An Aptitude for Numbers

This grad with an M.S. in quantitative finance from Michigan describes a typical day as an associate in the New York office of UBS investment bank

by Mick Wiedrick

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Mick Wiedrick
Associate
UBS Investment Bank
University of Michigan
M.S. in Quantitative Finance, 2004

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I work as an associate in an Asset Backed Securities group at the Swiss-based UBS (UBS) investment bank, one of the world's largest financial-services firms. At our New York location, my group is responsible for underwriting activities related to debt issuance by student loan corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies. I received an offer to join UBS several months before graduating from the University of Michigan.

As an associate, I primarily help our clients finance their operations through debt issuance in the capital markets. I'm also responsible for financial modeling, preparing various analyses, directing the work of several analysts, and preparing deal pitch materials (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/30/06, "Investment Banks Jockey for Position").

Rather than pursuing an MBA, I opted for a slightly more technical degree and received a master of science in quantitative finance. The program allowed me to take finance and accounting courses through the Ross School of Business, while gaining more technical skills in courses offered through the math, economics, and engineering departments.

Before attending Michigan, I was a mutual fund portfolio analyst at Franklin Templeton Investments (BEN). After two years on the buy side, I realized that I was more interested in working on the sell side and made the decision to go to graduate school in an effort to transition my career.

Here's a snapshot of a typical day:

8:30 a.m.—Out the door and heading for the subway. My office is in midtown Manhattan, a 25-minute ride from my apartment. If I expect a hectic day, I generally check my voicemail as I walk. I've been doing all I can to avoid a BlackBerry, so I'm not able to check e-mail until I arrive at the office.

9:00 a.m.—I settle in and browse through the e-mails that have filtered in throughout the night before and this morning. Depending on deal flow, I may have received requests throughout the night from our sales force in Europe. I do my best to respond to urgent requests, while other messages must wait until I have more time to write back.

9:30 a.m.—I've been working with a computer programmer to automate the data stratification process for our analysts. The programmer calls to discuss some issues he has while creating software for us. I tell him that people in my group would like to discuss the functionalities they'd like to see in the software, and we set up a conference call later in the week...

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Wiedrick can be reached at mick.wiedrick@gmail.com.