Word: broadview
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...downtown banks. Shemmer is indignant. "Ninety percent of the analysts hate it," he tells his friend, a fraternity buddy. "There's no guarantee you're going to make more money." His friend wavers, and Shemmer hones in. Shemmer instinctively organizes his pitch into bullets and subpoints, neatly lining up Broadview's advantages and the competitor's downsides like he might at a client presentation. It's a habit of the analyst mind. Later, when a new co-worker asks how to do a particular task, Shemmer responds, "Walk me through it. Why would you do that...
...lunchtime I discover one of the particular perks of working at Broadview. Most days, analysts prefer to grab fast food lunches or order in to their desks--the world of the two-martini lunch is long gone. But twice a week, the company caters a meal for all its employees. And it's a good one: salmon filets, roasted asparagus, rice and potatoes, with cheesecake for dessert. The staff gathers around black tables in the conference room, and for half an hour the office feels like a dining hall. Cliques form in different corners--secretaries over here, a small group...
...lack of women in the office is especially mysterious since Broadview seems committed to other kinds of diversity--several of the analysts are Indian or East Asian or Middle Eastern (although I don't notice any black analysts). So why the gender imbalance? Analysts speculate that most women are turned off by the aggressive, combative nature of investment banking. "The environment can be a little crass, but it's fun," one analyst tells me. "There's a certain type of woman who can work here, and a certain type who can't." Shemmer echoes that sentiment: "In general I-banking...
...spend time with one employee who specializes in writing fairness opinions--reports outlining for shareholders whether they're getting a fair deal in a merger. The number crunching and boilerplate legal writing seem dull, but it's still a high-wire act--shareholders who feel cheated can sue Broadview. "It's a pretty amazing responsibility for someone my age," the analyst says...
...same L-shaped desk, same chair, same color scheme, even the same boxes scattered on the floor. On the filing cabinet is the same row of tombstones (the Plexiglas trophies awarded when a deal is successfully completed). The uniformity seems depressing, but this analyst says he likes working at Broadview because it's actually more exciting than most jobs. He left a computer programming position at Merrill Lynch because the projects were too long-term and slow-paced. What's more, he thinks the variable nature of his job at Broadview will make his resume far more attractive to future...