A day in the life of an Analyst

Katie Farrell is an Analyst within Rothschild’s Global Financial Advisory division. She attended the Summer Internship Programme in 2014 and started as a Graduate in 2015, taking part in the global graduate training programme before joining the Corporate (Investment Grade) Debt Advisory Team.

08.00

I tend to arrive at about 8am as this is when the rest of my team comes into the office, but other analysts come in later depending on which team they are in.

The first thing I do when I get in is to create a list of things that I need to do that day, this can range from marketing tasks to project specific work. I also create a high level timetable, setting out when I expect to get each task done. One of the big advantages of working in debt advisory is that I am normally working on quite a few projects at the same time, providing me with great exposure to a range of different clients and products. As a result, however, it is extremely important that I keep on top of deadlines and projects and so planning my time and prioritising my workload is a key requirement.

09.00

As the junior analyst in the team, I am responsible for sending out a daily update on the previous day’s bond issuances. This is an excellent way to start the day as it promotes a familiarity with the current pricing environment and how the market is performing. I also produce a weekly market update and send it to the rest of the team.

10.00

The rest of the morning is usually spent preparing for a conference call or a meeting later that day. This normally involves a pre-meet with the deal team or sector team if we are working with them to discuss the meeting agenda, as well as the preparation of board papers or management presentations to take to the meeting.

Lunch

Lunch is quite varied, sometimes I will eat at my desk and other times I will go out with my team or other analysts, it really depends on the work load.

14:00

I usually attend meetings and client calls with other members of the deal team and as the analyst, it is my job to take notes. Attending meetings and calls is a great opportunity to learn new things and to see how senior colleagues interact with the clients.

16.00

The client may have requested certain information or a particular course of action may have been decided during the meeting, and so my first task when I get back to my desk is to action these requests. I also send around meeting notes to the rest of the team so that everyone has a record of it and is kept up to date with how the deal is progressing.

18.00

The evenings are normally spent drafting presentations or doing modelling work, this often involves either modelling cost analysis or liability management.

Once or twice a week, I will go to the gym in the evening or pop out of the office for a walk / to meet someone for an hour or so.

20.00

I go through the to do list that I set in the morning to ensure that everything has been completed that needed doing that day and prepare for the next day before I leave.