At the same time, idea generation in terms of identifying new opportunities and deals becomes an important part of the job. Responsibilities at a senior role would also incorporate training and assisting juniors in the team

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

Since people aspiring for a role in the IB or PE industry, would already be aware of what is needed in terms of education background and technical knowledge, my one advice would be to become an avid reader and develop a genuine interest in the financial markets and be up to date with any and all happenings in the industry in general