0. Egyirba Walker-Arthur Senior Program Manager, Career Program
Technology
Hello everyone and welcome to the Technology program webinar. My name is Egyirba Walker-Arthur and I manage SEO’s Technology program. The purpose of this presentation is to give you an overview of what the technology department of an Investment Bank does, the typical placement roles, and also to discuss benefits of working in Investment Bank tech and ideal candidates for the program. Let’s get started!
Egyirba Walker-Arthur
Senior Program Manager, Career Program

1. Purpose of the Technology Department at an Investment Bank
The information technology division at an investment bank creates and applies global solutions that drive productivity and enable all the revenue generating businesses to meet their strategic goals.
Innovative Technology
Timely Implementation
*Competitive Edge
So, what does the IT department at an investment bank do exactly? Certainly, way more than fixing printers and changing toner cartridges! This isn’t your college computer lab!
Investment banks depend on innovative technology to give the bank and its clients a competitive edge.
IT works with the different business units like AM, RE, IB, ST to make their work easier and faster which helps them to gain this competitive edge
For example – say you’re an IB analyst working on a pitch book for a client meeting. But the meeting gets moved to a later date. You will now have to go back and update all the information in the pitch book. Working with the IT team, they can develop applications, macros etc to automatically update all this information with just one click!
Basically, IT is used to transform the business!
Competitive Edge = $$$

2. Technology Roles within Investment Banks
Business Systems Analyst
Identify, assess & record business needs
Advise on options, risk & cost vs. benefit
Research new and existing technology solutions
Document & communicate requirements
Translate documentation into test plans
Ensure test plans are completed
Execute unit testing & implementation of new application functionality
Hold training sessions/demos
Develop appropriate documentation
Business Unit (AM, IB, S&T etc)
Business Systems Analyst
Application Development Team
Innovative Technology!
So now let’s talk about the various placement roles with IB tech
The first role is the business systems analyst position
Now, the myth with this role is that you don’t really need to be technical in order to succeed. This is WRONG!
In the BA role, you will work one-on-one with people in IB, AM, ST, RE etc (your clients) to Identify, assess & record business needs
Then you will need to document and translate these needs to the application dev’t teams
So its important to not only understand what the business units do, but also to have a strong technical background to be able to understand what is possible and what’s not and advice on options, risk, and costs vs. benefit
Once the application dev’t team has created new technologies or applications, the Business Analysts will also teach the business units how to use these new applications/software. So great communication and presentation skills are key here as you will may presenting to senior management.

3. Technology Roles within Investment Banks
Application Development Analyst
Design, develop, code, test, debug & document applications
Translate requirements into technical specifications
Modify application codes
Develop reporting capabilities
Provide design recommendations for unit & integration testing of applications
Create & test software application modules
Hardcore Programmer Zone!
Next are the application development analysts. These are the hardcore programmers!
They are responsible for the actual design, coding and development of new applications.
This is a great role for students who are interested in being creative technologists because you get to come up with creative ideas for the business units while still using your tech background

4. Technology Roles within Investment Banks
Service Delivery Analyst
Perform production support for applications or technology infrastructure (i.e. networks, servers, desktops)
Diagnose/resolve production problems
Install/remove, configure & maintain operating system workstations & servers
Evaluate, implement & manage software/hardware solution
Ensure optimum system performance levels
Create, manage & execute test plans/scripts
Maintain template libraries & internal project documentation
Hands-On Peeps!!!
Ok, so the last role is the service delivery analyst.
These are the more hands-on group. They provide support for the firm’s tech infrastructure for example servers, desktops etc. and work on installation and configuration of new software. They also diagnose and resolve production problems.

5. Why work in Technology at an Investment Bank?
Develop a cross functional skill set!
Great way to merge your business and technology interests.
Use your understanding of how capital markets operate to help create new technologies.
Opportunity to work in a fast-paced, constantly changing and dynamic environment!
IB IT is NOT the place for anyone seeking a sedate life in the technology sector.
Global markets are volatile creatures, new financial products are developed daily and investment flows change constantly. You will have to adapt to this constant changing environment!
Big question of the day! Sure, I’m technical, and kinda of glance at CNN sometimes, but why should I want to do this?
First – you’re able to develop a cross functional skill set because you will work on a variety of projects as well as with different business units. It’s a great way to merge your business and technology interests. You can use your understanding of how capital markets operate and how trends impact the way investment banks do business as well as your tech savvy to move laterally within the firm. They’ve been instances where technologists have moved to work in the sales and trading space because they understand what that business unit does and more importantly have the tech background to make their work easier.
Second – you’ll have the opportunity to work in a fast-paced, constantly changing environment! IB tech is not the place for a person who is content to work on the same thing over and over again with no action. Global markets are constantly changing, new financial products are being developed daily so working in IT you have to be able to adapt to this constantly changing environment

6. Why work in Technology at an Investment Bank?
Creativity & Innovation! Be at the forefront of network design.
In IB Tech, there is a focus on keeping up to speed with how technology is being used to support and enable business, not just the technology itself.
See your ideas materialize!
In this environment, you become involved in all stages of a project: from inception through implementation.
Generous compensation
Analysts can earn up to $90K (incl. bonus)
Work /life balance
Average work day is 8:00AM – 7:30PM and no weekends
Another benefit of working in this field is that you get to be creative and innovative and see your ideas materialize!
In this environment, you become involved in all stages of a project: from inception through implementation. Even as an intern, you will be given important projects (typically 10-week long projects) to complete. For example, if you’re working in a BA type role, under the supervision of your manager, you will work to translate business unit needs into test plans for the application development teams. Typically, your offer is contingent on completing this project and your team will watch to see how creative you are, how quickly you pick up concepts etc.
 Work/life balance
Work /life balance -Average analyst work day is from about 8am – 7:30 or 8pm and no weekends. No eating, showering and sleeping on a google campus!
 Compensation
Generous compensation -Analysts can earn up to $90K (incl. bonus)
 Perhaps the biggest positive change about working in IT on Wall Street these days is that it's no longer considered a back-office sideshow. IB tech has gone from being an out-of-sight, out-of-mind cost center/a necessary evil and has transcended into a critical business function. In many cases, you're seeing IT side-by-side with the users. If you go to the biggest trading desks in the world, the IT guy sits with the mortgage traders on the desk, and you can't tell which is which.

7. Compensation/Career Paths
This slide details the typical compensation for professional working in IT at an investment bank.
It’s from a 2010 survey by information week.
Analysts can earn between 90 to over 120 thousand dollars, depending on their role. This information also applies to hedge funds etc.
The box on the right also details the typical career path for someone working in this field of technology
You can start in a staff/analyst position, proceed into a Manager/supervisory role then Director to VP to CTO  CIO

8. Internship Program Requirements
We are looking for students who :
Have completed courses in the following: C, C++, Visual Basic, JAVA, SQL
Have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA
Creative thinkers with excellent quantitative and analytical skills
Passionate about technology within financial services and are eager to integrate technical solutions in a business environment
Strong leadership, interpersonal written/verbal communication skills
Typical Majors include: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Science etc.
So, how do you get into the SEO Tech Program? –
We’re looking for students who
Have completed courses in the following: C, C++, Visual Basic, JAVA, SQL
Previous experience on a help desk or coding experience on various school projects is highly desirable.
You should have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA
 Excellent quantitative and analytical skills are a must as well as problem solving capability
You should be passionate about technology within financial services and be eager to integrate technical solutions in a business environment. You should also understand the various placement roles and what you will be doing in each area.
Strong leadership, interpersonal written/verbal communication skills are very important in IB IT.
Typically the myth has been that if you’re working in IT, you’re sitting in the cubicle with your head down, coding, not talking to anyone. The financial services industry is a people-oriented one so it’s important even in IT to have a personality, be outgoing, have good communication skills.
 Typical Majors include: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information Science etc.
Participating Partners in the SEO Tech program include: Citi, CS, DB, GS, JPM, MS, UBS

9. Learn More SEO Website – www.seo-usa.org/career Stay Connected
me 
Online Periodicals/Industry Resources:
Information Week
Wall Street & Technology
CIO Magazine
Here are a few tips to help you prepare for a technology internship with the SEO Career Program. First and foremost, learn as much as you can about the SEO organization, the internship and your program of choice.
The SEO website is an excellent source of information about the organization, programs and process.
In addition, here are some resources to help you learn more about the world of technology as it relates to the banking industry – Information Week, Wall Street and Tech and CIO Magazine. I would encourage you to visit these sites to learn more.
Feel free to me with questions or comments. Hope you enjoyed this webinar presentation and all the best!