If you want a job at an investment bank, try picking a school in a cold weather state with a nice view of the Atlantic Ocean. Your odds would appear to be much better.
A new survey from Wall Street recruiting firm Vettery found that 65% of the 2014 investment banking class hailed from just 30 schools, according to Quartz. The top 10 features exactly zero universities that are west of the Mississippi, and just one – Duke – that is south of the Mason Dixon line. The other nine are Northeastern schools. And just a handful of the top 30 would be considered Western schools.
The top home for future investment bankers is no surprise. The University of Pennsylvania sent 30% more students to investment banks than any other school. It’s the top ranked program for a Wall Street career on virtually every list, whether looking at undergraduates or MBAs. NYU finished second, which is also not much of a surprise.
Harvard’s positioning on the list came as a bit of a shock – seven other schools send more students to investment banks, including Duke and the University of Michigan, according to Vettery’s numbers, which aren’t all-inclusive but do represent a large sample size.
It appears the fallout from the financial crisis – lower pay, fewer jobs and a negative stigma – have hurt Wall Street’s draw at Harvard more than at most other top schools, like say Penn or NYU. Roughly 16% of Harvard graduates took jobs in finance in 2014. That’s down from an eye-popping 47% in 2007.
But perhaps the biggest takeaway from the list is how few schools Wall Street recruits from. The 65% number is actually down from last year, when the top 30 schools produced 70% of investment bankers.
The reason for the selectivity is two-fold, the obvious one being that banks like to recruit from top schools. But there is also the issue of Wall Street’s recruitment style. Banks do most of their work on campus rather than online. Banks are very persuasive recruiters when they get face-time, as we’ve learned. And you can only be at some many schools.
Fallout From the Gross Saga (eFinancialCareers)
Bill Gross’s decision to leave Pimco will no doubt create opportunities for new hires and people moves. Here are the five firms to keep your eye on.
Are Your 20s Wasted In Banking? (eFinancialCareers)
We asked a selection of ‘mature’ finance professionals and ex-finance professionals to reflect retrospectively on the hard work they put into their finance careers during their 20s. Was it worth it? Do they regret the slog? This is what they told us…
Employees at Pimco are “frantic and sad” over the departure of Bill Gross. Executives are reportedly working 24/7 to make sure their clients and their staff are content.
When A Claw Back Isn’t a Claw Back (Matt Levine)
When Lloyd’s fired eight bankers for allegedly rigging benchmark interest rates, it was widely reported that the firm was also clawing back more than $4 million in bonuses. In reality, all they really did was hold on to some stock that hadn’t vested yet, which is what they do when they fire someone for any old reason. That’s also what often happens when people quit.
Former Employees Sue Barclays (Bloomberg)
Three former U.S.-based Barclays bankers who were charged as part of the Libor investigation have sued the U.K. firm. Alex Pabon, Jay Merchant and Ryan Reich are claiming Barclays should be covering their legal fees.
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More than one-quarter of bankers said they worked completely through the night at least once in the last year. Roughly half work over 50 hours a week.
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Four traders from New York’s BCG Partners spent $2,600 and most of their evening grilling up sausages and other food for protesters in Hong Kong who are fighting for free elections. More colleagues are expected to be back tonight with additional supplies.
Buzz Around the Office
Fox Business reporter Charlie Gasparino is a fantastic follow on Twitter. Most of the time he is just yelling at his followers and other journalists. Yesterday he posted a picture of himself asleep at his own desk.
Quote of the Day: “I couldn’t believe it on Friday, and I still can’t believe it now. We lost Mohamed El-Erian in January and now Bill Gross. It’s been confusing, frantic and sad.” – a (possibly overdramatic) anonymous Pimco employee
