What is behind the scenes at investment bank JP Morgan like? How does the recruitment process work? An Analyst at JP Morgan gave us all the secrets to a successful career in the world of market finance. He also reveals his daily life within the company in the United Kingdom.
JP Morgan is the largest bank in the United States. It was born following the merger of Chase Manhattan Bank and JP Morgan & Co in 2001. Present in more than 60 countries, the company is the world leader in investment banking. It offers financial services to businesses and individuals.
The journey of an Analyst at JP Morgan
Can you go back to your academic career?
I am an engineer by training, graduated from ESILV, a general engineering school that I joined directly after my scientific baccalaureate. Following this, I joined the University of Paris-Dauphine for a double degree for MSc 268 Financial Markets. The opportunity for me to acquire a specialization in investment and market banking. In my third year, I had the chance to fly to the United Kingdom, to Coventry, as part of the Erasmus academic exchange program. I mainly took programming and mathematics courses there, but above all I met unforgettable people. It remains one of the best memories of my student life today.
My academic career was punctuated by a semester of studies abroad, several projects and associative experiences, as well as several internships in companies. All these experiences played a major role in the construction of my professional project and in my choice of fourth year specialization, in financial engineering.
My course ended with a one-year work-study program at the end of which I graduated from both establishments in September 2019.
Can you go back to your professional career?
After joining my engineering school, my curiosity for the field of finance, which I had absolutely no knowledge of at the time, increased. In my first year, I completed an internship in a private bank as a credit risk analyst. This experience allowed me to acquire a global vision of the economy and, above all, to confirm my desire to move towards this sector in particular.
Following my return from the United Kingdom, I naturally wanted to put my new skills into practice and, being aware of the predominant place of technology in banking today, I decided to do my second summer internship in as a developer.
These first two combined internships only confirmed my interest in finance and more precisely in market finance which seemed to be the ideal way to combine my financial curiosity and my attraction to IT and quantitative subjects. Since then, I have continued to cultivate my passion for this field to make it my vocation.
In Master 1, I managed to land my first six-month internship in the trading room at Dexia, in a rate derivatives trading team, followed by a one-year work-study program at HSBC in Paris, on the desk structuring equity derivative products. I loved these two experiences both on an intellectual and human level. They allowed me to fully immerse myself in the life of a trading room and build the technical foundations that still serve me today.
At the end of my studies, in September 2019, I wanted to have professional experience abroad. So I decided to return to the United Kingdom, to London, for six months, but in a professional setting this time.
After several interviews and applications, I finally joined a systematic index structuring team at BNP. In other words, it is a team of engineers who develop automated investment strategies. After a few months there, I was called back following one of my old applications to interview at JP Morgan in London for a “ summer internship » in dirty. The feeling with one of the teams I met went very well, I managed to get the internship at the end of which I had a job offer to join a team of dirty on convertible bonds. I joined JP Morgan’s London trading room in November 2020. I will be relocated to the Paris offices this summer because of Brexit.
The market finance and banking sectors
How was your vocation for the world of finance and banking born?
As explained previously, my curiosity, coupled with my attraction to quantitative subjects and some professional experience, pushed me to take this path. I think my initial motivation was quite simple: I tried to understand how and why a political, climatic or even sporting event could have an impact on the economy and financial markets. Even today, it is knowing that the smallest event can have a considerable and direct impact on our daily lives that fascinates me.
Indeed, financial markets are at the epicenter of world events (from politics to sport). Everything that affects the world necessarily has an impact on the markets. You might think that working on a trading floor insulates people from what’s going on in the world, but, in reality, that’s not the case. A person working there is often considered the second person aware of an event happening in the world (after the journalist).
Daily life within JP Morgan
What is your daily life like as an Analyst at JP Morgan? What does a typical day look like?
My daily life within JP Morgan is to serve the best interests of our clients by providing them with liquidity and prices on the European convertible bond pool. The bank is also very present in the primary market. We work with convertible debt issuers to best support them in their process of issuing a new bond on the market. Finally, due to my engineering profile, I use my IT skills on a daily basis in order to propose ideas and automate as many recurring tasks as possible in order to allow all members of the team to focus 100%. % on the business, the management of our customers and their orders.
A convertible bond being a “hybrid” financial instrument, at the crossroads of the worlds between the stock market and that of bonds, my typical day is thus punctuated by the opening hours of the stock market (that of bonds being OTC).
I start around 7am (London time), the market opens at 8am and client orders start to flow in. Around noon, it’s time to go get something to eat and return to the desk. At 4:30 p.m., the market closes. I finalize the last trades and I work on a few related subjects, so my day ends around 5:30-6 p.m.
How to describe the working atmosphere at JP Morgan?
The atmosphere is very good! The people are caring and very open-minded. We feel a real culture of excellence. Everything is done to help you unlock your potential and evolve in the best possible way within the company.
Recruitment processes for a summer internship at JP Morgan
How are the recruitment processes carried out at JP Morgan?
The biggest source of recruitment is via the “ summer internship », an eight-week summer internship considered the “royal road” to joining a large American investment bank. The selection process always begins with an online application. You have to answer all kinds of questions about your academic and professional background as well as your motivations. There is then a series of numerical and logical tests to be carried out.
If these steps are successful, you will only have one last step left which we call “ assessment center », an intensive day of interviews in London where you will meet several teams looking for a “ summer intern “. If you succeed in your interviews and the feeling goes well with one of the teams, you will get an offer. Once on internship, you will have eight weeks to prove yourself.
In summary, the recruitment process is certainly very selective, but takes place every summer. Every year a new promotion of “ summer intern » happens, this is the very philosophy of the bank: constantly attracting young talents in order to remain as competitive as possible.
Advice for successful JP Morgan recruitment processes
What advice would you give to students about to join JP Morgan?
I have three pieces of advice that come to mind, the very first is to do what you love! This universe is very competitive, great job opportunities upon completion of studies are much rarer and more difficult to obtain than in other sectors. You have to be perseverant, choose your internships carefully, do your research, be curious, be interested in economic and financial news and often have several internships (around 2 years for me) before succeeding in landing an interesting position. You might as well tell yourself that if you don’t love what you do, you won’t succeed…
The second piece of advice I could give is to have an experience abroad, whether professional or academic. Going abroad will change your vision of things and give you an open-mindedness which will be an undeniable asset for the future.
Finally, your internships and technical knowledge are not the only things recruiters are looking for. On the contrary, your personality, your extra-curricular activities and your passions are all equally important for your future team. This is what we call the “ fit “. Good news! So don’t deprive yourself, whether in sport, traveling or any other hobby. Go for it, they will be valued!
