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.

10:00 a.m.—Time for breakfast. While eating, I generally browse through the day's headlines on the Internet or catch up on the trade publications that work their way into my mailbox.

10:30 a.m.—First conference call of the day. We're currently involved in a bond offering and typically have a weekly conference call to discuss the offering documents and bond resolution. The attorneys enjoy discussing all aspects of the documents they're crafting and these calls generally last way too long.

12:30 p.m.—Lunch beckons, so I stroll down to the chaotic streets of Midtown to grab some food from a street vendor. I'm in the mood for German food, so I walk over to 54th and Fifth to order the Dictator Special from the Hallo Berlin cart.

12:45 p.m.—I return to find that an analyst from Moody's has called to discuss cash flows related to the transaction that we're working on. I call back to answer her questions and gain assurance that we'll have a verbal commitment on the bond ratings by the week's end.

1:15 p.m.—My boss has asked me to help create a pitch book for an upcoming meeting. I walk to our computer graphics department to check on the status of the presentation. After collecting the book and reviewing the edits, I make a few changes and resubmit.

1:45 p.m.