Marian McWilliams has been an M&A analyst at Bank of America for just over a year. She joined in 2006 after completing a summer internship the previous year. Marian studied economics and politics at Trinity College, Dublin.
What does your role involve?
My job is to analyse companies' financials, identify M&A opportunities for them and support them through the entire M&A process. We spend a significant amount of time valuing companies and attempting to identify value-enhancing opportunities, perhaps an acquisition, disposal of a particular business or the formation of a strategic partnership.
We then present these ideas to the company and, if they decide to pursue them, act as their advisor throughout the process, providing services ranging from a more detailed valuation to due diligence and launching the formal offer.
Can you describe a typical day?
I am usually at my desk by 9am which is relatively late by City standards. I spend the first 20 minutes checking my voicemail and replying to any overnight emails. By 10am I usually have a pretty clear idea of how my day will pan out – typically internal meetings about projects, valuation work and finalising presentations to clients.
After lunch the US wakes up, so the work level intensifies. Normally in the late afternoon there will be a client meeting, after which there will be various follow-up tasks.The challenge – and excitement – of working in M&A is that the work is rarely cleared off your desk just because it's the end of the day. The M&A process is sometimes full of dramatic twists to which we have to react within tight time constraints.
What kind of person do you need to be to excel in this role?
To work in M&A you need to extremely hard working and organised, as you are often working on multiple projects at once. As the teams for each deal are different, analysts must manage their time carefully. Quantitative skills are vital but, in my opinion, you don't need to come from a quantitative background. What is important is that you can learn quickly and are driven to learn independently.
Marian's tips
- An internship gives you the best insight into what life will be like, and allows you access to other areas of the bank.
- Understand what you will be doing – many City jobs seem glamorous, and you can lose sight of what the job entails.
- Gather as much information as you can – speak to people in the profession and set clear goals of where you want to be after, say, three years.
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