Case Study: Rafael Moreno, former IESE student now at Morgan Stanley

On a typical day I arrive at work at 7am. I start the day by listening to

the cash morning meeting. After that I listen to the derivatives morning

meeting and talk to analysts. This helps to set me up with ideas for

products that I can offer to my clients during the day.

From 8am my time is spent on the telephone. I call clients with my ideas

for derivatives products and we discuss prices. If they like the price and

the idea, they will place an order and I will send them a confirmation that

everything has gone ahead.

I usually go home between 6.30pm and 7.00pm. Every

other week I travel to Spain to meet my clients.

When I decided to enroll for the MBA at IESE I had already determined upon a

career in financial services, so I had an idea of what to expect at Morgan

Stanley.

The course at IESE lasts for two years, and during the second year

I was able to specialize in financial services.

IESE also allows you to undertake an exchange programme with MBA students at

other schools. I took advantage of this, and spent the first quarter of my

second year at Chicago University's Graduate School of Business.

It was while I was in Chicago that I met recruiters from Morgan Stanley. They

interviewed me once on the campus, a further four times in New York, and

then countless times in London!

Doing the MBA was a big plus. I'm not sure that Morgan Stanley would have

hired me without an MBA. Anyone with clear goals who wants to work in an

industry like investment banking where MBAs are appreciated can probably

benefit from doing one.

However, it's probably worth enrolling at a school that has a good

reputation. Now that there are a few IESE graduates working at Morgan

Stanley, the bank knows the school and is recruiting there more and more.

I would also recommend IESE as a school because it emphasizes that work is not

the most important thing in life students are encouraged to develop goals

that surpass money and material achievement.

Investment banking is a great career for anyone who loves the financial

markets: in all truth, investment banks are market makers. Anyone entering

the industry at associate (MBA) level is also likely to get day- to- day

exposure to clients and therefore to learn quickly. Remuneration is also

good.

On the downside, the industry can be a little individualistic and it can be

difficult to plan career progression - although I do think Morgan Stanley

is better for this than other banks.