GFA - Behavioral

Question 1

Tell me about your background / story / resume.

Answer 1

[Launch into 1m pitch]

Question 2

Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 2

Strengths:

1. Attention to detail
2. Work ethic
3. Writing / communication skills

Weaknesses:

1. Lose the forest for the trees / bogged in detail
2. Taking on more than I can handle
3. Lack of experience

Question 3

Tell me about a time you were on a team and there was a conflict. How did you handle it? What role did you play? Tell me about a difficult teammate?

Answer 3

As president of JD/MBA Ass’n, led a 12-person student trip to Lisbon. Two roommates were disagreeing about whether they were splitting work fairly, leading to problems. I played the broker: invited them to dinner and we hashed it out, avoiding a potentially ugly situation.

Question 4

What concerns do you have about banking?

Answer 4

With the summer behind me, not much. I think I can handle the hours.

Question 5

An analyst is leaving to join a PE fund - how do you motivate them?

Answer 5

Pitch them on reputational harm: your reputation is hard to build and easy to destroy, so don’t let your hard work go to waste by losing sight of the present.

Question 6

Why our bank? What other banks are you interviewing with? Where are we on the list?

Answer 6

• [For all boutiques] - size, quality and culture.
• A few boutiques with strong RX
• [Depends] - high / in the running

Question 7

I am about to go list out candidates. Is there anything you want to leave me with?

Answer 7

I’m a great choice to fill your RX ASO position because I have relevant skills (e.g., credit, legal) and a demonstrated interest in the field.

Question 8

Can you handle the hours? What were the hours like at your previous job?

Answer 8

Yes. An average of 90/week this summer. Similar expectations when I was contemplating BigLaw.

Question 9

What is the risk for us in hiring you?

Answer 9

Age / inexperience. However, I make up for it with discipline and willingness to learn - wasn’t an issue for CS.

Question 10

Favorite thing about finance?

Answer 10

It is always evolving and at the fore, so there’s always something new to learn.

Question 11

Talk about a time you’ve had to take a risk.

Answer 11

Re-recruiting right now risks my offer at CS, but I think the upside is worth it.

Question 12

Talk about some multiples for different industries.

Answer 12

• Airlines / retail: EV / EBITDA
• Auto: EV / EBITDAP[ensions]
• Exploration / oil: EV / EBITDAX (exploration)
• Tech: EV / Unique visitors, EV / page views

Question 13

What would you change about Stern?

Answer 13

LAUNCH was too long. The second week could’ve been spread throughout the fall.

Question 14

From your readings in the newspaper, tell me about the state of interest rates and the interaction with commodities, etc.

Answer 14

Fed recently cut FFR target range 25bps to 2-2.25%.

• Should increase output, subject to potential oil shocks given Iran tensions
• Oil prices likely to rise in response to supply constraints caused by Iran tension; likely to cause U.S. marginal producers to increase output
• As USD weakens from lower exchange rate, gold may rise, though may be offset by rising equities in response to rate cut

Question 15

What would your best friend say annoys him most about you?

Answer 15

I can sometimes be demanding. I set high expectations for myself and expect the same of others, but that isn’t always reasonable - different people are good at different things, so expectations have to account for that.

Question 16

Tell me about a deal you’re following.

Answer 16

LSE’s acq. of Refinitiv:

• $27B in TEV ($14.5B for equity, paid in stock; $12.5B in assumed debt)
• Shows exchange business is revolving. Given decreasing margins in that business, exchanges are selling market data as add’l revenue streams. See ICE & NASDAQ deals.
• Interesting given Refinitiv was just carved out of Thomson REuters for $17B last year - Blackstone may have been able to extract more value using its extensive banking and buy-side contacts.
• Positive market reaction for LSE suggests they paid less than they could have and synergy value is preserved. Claiming 350M/yr (pounds) in cost saves.
• Integration risks (headcount), above-target leverage and antitrust concerns
• GS/MS advising LSE, Evercore, Canson Capital and Jefferies advising Refinitiv.

Question 17

What was your favorite class and why?

Answer 17

Cases in Bankruptcy and Reorganization with Max Holmes. Socratic method-based discussion of six large bankruptcies, culminating in a group research report on which post-bankruptcy security you’d rather own, and why. Cool way to assess students.

Question 18

What’s your outlook for the economy?

Answer 18

Cautiously optimistic:

• Strong fundamental data, albeit weaker than last year (unemployment, GDP growth, wage growth)
• Accommodative monetary policy
• BUT, trade tensions, tariff risks and political risks

Question 19

Why banking?

Answer 19

The notion of being a company’s trusted adviser and helping with its most demanding issues excites me.

Question 20

Why Stern?

Answer 20

Wanted a rigorous education from top-notch legal and finance faculty, whilst being in a major city and labor hub. NYC was perfect fit.

Question 21

Tell me about a company that you invest in.

Answer 21

Don’t invest in individual stocks, but watching MELI:

• “Amazon of the Amazon”
• Stock price over $610, in spite of NM P/E and EV/EBITDA
• Tremendous growth expectations: over 35% for next 3 years.
• Incurring losses and cut dividend to pursue loss-leader strategy in Brazil; if successful, could see significant price appreciation.
• Only real comp is Amazon. Reminiscent of that firm in its pre-AWS days.

Question 22

What angers you?

Answer 22

When people don’t want to get better. Making mistakes is normal and even desirable, but it’s frustrating when someone makes mistakes and doesn’t care to improve from them, especially in a team setting.

Question 23

Describe your leadership style.

Answer 23

Lead by example - don’t ask people to do anything I wouldn’t do myself, and be with them in the trenches.

Question 24

Tell me about a time you had to deal with a dysfunctional team member.

Answer 24

This summer, I was staffed with a summer analyst who essentially disengaged herself from the deal. I tried getting her to help, but she considered herself too busy to help. Rather than complain, I did the work myself because it had to get done.

Question 25

Banking equals lots of hours - why should I feel comfortable that you would be able to handle the hours?

Answer 25

It was not an issue this summer and I was gearing up for similar hours when I was contemplating BigLaw.

Question 26

What is your value proposition? Why should I hire you over some of the other candidates here today?

Answer 26

For a restructuring group, I’m the ASO candidate who offers a combination of credit skills, legal skills and a demonstrated interest in restructuring. I may have less of the learning curve to climb than others.