Meet the 11 new graduates who joined J.P. Morgan’s investment bank. What makes them so special?
Arguably more than any other investment bank, [efc_twitter text="J.P. Morgan fills its front office graduate intake with students who interned the previous summer"]. Usually applications for its investment banking division (IBD) and markets business are closed before the graduate recruitment season even begins.
However, J.P. Morgan opened its graduate scheme for a second round of recruits this year – the idea being to lessen the workload of the incoming analyst class. Therefore, the class of 2014 should be more diverse than the usual make-up of fresh-faced recruits.
J.P. Morgan has just registered a group of its new analysts on the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority register. We’ve pulled out 11 below to allow you to compare yourself against their achievements and realistically assess your chances of securing a job at the bank.
1. Alfio Vidal Amián:
A trading analyst on J.P. Morgan’s equity derivatives desk. Alfio interned at the bank last year, working across credit trading, rates trading and FICC sales within its options trading group. He has the sort of background that makes him an ideal recruit for a derivatives desk – a first class engineering degree from the University of Bath, with a final year thesis on algorithmic trading. Other notable achievements include heading up the university finance society and placing highly on maths and economics Olympiad competitions.
2. Charles-Henry Beglin:
An analyst in J.P. Morgan’s leveraged finance and acquisitions business, Charles-Henry interned in the division the summer previously. However, he is also a good example of acquiring a broad range of financial services experience before specialising – he also interned in Rothschild’s M&A division, private equity firm Permira and Ernst & Young. Charles-Henry has also headed a consulting association at HEC Paris during his time at the 'grande école' university, where he studied a Master in Management. Academically, he is a typical investment banking recruit, but sporting activity through the rugby club and HEC Fight Club – apparently a thing, and white collar boxing has long been popular in the City – help provide the all-important extracurricular activities.
3. Gianluca Capone:
Another analyst in J.P. Morgan’s leveraged finance and acquisitions division, Gianluca has had close links to the bank since university. As well as interning in the division he was eventually recruited for, a stint as J.P. Morgan campus ambassador at Bocconi University would have done his chances no harm. Other internships include a 2011 summer placement within Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s cash equities team, but Gianluca’s academics are the most notable thing about him. He has a respected MSc in Finance from Bocconi, as well as a batchelors degree in economics, management and finance. This demonstrates industry knowledge, and a commitment to financial services, which banks want to see these days.
4. Sam Gundle:
An analyst in J.P. Morgan’s cash equities division. Sam graduated from Cambridge University, which is a classical route into investment banking. However, his awards and scholarships won throughout university – which include computer programming and civil engineering – help set him apart. He spent both an insight week and last summer interning at J.P. Morgan, but this is the limit of his investment banking experience. Sam’s background in computer programming demonstrates how equities trading has evolved over the years and how today’s traders need to be more tech-savvy than ever.
5. Elizabeth Holmenlund:
A fixed income analyst, focused on Nordic credit sales. Elizabeth has a degree in managerial economics and strategy from London School of Economics, but appears to have been fairly busy during her time at university. She spent two years as an editorial assistant for The Financial Times’ Foreign Direct Investment magazine, as well getting involved with the LSE snowsports society. She interned this year in J.P. Morgan’s markets business and appears to have gone straight into a full-time job. A history of academic excellence no doubt helped her case.
6. Tessa McQuire:
An analyst in J.P. Morgan’s UK equity capital markets team. Tessa is unique in that she didn’t intern at J.P. Morgan nor did she gain any work experience in another investment bank. Another fact that is comparatively unusual is that her degree – Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures and Linguistics – is an arts, rather than maths-based subject. It is, however, a first from Oxford, which no doubt helped her credentials, along with evidence of ‘leadership’ through her extra-curricular tennis coaching activities.
7. Emily Mirchandani:
A rates trading analyst at J.P. Morgan. Emily interned at J.P. Morgan last summer, but is also another example of demonstrating your passion for finance through gaining experience in different areas. She has also interned a Lloyd’s of London, FTI Consultants and wealth manager Rathbones as well as a financial PR company – the last two were while still at school. She has a biochemistry degree from Oxford and spent nearly six years as an in-house model in the Abercrombie & Fitch London store.
8. Truels Nilsen:
An analyst in Nordic FX sales. One distinguishing factor about Truels is the range of locations in which he’s picked up financial services experience before joining J.P. Morgan. His last internship was in the bank’s markets business in London, but he also has experience at a fund manager in Brazil and various financial services organisations in his native Norway. He also has a Masters in Finance from Esade Business School.
9. Fabian Oehlert:
An analyst in J.P. Morgan’s capital markets business. Fabian has been studying both a bachelors and masters degree in finance-related subjects at the University of St Gallen since 2008 and has notched multiple internships since that time across a range of financial services organisations. These include J.P. Morgan, but also Deutsche Bank, Allianz and HSH Nordbank. The lesson is that if you’re going to study for a long time, ensure that you get experience too.
10. Lillian Shaw:
An analyst in FX trading. Lillian has a degree in Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge and has shown evidence of an interest in banking for a number of years. She spent a year as campus ambassador for Deutsche Bank and rotated across two divisions at J.P. Morgan last summer – credit research and FX trading, before securing a job in the latter.
11. Olga Evstigneeva:
An analyst in J.P. Morgan’s emerging markets debt capital markets team. Olga didn’t intern at J.P. Morgan, but has investment banking experience at Sberbank in Russia as well as retail banking experience at VTB. Her case was no doubt helped by her Masters in Finance from the much-respected course at MIT Sloan as well as ranking in the top 5% of those participating in the J.P. Morgan trading game.
