Goal AND Setting Work

Soft Skills and Professional Etiquette Expectations

• Behavioral Goals: Focus on body language, eliminating filler words, and presentation skills.

• The Buddy System and Reviews: Interns are assigned "buddies" (such as Brooklyn, Jasmine, or Krishna) who will provide critical feedback.

  • Criticality is framed as a positive tool for growth.

  • Buddies write mid-rotation and final reviews; interns should not take critique poorly.

• Operational Goal: The objective is not for interns to know as much as a first-year analyst immediately, but to become capable of "hitting the seat" and managing themselves without constant oversight.

• Personal Professionalism: "Public Service Announcements" (PSAs):

  • Meeting Essentials: Always bring a notepad, pen, and laptop to meetings. It demonstrates respect and ensures you never have to ask the same question twice.

  • Unscheduled Meetings: Be prepared for senior bankers to pull you into a meeting on a moment's notice.

  • Intellectual Value: Do not assume senior bankers have more knowledge on new topics (e.g., Bitcoin, AI) than interns do. Interns can bring significant value to discussions based on what they are learning in school.

  • Dress Code: While daily attire may be casual (like a golf shirt), it is recommended to keep a suit and tie in the office closet for sudden formal meetings with the CFO or high-level clients (e.g., McDonald's meetings).

Technical Skills and Resource Mastery

• Time Value of Money (TVM): This should be the underlying theme of an analyst's life. Understanding current versus future value is critical for both personal investing and business spending.

• Excel and Pivot Tables: Mastery of Excel, specifically pivot tables, is mandatory.

  • Senior executives like Sydney Dillard (Chief Executive) might not run pivot tables, but analysts must be able to provide data in any requested format quickly.

  • Paul uses pivot tables because of his trading and analyst background.

  • Current firm data files are often poorly structured; pivot tables help organize this information.

• PowerPoint: Proficiency is considered a "deal breaker" for any analyst.

• Wall Street Prep: Interns must use this platform to take modules and earn certifications. It is a shared goal to continue self-education throughout the internship.

• Financial Modeling:

  • Financial valuation modeling training is often housed with Zach Hollander and Zach Kramer in the New York office.

  • Professional analysts undergo a "Train the Street" program for one full week of modeling after about a year at the firm.

  • DCM (Debt Capital Markets) and ECM (Equity Capital Markets) roles may offer fewer opportunities for modeling repetitions, so interns should actively seek access to models from their buddies.

• PitchBook Access: Discussions are ongoing regarding providing interns with PitchBook access. Paul will follow up with Anthony Sullivan and Jamie Adams to resolve technical login issues (specifically using the SSO option).

Financial Product Knowledge and Processes

• Corporate Bond Process: Understanding how corporate bonds trade provides a foundational understanding of all financial markets.

• Anatomy of a Bond Deal: This involves everything from talking to an issuer a month prior to the bond being free to trade in the secondary market. Kevin Moriarty (Syndicate) can provide specific training on this.

• Fixed vs. Floating Rate Debt:

  • Some investors prefer floating rate debt based on interest rate expectations.

  • Issuers might prefer fixed-rate debt but issue floating and use a swap desk to convert it.

• Hedging and Swaps:

  • SOFR ($SOFR$): The Secured Overnight Financing Rate has replaced $LIBOR$. Interns should research the history and mechanics of $SOFR$.

  • Basis Swap: A process where an issuer might pay on one index (e.g., quarterly coupon reset) while the investor receives on another (e.g., monthly Fed funds repricing), facilitated by a swap desk.

• The IPO Process: While Loop might not lead major IPOs like Facebook, interns should understand the filing of documents and the pricing process via Michael Jackson's team.

Career Philosophy: The Racing Metaphor and Money Motivation

• The Racing Analogy: Paul raced cars competitively for $15$ years.

  • The Beginner Stage: Like a new driver going $100$ mph, a new analyst can only see the "hood of the car." It is overwhelming, and they can only manage immediate tasks.

  • The Experienced Stage: Over time, "everything slows down." The driver looks two turns ahead and checks the mirrors. Experienced professionals look ahead rather than just at immediate obstacles.

  • Career Waves: Stress and pressure return at every promotion (e.g., becoming a first-year analyst or an MD), but experience eventually makes the process manageable.

• Motivation for the Broker-Dealer Side:

  • Paul's salary jumped from approximately $50,000$ or $60,000$ on the corporate side to $125,000$ upon moving to the broker-dealer side in the late $1990s$.

  • In the broker-dealer world, bonuses often exceed base salaries.

  • Paul describes the financial success in this industry as a "shot of heroin"—highly addictive and motivating.

  • The "Seat": On Wall Street, your worth is tied to your "seat." You are expected to maximize the profitability and exposure of that specific role.

• Wealth Building:

  • Max out $401k$ programs, especially if there is a company match.

  • Paul used to borrow money from his parents to ensure he could maximize firm matches early in his career.

  • Equity and restricted shares can be more valuable than cash bonuses over the long term. Paul notes that Jamie Dimon's acquisition of Bank One allowed him to monetize restricted shares to great effect.

Questions & Discussion

• Question from Ryan (New York): What are the pros and cons of shifting between corporate finance and broker-dealer roles?

  • Response: Paul explains the corporate side is a staff role producing internal reports. The broker-dealer side is more focused on customers, sales, and high-stakes deal-making. The broker-dealer side offers significantly higher compensation but carries more pressure. In a corporate role (e.g., Treasurer at McDonald's), you work just as hard for less money and higher responsibility to shareholders.

• Question from Ryan (New York): How do senior bankers bring in deals, and what qualities should interns develop to reach that level?

  • Response: At bulge bracket firms like Goldman Sachs, MDs are rainmakers who hand off work to Directors and Associates. Success requires being a team player and having resilience. Paul highlights Brooklyn as a role model because she is resilient and works through problems without complaining.

nternship Goals & Expectations

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Technical Skills to Develop

•     Excel: pivot tables and structured worksheets for month-vs-prior-year reporting.

•     PowerPoint: deliver professional presentations; competency is expected by the end of the internship.

•     Corporate Bonds: the anatomy of a debt deal, the primary issuance process, and secondary trading.

•     Treasury Hedging & Swaps: fixed vs. floating issuance, and swaps used to convert floating-rate exposure to fixed.

•     Floating Rate Indices: Fed funds and LIBOR (legacy) transitioning to SOFR — research SOFR’s history.

•     IPO Process: filing, pricing, and aftermarket basics (relevant when the firm is involved).

Learning Resources & Activities

Lean on the resources below throughout the internship, and pair them with active deal exposure.

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Career Paths: Broker-Dealer vs. Corporate

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Cultural Difference

•     Large banks: highly specialized roles, clear seat ownership, and intense rainmaker expectations.

•     Loop: more generalist and collaborative, with room to create new roles — still revenue-focused.

Personal Finance Tip

•     Maximize employer matches and consider equity or shares when joining a firm.

Career Mindset & Professional Behavior

•     Expect cycles of feeling overwhelmed during transitions (intern → analyst → director).

•     Always define an “ask” for meetings — know the outcome you want.

•     Be resilient and flexible, and willing to do foundational work (e.g., pitch books).

•     Learn from high performers and model the traits you respect in colleagues.

•     Accept critical feedback and treat it as a tool for improvement.