À quoi ressemblent vos dimanches ? Vous faîtes la grasse matinée  jusqu’à 10 heures, puis vous vous préparez un petit-déjeuner hyper-protéiné avant de faire une balade au parc puis d’aller déjeuner tard au restaurant ? Vous en avez de la chance, ce n’est pas le cas du commun des mortels dans les services financiers…

En banque d’investissement, tout comme dans les fonds d’investissement, le dimanche, on travaille. Bien pire, c’est souvent le jour où l’on écluse les priorités qu’on n’a pas pu gérer pendant la semaine. Un employé d’une société d’investissement nous avoue : « J’essaie de me souvenir à quand remonte mon dernier dimanche libre… Je crois que c’était en novembre. Ces derniers temps, nous avons été débordés avec le lancement de nouveaux produits et j’ai passé le plus clair de mes weekends au bureau, même pendant la période de Noël. »

« Le dimanche est le jour où l’on rédige nos synthèses de recherches, enchaîne un ancien directeur général sur les marchés de taux dans une banque européenne. Lorsque j’étais analyste, j’avais tellement peu de temps pendant la semaine que je finalisais mes notes le soir et le weekend. En fait, les weekends constituaient les moments de calme parfaits pour se concentrer sur l’essentiel. »

En théorie, les traders sont soumis à un rythme moins intense que leurs collègues de la banque d’investissement. Le travail de ces derniers est axé sur les deals et peut donc nécessiter que le banquier travaille sans relâche jusqu’à la conclusion d’un contrat. Les traders, à l’inverse, ne sont censés être mobilisés qu’aux heures d’activité des marchés. En pratique pourtant, les traders concèdent travailler aussi le dimanche. Comme ce trader sur les taux qui déclare : « Si vous êtes trader, vous n’êtes pas au bureau et pourtant vous travaillez. Le dimanche, c’est le jour où vous prenez le temps de lire toutes les notes de recherche que vous avez reçues la semaine.  Dans une salle des marchés, vous êtes débordé en permanence et sans cesse interrompu, donc impossible de lire ». Même Lloyd Blankfein, CEO de Goldman Sachs, confirme passer ses weekends confortablement installé dans son canapé à lire les analyses de la semaine.

Et quand vous ne travaillez pas ?  Il y a le choix entre rattraper le sommeil en retard, payer les factures et trier les chaussettes… « Franchement, rien de passionnant, soupire ce collaborateur d’un fond d’investissement. On travaille tellement pendant la semaine qu’il nous est impossible de trouver une minute pour ces réjouissances administratives incontournables. Et malheureusement, difficile de tout déléguer… », conclut-il.

If you want to work for a hedge fund in London, then you should know that BlueCrest Capital Management is almost always hiring. So is Millennium Capital Partners. If neither BlueCrest nor Millennium appeals, there are many other hedge fund options. Bloomberg has unearthed several in the asset backed securities (ABS) space alone.

Ellington Management Group is hiring, reports Bloomberg. It’s just opened a London ABS business and has already recruited Daniel Turner from Chenavari Credit Partners to run it. MKP Capital Management has also opened in London. MKP has hired Pritesh Solanki from HSBC and has dispatched Christopher Muller from its U.S. office. Golden Tree Asset Management is also active in ABS in Mayfair. It has transferred Cee Sarabi from New York and may yet need to hire a few more people. Marathon Asset Management has opened a second fund to invest in European ABS.

Bloomberg says ABS business is finally picking up as European banks finally sell their distressed asset backed securities. Hedge funds are competing with private equity funds to buy them, $300bn of distressed loans are expected to be unloaded by European lenders between now and 2018. For some funds, any hiring that happens in 2014 will come at the end of heavy pontification – one fund arrived in London in 2011 and has only just moved a member of staff to the city.

Separately, Goldman Sachs has issued some advice from one of its recruiters, which includes a primer on the art of interview follow-up. Follow-up is always important says ‘Abigail’ a recruiter from Goldman’s NY office. Follow-up even if you’ve just had a quick coffee. How should you follow-up? “Most follow up emails thank the interviewer for their time and also highlight something unique that the person took away from the conversation,” Abigail advises.

Meanwhile:

Goldman Sachs is introducing a new and innovative pay structure to avoid EU bonus rules, but no one knows what it is. (Wall Street Journal) 

Mr. Blankfein’s increased pay is moderate compared with other bank chiefs. (DealBook) 

Lloyd Blankfein to earn more than James Gorman and Jamie Dimon. (Financial Times) 

2014 may not be a great year for FX businesses. (Euromoney) 

ICBC has bought Standard Bank’s London-based markets unit in order to expand in trading spanning commodities and interest rates to currencies. (Bloomberg) 

Barclays may also cut 520 jobs at its corporate bank. (Bloomberg) 

Banking intern writes poem. (Financial Times) 

A reminder that Rich Ricci is still rich. (Financial News) 

The life of a macro trader is, in theory, one of the wildest rides in the financial sector. While most trading roles stick to relatively rigid rules or strategies, macro hedge funds have the flexibility to take broad views on global markets and have the resources to take aggressive action.

Macro trading has connotations of the glamour and rich pickings associated with the hedge fund sector – think George Soros, Brevan Howard, Tudor Investment Corporation and Caxton Associates. The reality of the job, however, is rather different – every day traders are battered with information overload on economic and market trends, and the key is to see through the noise to spot a trading opportunity, and doing this is more down to the skill of the individual than the culture of an organisation.

At least that’s the view of James Leitner, president of hedge fund Falcon Management Corporation. The key to success, he said at the LSE Alternative Investment Conference last week, is to be open to any possibility, rather than being married to one investment strategy or market theory.

“I will trade anything, I’m totally diversified and my views have nothing to do with what, say, the ECB is doing,” he said. “I’d go for Zambian T-bills, for example, keep an eye on beer consumption in Nigeria and the investment opportunities it presents or look to buy shares in a Turkish glass company after an earthquake.”

Not that Leitner is advocating a finger-in-the-wind investment philosophy. Macro trading is a highly technical process, and he outlined various mathematical and political ideals like Occam’s Razor and the importance of being an investment fox – open to all possibilities – rather than a hedgehog (viewing the world through a single lens and being ideologically rigid), based on Isaiah Berlin’s essay.

“Most people are focused on one thing, and don’t take in entire picture,” he argued. A case in point is this video:

Did you spot the moonwalking bear? If you did, you’re already beating most of the room at the LSE conference.

“We’re hard-wired to believe everything we hear. Look for disaffirming evidence,” says Leitner. “Something instantly slots in as a fact unless we take the time to look at the information and then decide that it’s not. I’m sent thousands of analyst notes every day, but being flooded with information does not make you more accurate, it just makes you more confident in your outlook.”

Macro traders have to be on the ball 24 hours a day and consume, filter and act upon vast amounts of data. The result is that it has the reputation of being one of the most stressful finance jobs out there.

Leitner, however, disagrees: “The job is not stressful, I have no trouble sleeping and it’s an amazingly great job. Of all the sales and trading jobs out there, it’s the most interdisciplinary and your trades are not always mathematical or completely clear.”

Endlich liegen die Ergebnisse der Prüfungen zum ersten Level des Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) vor. Mit einer Erfolgsquote von 43 Prozent liegen die Examen aus dem Dezember immerhin um fünf Prozentpunkte höher als im Juni.

Doch welche Punktzahl benötigt ein Kandidat, um die begehrte Qualifikation tatsächlich zu erreichen? Bei der Beantwortung dieser Frage hält sich das CFA Institute, das die Prüfungen organisiert, traditionell zurück. Um zu bestehen, müsse ein Kandidat in sämtlichen Prüfungsthemen eine Mindestpunktzahl (net passing score) erreichen. Doch wie hoch diese Punktzahl tatsächlich ausfällt, wird nirgends kommuniziert und variiert überdies bei jedem Prüfungsdurchgang. Denn das CFA Insitute stützt sich dabei auf die Angoff-Methode. Dazu setzen sich eine Reihe von CFA-Charterholern zusammen und arbeiten heraus, wie schwierig die Fragen tatsächlich sind und wie leicht es ist, den Test tatsächlich zu bestehen.

Um die Sache noch komplizierter zu gestalten, weist das CFA Insitute darauf hin, dass eine gute Punktzahl in einem Themenbereich nicht unbedingt eine schlechte in einem anderen Bereich ausgleicht.

Daher verwundert es kaum, wenn sich einige unter den 57 Prozent der jüngst gescheiterten Prüfungsteilnehmer fragen, woran es denn gelegen hat. Ihnen bleibt letztlich kaum etwas anderes übrig, als es beim nächsten Prüfungsdurchlauf im Juni noch einmal zu versuchen.

Da das CFA Institute ein wenig unter einem Kontrollfimmel leidet, sieht es ungern, wenn die Ergebnisse diskutiert werden. Was natürlich niemanden davon abhält, dies tatsächlich intensiv auf einschlägigen Internetseiten wie „Analyst Forum“ zu unternehmen. Hier die wichtigsten Einträge:

1. Mehr als 70 Prozent in sämtlichen Kategorien.

2. 51 bis 70 Prozent in Quantitativen Methoden und Financial Reporting und Analyse (FRA). Weniger als 50 Prozent in Volkswirtschaft und mehr als 50 Prozent in allen anderen Bereichen.

3. 50 bis 70 Prozent in fünf Bereichen und 70 Prozent in den anderen. (Leider wird nicht spezifiziert, um welche fünf Bereiche es sich handelt).

4. Weniger als 50 Prozent in VWL. 51 bis 70 Prozent in Ethik und Quantitativen Methoden. Mehr als 70 Prozent in allen anderen Bereichen.

5. Weniger als 50 Prozent in „Equity Investments“ und „Fixed Income“. 51 Prozent in FRA, Corporate Finance, Derivaten, Ethik, Quantitative Methoden und Portfoliomanagement. Mehr als 70 Prozent bei Alternativen Investments.

6. 51 bis 70 Prozent in Corporate Finance, VWL, Aktien, FRA, Portfoliomanagement. Mehr als 70 Prozent bei Derivaten, Ethik, Festverzinslichen Investments und Quantitativen Methoden.

Sofern man sich das Ergebnis anschaut, dann scheint die Version fünf der Wirklichkeit am nächsten zu kommen. Demnach lässt sich die Prüfung bestehen, sobald etwa 65 Prozent der möglichen Punktzahl in den meisten Bereichen erreicht werden.

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A senior energy investment banker at Citigroup, Ekaterina Zotova, has left after two years to take a role at an expanding private equity company backed by Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group.

Zotova joined Pamplona Capital Management’s global energy fund earlier this month as a principal. The L1 Energy fund was launched last year and will use the funds from the sale of Alfa Group’s stake in oil venture TNK-BP to invest in oil and gas projects. Fridman and his partners netted $7bn each in a $55bn deal when the company was sold to Russian government-owned energy group Rosneft.

She joined Citigroup in January 2012 as head of international acquisitions and divestments for the bank’s oil and gas division, with a mandate to expand the team within its energy investment banking division. Zotova worked on the $15.1bn acquisition of Canadian oil and gas firm Nexan Group by Chinese state-owned entity CNOOC last year.

Pamplona has been building its energy team since launching the new fund. In September, it hired Joao Saraiva e Silva from Carlyle Group less than four months after he joined the firm to lead a new energy team, according to Financial News.

Zotova has spent much of her career working for Shell, a company she joined in a finance function in 1997. She eventually rose to CFO for its wind energy division, before switching into investment banking in an associate role at Lehman Brothers in 2004. She then moved back to Shell in an M&A position in 2005 and had been promoted to head of portfolio management for its upstream business in 2010.

She has an MBA with a corporate finance focus from Columbia Business School, gained in 2005.

Yunho Song, head of the rates and currencies business at Bank of America, is no longer with the bank. Recruiters say Song mysteriously resigned just prior to bonus time.

Bank of America declined to comment on Song’s departure, but a colleague confirmed that he was no longer working for the bank in London.

Prior to joining BofA, Song was chief trader at the California office of BlueCrest Capital Management. He reportedly left BlueCrest in 2006 after making a wrong bet on Japanese interest rates.

Song’s departure is said to be causing consternation in Bank of America’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) fixed income business. BofA’s global FICC business had an epic fourth quarter. While average revenues in the business declined by 8% year-on-year at U.S. banks in general (after allowing for accounting foibles), Bank of America’s FICC revenues rose by 8%. 

Traders may therefore have thought they wouldn’t be paid too badly. Except their chief protector has just quit. The most recently available pay figures for compensation in the City of London (for 2012), show that Bank of America is one of the least generous banks when it comes to paying risk takers and senior staff.

[Addendum: Headhunters say BofA announced its bonuses yesterday and that they were disappointing in the rates business. Under UK law, a bonus need not be paid if an individual is not in employment on the date the bonus is paid out.]

At the very top of the banking industry, people are doing well. Jamie Dimon got a 74% increase in his pay this year, James Gorman got an 86% increase in his deferred stock bonus and Lloyd Blankfein has had his bonus increased to $21m for 2013 from $19m in 2012.

A notch below the executive elite, however, things aren’t quite so glitzy. Headhunters say managing directors (MDs) in big US banks are being paid significantly less than they used to be.

“At most places, MDs are getting their bonuses knocked back by up to 50%,” says the head of one fixed income focused search firm, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Banks are taking that money and allocating it to senior associates and vice presidents (VPs). If a bank’s got a good franchise it’s realized that it doesn’t need to pay over the odds to top people – it  just needs someone who’s competent.”

Ebrahim Zaheer at search firm The Kennedy Group, which focuses on equities professionals, says banks know that most managing directors are trapped where they are, whereas high performing mid-ranking and junior staff can easily find new jobs. ”Associates and VPs are the future and are the kinds of people who are being hired. There are very few mandates out now for recruiting managing directors – they’re expensive to recruit as they have a lot of stock to buy out. As a result, banks have less need to pay people at MD level,” he says.

Another headhunter, also speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of ostracizing banking clients, said banks have also continued last year’s trend of paying high levels of cash to juniors while punishing senior staff with restricted stock bonuses and long deferrals. Although both Citi and Morgan Stanley have said they will pay higher levels of cash this year, Deutsche Bank has promised to retain five year deferred bonuses for its most senior staff.

It’s nearly February. If you have spent the entirety of January sipping green tea and abstaining from alcohol, you can recrudesce starting from tomorrow.

One headhunter in London, however, spends 12 months of the year treating his body like a purgatorial sanctum. “People in finance eat so badly,” he tells us, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear that fellow finance recruiters will disparage his healthiness. “They all eat crisps and chocolate. I’d rather snack on healthy foods like avocados and nuts. If I’m having a dessert, I’d rather eat blueberries with walnuts and Greek yoghurt.”

The headhunter has concocted his own diet based around so-called ‘super-foods’. This, he has shared with us below. If followed rigorously, he claims it dramatically improves your energy levels and is “cheaper than eating out”. You can even drink, in moderation. “I have a glass or two of red wine in the evenings and some Armagnac brandy after a meal.

“Armagnac comes from a region of France where people live seven years longer than the rest,” he adds.

One man’s guide to food in finance 

Breakfast: 

Porridge

Lunch/Dinner:

Salmon

Tomatoes

Spinach / Broccoli

Red Wine

Sweet Potatoes

Garlic

Lemon

Olive Oil

Dessert:

Yoghurt

Apples

Bananas

Blueberries

Walnuts

Avocado

Night Cap:

Armanac Brandy

Other:

Pumpkin

Watermelon

Eggs

Oranges

Green Tea

Although Goldman Sachs still pays extremely well, the New York bank aggressively ratcheted down compensation costs last year, allocating just 37% of revenue to cover employee salaries, bonuses and benefits. Overall pay was down 3% year-over-year, despite the fact that Goldman added 500 employees in 2013.

One of the key tools the bank has been using to decrease compensation costs (without everyone quitting) is by adding talent in low-cost sectors like Dallas and Salt Lake City, as well as overseas in Bangalore, India. Much of the more recent domestic growth has been taking place in Salt Lake City, now home to roughly 1,800 Goldmanites. Clearly, Utah works for some, but would it work for you? It all depends on your answers to these questions.

Are you OK being a big fish in a small pond?

It goes without saying that you’ll make significantly less working for Goldman in Salt Lake City than you would in New York. Roughly 30% less for an identical position, according to Reuters. But, as long as you aren’t summering in the West Village, you’re still coming out ahead due to the differences in cost of living.

Making $50,000 in Salt Lake City equates to making nearly $120,000 in Manhattan, according to CNN’s cost of living calculator. Utah is now the fifth most affordable state in the U.S. and offers the 10^th lowest tax burden in the country.

Plus, your salary will likely dwarf that of your neighbor’s. The average annual salary in Utah is under $42,000.

Do you work in the back office? If not, are you OK going to lunch with them?

Goldman is quick to point out that Salt Lake City is home to nine of its 11 business units. But the two that aren’t there are the sexy high-paying jobs: trading and investment banking. Salt Lake employs hundreds in technology, compliance and operations, with others working in human resources and finance. However, higher-paying roles in wealth and asset management are also available.

Currently, there are 27 open jobs in technology on Goldman’s career page, along with 15 in operations, 12 in finance and four in compliance. There aren’t any in wealth and asset management, but usually those types of roles are filled through analyst programs or are un-posted.

How important is job security?

Goldman has made a pledge to continue pushing jobs to low-cost areas. Logic will dictate then that you are less likely to be a casualty as a lower-paid staffer in Salt Lake than you would as a more costly employee in New York or London.

Do you like being outside more than inside?

New York and London have culture: plays, museums, sporting events and thousands of amazing restaurants. Utah, on the other hand, specializes in outdoor activities. It’s home to five national parks – the most of any U.S. state – and there are 11 ski resorts within an hour of the airport. If you like hiking, skiing, mountain biking and rafting, you won’t find a much better locale.

How important is a nightlife?

However, if a thriving nightlife is a priority, you may want to look elsewhere. Utah has the most stringent alcohol laws in the country, with the state having a monopoly over wholesaling booze. Most stores sell beer with minimal alcohol content and no bar stays open past 1 a.m. Before last year, you weren’t even allowed to order alcohol at a restaurant unless you were ordering food.

And if you’re single, your options may be limited. While Utah is the youngest state in the country, with an average age of 29, it has the highest percentage of married couples and family households in the U.S.

Are you OK with more of a startup feel?

You are working at Goldman Sachs, so it is far from a startup, but the firm says that the office culture in Salt Lake City is different. Younger workers in Utah tend to have more responsible and greater exposure to all the firm’s businesses, at least according to Goldman.

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Frustration over lack of a work/life policy boiling over at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank appears to be one of the only major investment banks still yet to address the workloads of its junior employees.

There’s been a seasonal upturn in banks’ hiring plans for front office jobs in sales, trading and M&A. Recruiters say the pace of interviewing has picked up dramatically in the past few weeks.

“We’re very busy now,” says Michael Karp, New York City-based chief executive of global search firm Options Group. “There’s a lot more interviewing than this time last year and a lot more offers are being made, although we won’t see people taking them up until bonus payments clear in February. Once that happens, we’re expecting hiring across credit and electronic trading and continued moves from the sell side to the buy side.”

Andrew Breach, director of global banking and asset management at Page Executive in London, says banks’ demand for junior M&A staff has risen dramatically in recent months. “There’s a lot of hiring in M&A and investment banking coverage. I’d judge that there are around 50 openings for junior analysts and associates in London at the moment. The focus is on hiring ACAs from the Big Four accounting firms.”

After a strong year for equities in 2013, Zaki Ahmed, director at Financial Search, says equity research hiring has finally picked up at a senior level and there are 20 or more top -level vacancies in London. “There are a lot more experienced roles on offer than there were this time last year. There’s more confidence and because teams have shrunk considerably there’s appetite for senior staff. As things pick up post-bonuses, good candidates are going to get multiple offers.”

It’s not only front office recruitment that seems to be picking up. Yesterday Astbury Marsden, a predominantly middle and back office recruiter, estimated that 4,700 entirely new banking jobs had been created in London since December.

Bonus disappointment and gratitude

Headhunters said the shape of 2013 bonuses is slowly becoming apparent. For example, Credit Suisse appears to have paid its equities staff well, while Citi appears to have paid its equities staff badly – headhunters say they’re receiving a lot of calls from disgruntled Citi staff.

Elsewhere, JPMorgan and Goldman bankers are said to be “generally happy” with their payments. “It is what it is,” says one headhunter. “No one else is paying any more.”

Bloomberg is reporting today that bonuses for rates traders have been cut by 15% at Bank of America. As we reported last week,  Yunho Song, head of the rates and currencies business at Bank of America mysteriously left the business just before bonus time.

The biggest exodus is expected to come from Barclays, which headhunters say is due to announce its bonuses this Friday. Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins renounced his £2.7m bonus yesterday. Barclays’ fixed income bankers may well find their bonuses similarly absent – although they won’t have given them up of their own accords.

The one thing that is likely to be absent in this year’s post-bonus hiring round are big upticks in pay. Headhunters say the days of handsome pay rises as an incentive to switch jobs are over – it’s all about moving to a new firm to escape cutbacks or increase prestige.

Ce matin, UBS a publié ses résultats pour le quatrième trimestre 2013 (les voici). Ils devraient redonner le sourire à ses salariés. La banque UBS est repassée dans le vert en 2013, dégageant un bénéfice net de 3,2 mds CHF, contre une perte de 2,5 mds CHF en 2012. Les banquiers d’investissement ont de quoi être satisfaits : leur groupe a augmenté le résultat net de ses activités de manière spéctaculaire en un an. Parmi les banques ayant livré leurs résultats pour l’ensemble de l’année 2013, UBS est aussi la seule à présenter une rémunération moyenne de ses collaborateurs en hausse sur un an. Détails et décryptage.

1- Sur un an, les profits de la banque d’investissement d’UBS ont bondi de 760% !

En 2012, les bénéfices avant impôt dégagés par les activités de banque d’investissement s’établissaient à 267m CHF. L’année dernière, ils atteignaient CHF 2.3mds. En 2012, UBS avait certes été plombé par une amende d’1,5 milliards de dollars dans l’affaire du Libor, la hausse reste néanmoins impressionnante. La stratégie de désengagement des activités de taux d’UBS pourrait bien en inspirer certains. Pas les banques françaises en tout cas, qui semblent carrément prendre le pari opposé.

2. La banque d’investissement d’UBS est désormais emmenée par les métiers Actions

Les revenus d’UBS dans le trading et la vente d’actions ont grimpé de 60% en un an, à 4 mds CHF en 2013. Les marchés actions ont ainsi constitué 47% du total des revenus de la banque d’investissement. Par comparaison, les activités M&A – spécialité du PDG de la banque d’investissement Andrea Orcel – ne représentaient que 6% du total. Enfin, le trading et la vente sur les marchés de taux – activité en retrait – ne représente plus que 18% des revenus de la banque d’investissement.

3. Les traders d’UBS font de l’argent mais en prenant moins de risques

Comme JPMorgan, UBS a mis un frein drastique à la prise de risques sur les marchés l’an dernier. La Value-At-Risk (VaR) a chuté de 37% en 2013 par rapport à 2012 et la banque souligne qu’elle n’a enregistré aucun jour à perte au cours du quatrième trimestre.

4. La rémunération moyenne des banquiers d’investissement a progressé de 3% en 2013

Certes, l’augmentation n’est pas massive, mais la rémunération moyenne dans le pôle banque d’investissement passe tout de même de 334k à 343k CHFen un an. Chez Goldman Sachs et JPMorgan (CIB), les rémunérations ont décliné de respectivement 4% et 5%. Quant à Deutsche Bank, elle n’a pas dévoilé la rémunération moyenne par salarié mais a indiqué une coupe de 14% dans ses charges de salaires l’an dernier.

5. L’enveloppe totale des bonus chez UBS est en hausse de 28% en un an et la partie cash en hausse de 20%

UBS a consacré au titre de 2013 un total de 3.2mds CHF aux bonus de ses collaborateurs contre 2.5bn CHF en 2012. La partie versée en numéraire est passée de 1.4mds à 1.7mds CHF. La banque explique cette revalorisation des variables comme une « normalisation » après une année 2012 marquée par les répercussions négatives de l’affaire du Libor sur l’enveloppe des primes de performance, et une volonté de « réduire l’écart avec les rémunérations du marché ».

6. Les grands gagnants des augmentations salariales sont… les banquiers privés

La rémunération par tête a augmenté de 3% en 2013 dans le pôle banque d’investissement et de 16% sur un an dans la division gestion de fortune. Les banquiers privés restent cependant moins bien payés que leurs collègues de la banque d’investissement, avec une rémunération moyenne de 205k CHF.

Attention, tout n’est pas devenu rose chez UBS :

> La banque continue son régime drastique de 10.000 suppressions de postes qu’elle s’est imposée. En 2013, près de 2.000 collaborateurs ont quitté la banque d’investissement. Les banquiers du front office n’ont pas été épargnés puisqu’ils représentent 42% des employés licenciés, un chiffre qui correspond à leur proportion au sein de l’activité banque d’investissement. 

> En outre, les banquiers d’investissement d’UBS se voient contraints de travailler plus pour mériter leur salaire. Dans sa présentation, le géant allemand se félicite du bond de 38% de la productivité de ses activités de front office de sa banque d’investissement. Les rémunérations, elles, ne semblent pas avoir suivi le même rythme d’augmentation.

LIRE AUSSI :

Des données d’UBS suggèrent qu’il y aura moins de banquiers d’investissement dans le futur, mais mieux payés

Les employés d’UBS France “sous le choc”

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the country’s $1bn SWF that started investing in June last year, is hiring.

After setting up the executive team last year, the fund is starting to recruit lower down the career ladder. Last year hired Uche Orji, a former managing director at UBS in New York, as CEO, ex-Barclays operation risk head, Stella Ojekwe-Onyejeli, as chief risk officer, Tom Northover as an in-house economist, and Aminu Umar-Sadiq, formerly a London-based SocGen M&A associate, as a portfolio manager, and is still looking to recruit.

It’s currently searching internationally for a senior analyst, offering a six-figure salary to anyone suitable to take up the position. The catch, of course, is that you’ll have to move to Nigeria, so its preference is to lure Nigerian nationals with experience of working for multinational firms in developed financial centres, but is willing to consider any nationality.

With assets under management of $1bn, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority is third-largest in sub-Saharan Africa, behind the $6.9bn Botswana and $5bn Angola SWFs, but still pales in comparison to oil wealth funds like the $600bn plus-sized Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Norway’s oil fund.

And while ADIA employs over 1,400 people, the number of staff at NSIA is still small – it has just 5-8 employees, but is beginning to expand. While SWFs have been accused of feeling decidedly like the fusty public sector, with internal politics and a feeling of diminished individual responsibility, the small cadre of investment bankers at the Nigerian fund suggests there will be a more dynamic feel.

Orji told Ventures Africa magazine that he would “actually encourage friction in my team, I encourage people to speak their minds. I will fire you if you’re a ‘yes man’, because you’re not adding any value. If all you do is say yes to what I say then you’re really not helping. You must have your own opinion”.

NSIA didn’t respond to further requests for information regarding their hiring plans.

In September, the fund made its first ever investment, allocating $200m to UBS, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs to manage a fixed income portfolio. It’s also earmarked $10m to help provide funding to agricultural projects through its infrastructure fund and a further $9.92m in the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company.

NSIA was created to invest savings made from the country’s budgeted oil prices and the actual market prices. It has the infrastructure fund and the future generations, which invests in equities, fixed income, private equity and real estate. Both account for 32.5% of total holdings.

We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know when and in what form. SAC Capital Advisors will soon turn from one of the most successful hedge funds of all time to a shrunken-down family office that oversees only employee money, plus the $9 billion or so hidden in the pockets of founder Steven A. Cohen.

The official transformation is set for mid-March, according to Dealbook, with a name change being only the initial part of the corporate restructuring. It comes as no real shock that Cohen will remain as chief executive, but his day-to-day responsibilities will be mitigated by a new layer of management meant to act as a buffer between the boss and his admittedly thinner cadre of traders.

Cohen is currently facing an SEC suit charging him with failing to supervise his employees, eight of whom have now been charged with insider trading. Cohen so far has evaded criminal charges and, in recent months, has reportedly morphed from a head trader to more of a corporate leader.

Part of the rebranding has taken the form of layoffs. The firm said goodbye to dozens of traders within its now defunct office, many of whom have resurfaced at Moore Capital Management, and has cut back-office employees. Three trading units will be set up and run by Phillipp Villhauer, Michael Ferrucci and Ross Garon, long-time SAC staffers, according to Bloomberg. Neither of the three will report directly to Cohen.

One thing to watch moving forward is how the yet-to-be-named spawn of SAC will be treated, both by regulators and the Street itself. Five months ago, when the first official criminal indictment came down, banking counterparties that rely on SAC’s historic trading volume offered support for the reeling hedge fund, with Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn calling the firm “a great counterparty,”  despite the insider trading charges. The tide may have turned though, especially considering SAC no longer has the same bank roll. Within the last week, longtime broker Deutsche Bank decided it will no longer work with the SAC.

The other question to be answered is what new name will the firm take? Send your suggestions to US.Editor@dice.com and we’ll publish the best of the group. We’re expecting sarcasm.

SocGen Hiring in FICC (eFinancialCareers)

SocGen is hiring for its U.S. fixed income and rates and currencies businesses. Here are a few pros and cons about working in FICC at the French bank.

Money Where His Mouth Is…Kind Of (Dealbook)

For the second year in a row, Barclays Chief Executive Antony Jenkins has turned down a cash bonus, noting the continuing restructuring issues the bank is undergoing. Bonus announcement for rank-and-file investment bankers come this Friday. Bonus payments are actually expected to be up a percentage point or two.

Sneaking By Uncle Sam (WSJ)

Private equity firms may be underpaying taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars by misrepresenting what are deductible consulting fees. PE firms are also being investigated for converting ordinary fee income into capital gains, thus further reducing their tax burden. 

Exis Shuttering (WSJ)

New York hedge-fund firm Exis Capital Management is closing its doors. The firm, run by Adam Sender, was managing only $75 million, down from $1 billion earlier, and lost more than 5% in 2013. New York’s Joho Capital Management is being shuttered.

Used Car Salesman (Bloomberg)

Former Jefferies managing director Jesse Litvak’s fraud trial is set to get underway this week. Litvak is charged with misrepresenting the value mortgage-backed securities between buyer and seller and keeping the difference. One official said his dealings were unworthy of a used-car salesman.

Goldman Case Study Question (eFinancialCareers)

Want to work for Goldman Sachs? You’ll likely face a difficult case study question toward the end of the interview process. Here are two examples.

Renaissance? (Bloomberg)

Hard to believe, but London’s financial-services center added 3,350 jobs in January. Maybe the City is back.

Buzz Around the Office

Broadway Joe (USA Today)

Former Jets quarterback Joe Namath was the talk of the Super Bowl, despite the fact that he wasn’t playing in it. Broadway Joe was decked out in an over-the-top fur coat (in 50-degree weather), then botched his role as the ceremonial coin tosser in vintage form. But at least he didn’t try to make out with the sideline reporter when he was finished. 

Quote of the Day: “Hours have to be reasonable so they can have a balanced lifestyle. … all work and no play … become very uninteresting advisers to companies because they bring a very narrow perspective.” – Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman

As a possible part of the 400 redundancies reported at Barclays last week, we understand that the U.K. bank has parted company with some of its longest serving London-based sales staff.

Andrea Anselmetti, head of European FX sales has left the bank according to headhunters and colleagues. We also understand that Emad Taktak, head of rates hedge fund sales has also left the bank. Barclays declined to comment on either departure. A colleague of Taktak’s said he was no longer at his number and there was no method of contacting him.

Barclays’ redundancies are conveniently taking place just before bonuses are announced at the British bank this Friday. As senior and long-serving staff, both Anselmetti and Taktak would likely have been in line for handsome payouts. Taktak joined Barclays from JPMorgan in 2002 according to his FCA record (which shows him still with the British bank). Anselmetti joined from Goldman Sachs in 1998.

Barclays is expected to lose swathes of other staff after bonuses are paid. After a difficult year for the fixed income business, compensation for 2013 is expected to be disappointing. As we reported in early January, Alok Modi director of long-end STRIPS trading at Barclays left for Morgan Stanley at the end of last year.

One headhunter who works with Barclays and asked to remain anonymous, said the bank remains overweight in terms of senior staff: “They’ve never really had a big clear out and they have a lot of expensive people who’ve worked there for years.

“With a big flow machine you don’t need a senior sales guy – you just need a junior who can crack-on,” he adds. “A lot of banks are splitting sales people into tier one coverage people who cover top accounts and tier two coverage people who cover lower-touch electronic trading clients. The nature of sales jobs is changing and fewer expensive senior staff are needed.”

Lange Arbeitszeiten, 24stündige Abrufbereitschaft an sieben Tagen die Woche und banale Tätigkeiten, die von heldenhaften Momenten unterbrochen  werden … dabei handelt es sich um die Stellenbeschreibung eines Feuerwehrmanns – aber es ähnelt auch sehr einem Job im Investmentbanking. Nach 25 Jahren als Feuerwehrmann habe ich ein Unternehmen gegründet, das Führungskräften dabei hilft, eine nachhaltige Performance zu erzielen. Ich bin von der Annahme ausgegangen, dass die Geschäftswelt mehr von einem Feuerwehrhauptmann lernen kann, als viele sich vorstellen können.

Erstens; als ich noch ein junger Feuerwehrmann war, hielt ich mich für unbesiegbar. Ich dachte, ich könne hart arbeiten, das große Spiel wagen und leidenschaftlich Risiken eingehen. In einigen Unternehmen aus den Finanzdienstleistungen, mit denen wir zusammenarbeiten, hören wir ganz ähnliche Einstellungen. Sie prahlen mit dem Risiko, das sie mit den Kundengeldern eingehen und den langen Arbeitszeiten als handle es sich um eine Verdienstmedaille – und natürlich damit, wie sie das ganz große Spiel machen.

Auch wenn eine solche Einstellung jungen Investmentbankern und Feuerwehrleuten zu helfen vermag, kann sie doch auch bei beiden großen Schaden anrichten. Bei Bankern führt dies zu Verwirrung, schlechtem Urteilsvermögen und Burnout. Bei Feuerwehrmännern zu einer Verletzung, die die Karriere beendet, oder sogar zu noch Schlimmerem.

Es handelt sich einfach um eine Tatsache, dass menschliche Wesen über bestimmte körperliche und geistige Fähigkeiten verfügen und dass der menschliche Körper seine Grenzen nicht überschreiten kann. Schlafmangel, schlechte Ernährung, eine schwache mentale Verfassung und schlechte gesundheitliche Gewohnheiten werden ihren Tribut fordern. Und dieser kann sehr hoch ausfallen. Laut den Tignum-Daten leiden 67 Prozent der Führungskräfte unter Stoffwechselerkrankungen oder anderen gesundheitlichen Risikofaktoren, die Leistung und Produktivität beeinträchtigen. 84 Prozent geben an, dass sie nicht über genügend Energie verfügen, um ihren täglichen Aufgaben nachzukommen.

Der Glaube an die eigene Unbesiegbarkeit bringt Sie letztlich darum, in dem Job zu bleiben, den sie lieben. Für ein Unternehmen bedeutet dies den Verlust eines talentierten (und erfahrenen) Mitarbeiters und häufig genug geht auch die Kundschaft verloren.

Zweitens; nachdem ich Bataillonskommandeur geworden war, habe ich schnell gelernt, dass es immer das Unbekannte ist, was einen verletzt oder tötet. Das gleiche gilt für Banker. Auch wenn Sie unter massivem Zeitdruck von Informationen und Emotionen nur so bombardiert werden, müssen Sie einen Schritt Abstand gewinnen und das Problem von allen sieben Seiten betrachten. Wenn die Struktur eines Gebäudes von einem Feuer betroffen ist, dann bedeutet dies, sich das Feuer von innen, von allen vier Seiten, von unten und von oben anzusehen. Meine Aufgabe bestand darin herauszubekommen, was ich nicht wusste. Dies bedeutete nicht, dass ich unfähig zu handeln war. Vielmehr lernte ich die Zeit zur Entscheidungsfindung zu respektieren. Wenn mir fünf (ganze) Minuten für eine kritische Entscheidung zur Verfügung standen, dann nahm ich mir davon so viel Zeit wie möglich, um die beste Entscheidung zu treffen. Davon können Banker eine Menge lernen: Sich genügend Zeit für eine Entscheidung zu nehmen, stellt eines der wichtigsten Mittel zur Risikominimierung dar.

Schließlich habe ich gelernt, dass Sie sich nicht besser um andere als um sich selbst kümmern können. Wir haben jeden Tag mit einem sorgfältigen Check der Ausrüstung und körperlichen Routineübungen begonnen, damit wir bereit waren, sobald der Alarm ertönte. Viel zu oft sehen wir Banker, die genau dies nicht verstanden haben. Durch die Vernachlässigung der grundlegenden Vorbereitung vermögen sie es nicht, ihre Umgebung zu motivieren. Sie sind unfähig, die geistige Verwirrung zu lichten, die für eine souveräne Entscheidungsfindung einfach erforderlich ist und ihnen fehlt das Durchhaltevermögen, welches für harte Auseinandersetzungen nötig ist. Diese Form des kurzfristigen Denkens kann in die Katastrophe führen. Es macht keinen Sinn für das Investment eines Kunden verantwortlich zu sein und dabei das wichtigste Investment von allem zu vergessen – die Arbeit daran, dass Sie auch künftig eine nachhaltige Leistung erbringen.

Scott Peltin ist Mitverfasser von „Sink, Float and Swim“ und Chief Performance Officer von Tignum, einem Beratungsunternehmen zu nachhaltigen Höchstleistungen. Vor der Gründung von Tignum in 2005 arbeitete er als Feuerwehrmann, Hauptmann und als Bataillonskommandeur. Peltin verbrachte über 25 Jahre bei der Feuerwehr.

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An argument can be made that the hardest interview questions in all of financial services are asked by top consulting firms. They require intense preparation but also the ability to think on your feet and adapt to real-world scenarios. The most fear-inducing inquiry of all may be the estimation question, simply due to the fact that there is no right answer. “Correct” responses can vary wildly. Really it’s all about your ability make fair assumptions, rationalize those educated guesses and apply mathematical skills when needed. Practice helps too.

Below are ten estimation questions that were asked by consulting firms and other companies that hire in strategy roles. They were asked of MBA students in real interviews. We’ve also included some tips on how to ace the questions, courtesy of Victor Cheng at CaseInterview.com.

How would you do? Pick one and give it a shot. We’d love to hear some prospective rationalizations in the comment section below. They may even get graded by a real consultant.

Estimate the volume of beer consumed in April in the United States.

How many wrapped gifts are given on a non-holiday day in Florida?

If ten couples want to meet each other, how many handshakes will occur?

How many cigarettes are produced annually in the U.S.? In the world?

How many fire hydrants are in the state of New York?

 How many pairs of chopsticks will be sold in Japan next year?

How many miles does Southwest fly a year?

How many burger buns are sold in the United States every year?

What is the weight of the Empire State Building in New York?

How much change would you find on the floor of a mall in downtown San Francisco?

 Things to remember when attacking an estimation question:

• An acceptable answer MUST mention a specific number.

• Acceptable answers can range wildly. Success is all about showcasing logic.

• Make explicit assumptions. It is not possible to answer a question without doing so.

• Explain to you interviewer that you are making a specific assumption and give your rationale as to why. Always rationalize.

• Showcase your use of mathematical formulas if possible (cubic volume etc.)

• The math shouldn’t be all that complicated, mostly high school level stuff. Communication is your key focus.

• That said, be sure not to make rudimentary math mistakes. Practice your mental math.

• Always “show your work” vocally.

Reprinted with permission from Victor Cheng. Read more from him here.

On vous les répète depuis longtemps, que vous soyez directeur financier, analyste financier confirmé ou spécialiste en risque de crédit : la liste des choses à faire et ne pas faire dans un CV est bien connue. Vous en connaissez probablement déjà un bon nombre : éviter les fautes d’orthographe et de grammaire, les abréviations, le papier couleur ou une longueur excessive. Au-delà des basiques, mon parcours d’ancienne consultante en recrutement et directrice du recrutement me pousse à partager cinq points supplémentaires à bannir absolument pour éviter que votre CV passe directement à poubelle.

1 – Commencer votre CV par la phrase  “ avec plus de 25 ans d’expérience…” : Quand je lis cette phrase, j’imagine un cadre fanfaron, imbu de sa personne comme un paon qui fait la roue, vivant sur ses acquis et contemplant son passé. Les entreprises recherchent des meneurs d’hommes, des battants qui se projettent vers l’avenir, ne voient en leurs récents exploits que de simples souvenirs et sont pressés de se jeter dans la bataille en quête de nouveaux défis. Evitez de faire le paon.

2 – Vous qualifier de « cadre expérimenté » : C’est vous qui le dîtes. Et puis, expérimenté par qui, sur quoi ? Rien à ajouter. Oubliez !

3 - Réutiliser un vieux modèle de CV qui rappellerait la veste de Don Johnson dans Deux Flics à Miami ou de Dylan McKay dans Beverly Hills – ce qui revient à laisser votre CV dans un format complètement dépassé. Vous vous souvenez de votre premier CV de jeune diplômé en 1988 ou 1998, auquel vous n’avez cessé d’ajouter les différentes expériences de votre carrière ? Il est grand temps de l’envoyer aux oubliettes et de passer à un format plus actuel. Vous embaucheriez aujourd’hui un financier habillé style années 80 ? Sûrement pas ! Croiriez-vous en un candidat looké à la Dylan, qui vous supplie  « Faites le bon choix, embauchez-moi ! » ? Pas franchement ! Concrètement, un CV tout droit sorti d’un autre âge part directement à la corbeille. Mentionnez les résultats de vos actions dans un style clair et concis.

4 – Oublier votre adresse email : Sur le marché actuel, il ne fait guère de doute que votre email est bien plus important dans votre CV que votre adresse postale. Ne pas mentionner votre adresse de messagerie revient quasiment à dire au recruteur « Laissez tomber, vos jobs ne sont pas pour moi. » Bref, votre candidature ne sera même pas prise en compte.

5 - Commencer votre CV par un objectif : Les objectifs en tête de CV sont comme des baisers de la mort ! Ils annoncent vos aspirations et vos besoins. Honnêtement, la plupart des directeurs du recrutement s’en fichent royalement – la seule chose qui les intéresse, c’est de savoir comment vos compétences et votre expérience peuvent apporter une valeur ajoutée à l’entreprise et résoudre les problèmes auxquels elle peut se trouver confrontée. Un CV non focalisé sur les attentes de l’employeur a toutes les chances d’être ignoré.

Les professionnels de la finance capables d’éviter ces cinq erreurs verront leur CV atterrir en haut de la pile « oui, candidat à contacter » et générer plus d’entretiens.

À propos de l’auteur :

Lisa Rangel, directrice générale de Chameleon Resumes, est une ancienne recruteuse, rédactrice professionnelle certifiée de CV et détentrice de six autres certifications propres au recrutement. Basée aux Etats-Unis, elle est régulièrement citée par eFinancialCareers.com, Investors Business Daily, About.com, BBC, Forbes.com, LinkedIn, Monster, US News & World Report, Fox Business News et Good Morning America. Elle est l’auteur de six ebooks autour du CV de niche et de la recherche d’emploi, dont 99 Free Job Search Tips from An Executive Recruiter.

LIRE AUSSI : 

Voilà à quoi ressemblera le CV de demain

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Barclays’ bonuses are due to be announced this Friday. They are unlikely to be particularly generous: the British bank is being urged to cut costs and chief executive Antony Jenkins has agreed to forego his bonus in its entirety. Barclays is also in the process of making 400 senior staff redundant just prior to bonus day: as per the cliché, this year’s bonus at Barclays will be keeping your job.

Despite the dire prognostication for their pay, Barclays’ traders have recently donated huge amounts to charity.

This Just Giving page, from October 2013, shows that Barclays London-based fixed income rates team raised a massive £94.3k ($154k) for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

While the average donation was £2k, some were a lot higher. Adeel Khan, head of European investment grade trading at Barclays, seemingly generated £13k. Nat Tyce, European head of rates trading at Barclays seemingly generated £13.2k. Paul Willers, a director at the bank donated £5k, as did Emad Taktak, the former head of hedge fund rates sales who appears to have left the bank. Biral Raja, an associate director gave £2k.

The £94k raised includes reimbursed income tax in the form of gift aid. But Barclays’ fixed income rates team still looks impressively generous – particularly when the current precariousness of their positions is taken into account.

Students from Asia are returning in droves to Australian universities, making the country one of the most popular destinations for undergraduates from China and India and providing billions of dollars of revenue, but any hopes they may have of building this into a finance career Down Under are looking less rosy, with experts warning of a glut in accounting graduates in the market.

Accounting related job vacancies are at an all-time low since measurement started in 2006, and the Australian government is being urged to reconsider the inclusion of accounting in the skilled occupation list for would-be migrants.

The Australian has reported that in 2012, some 61% of the total enrollments in accounting were from abroad. More recent data from Immigration Department shows that just over 74,000 foreigners applied to study in Australia during the three months to September 2013 – a 7% increase year-on-year, and the highest number of quarterly applications in four years. Chinese students fuelled the increase, with a 20% rise in the number applying to study, reports news.com.au

Australia now has almost 350,000 international students, with a quarter coming from China and 10% from India. But the labour authorities are concerned about the number of graduates compared to the jobs available, with data showing on average 34 qualified accountants for every vacancy.

Part of the problem, according to the submission to the 2014 review of the skilled occupation list, which comes into effect mid-year, is that employers find many graduates unsuitable due to their poor language skills, says The Australian.

Nick Murphy, regional director of Hays, says there is probably an over-supply as many people want to move but there haven’t been many vacancies. “It comes down to different areas – some are busier than others. Anything in regulation or risk-related, there is still a shortage of candidates. And there is demand for accountants who have good experience in driving cost efficiencies.”