Tag: New York

The decision was relatively straight forward for me. The negatives of investment banking – long hours, repetitive work, lack of non-finance exit options – mattered more to me than the money.
I considered sales & trading (in fact, I spent a summer at CSFB in NY), and was tempted to continue in that line of work after graduation.
Instead of defining the characteristics of each industry (there are plenty of resources out there for that, including my Management Consulted blog), I will address a short list of differences between the two career paths.
Let me caveat by saying THESE ARE NOT YOUR ONLY OPTIONS. People get carried away into thinking thats all there is.
#1 SALARY
This is the primary superficial distinction. Thats not to imply that salaries aren’t important. Banking salaries average 50-100% higher than consulting salaries, with the gap increasing as your seniority increases. Consulting attempts to compensates with small perks – from better travel allowances to more generous retirement packages.
Consultants always like to say this:
I know investment bankers make more money. But from a cashflow perspective, its exactly the same!
This means that consultants and bankers make similar base salaries, but at the end of the year, bankers are awarded a significant bonus which can be more than half of their total annual compensation.
Cashflow or not, the extra money is substantial and a defining driver of why many people do investment banking over business consulting. This is also a difficult issue for consulting firms with respect to employee retention. In my years as a McKinsey management consultant, easily half the people who left the firm went into the financial world (from hedge funds to PE), and salary was undoubtedly a major factor in the decision.
My advice is – after considering the 5 factors Ive listed here, you still think the pay difference (for analysts, averaging between $30-60K per year) would mean a significant difference in your professional job satisfaction, choose investment banking over consulting.
#2 LIFESTYLE ISSUES
The big differences here are:
-Hours. Bankers work brutal hours, no surprise. They can average 14-16 hours/day but it can get FAR WORSE.
My roommates in New York (both investment bankers at Goldman Sachs) would sometimes go several weeks before wed even exchange a word. Which meant not only were they getting in after I went to sleep (around 2am), but going back to the office before I woke up (around 7am).
Your second year as an investment banker gets easier – often in the 10-12 hours/day range but with occasional tough periods.
Management consultants average 12 hours/day, with the typical variations depending on client, team goals, etc
-Travel. Bankers do a little travel for roadshows, due diligence, etc but spend 90% of their time in one office until youre partner-level (you can expect more travel in private equity and asset management). Depending on firm – management consultants travel a lot. At the Big 3 (Bain, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey), you can expect travel 50-75% of the time
-Relationship with firm employees and coworkers. This is an important but oft overlooked issue. Consulting firms have a very collegial atmosphere, where the focus is on getting work done and ensuring your professional success. This attitude permeates all interactions. Managers never yell, coworkers are supportive whenever possible, and companies are organized to provide consultants support with training, expertise, etc. Finally, networking is critical at consulting firms, and social events are focused on helping business consultants build contacts and relationships throughout the company.
Investment banks, on the other hand, have a more competitive and tense work environment. You can expect more stressful relationships with your bosses, youll probably be yelled at occasionally for mistakes, and coworkers are much less willing to help out colleagues (your success means theres more competition for the biggest bonuses).
In addition, youll have limited exposure across the company to other groups, departments, etc – less ability to network across the company.
Part 2 of this series on consulting versus banking continues tomorrow!

If you’re like most people, you want your financial future to be better than your present, or at least not worse. So, you set money aside and think of ways to make it grow. The options seem endless, but you’ve selected real estate as your investment arena, and you’re considering condos.

Condos have several advantages over single family houses or 2-4 unit buildings. And several disadvantages. In my conversations with people who’ve invested in condos, few were aware of all of them. So here they are. (The people I mentioned were interested in condos for sale in Chicago and the surrounding area but I’m betting their typical of new investors everywhere.

The advantages and disadvantages I’m going to talk about apply whether you’re looking at Chicago condos for sale, New York condos for sale, or Sioux Falls condos for sale, assuming you’re looking to buy them as investment vehicles.

Advantages of buying a condo as an investment property

Maintenance

Maintenance needs to be done on all properties. Condos, especially condos that are professionally managed, offer some relief to condo investors.

You don’t have to worry about roof, stairs, landscaping and such. The association takes care of them. For a price, it’s true, but you don’t have to do them.

Some of the problems inside the unit can also be taken care of by the complex maintenance crew. That varies from condo association to condo association. And they charge you for it, but you don’t have to drop everything else and run to your condo because the sink’s leaking.

Price

Some condos are very expensive. However, houses of similar size in the same neighborhood cost more. So, you can buy an investment property in a better neighborhood. Also, in most areas, there’s no such thing as a 1-bedroom house, but there are 1-bedroom, or even no bedroom, condo units. And, usually, there are people willing to rent them.

Amenities

Amenities vary from condo association to condo association. But it’s possible to invest in a condo located in a complex that has swimming pool, 24-hour security, and such things.

The disadvantages of buying a condo as an investment

Rules

You have to follow rules that are not yours. Each association has its own rules. And the rules can change. One of the rules that can change is whether tenants are permitted or not. If you own a condo and the association votes no more tenants, when your lease is up, you either move in or sell. Your association might decide to go with the ‘no more tenants’ rule at a time when selling is not a great option.

Or, worse, they decide to allow too many rentals. Too many tenants can make getting a mortgage difficult (FHA and others do not like condo associations where more than 10% of the units are rented.) which makes reselling your investment difficult, not to mention refinancing it.

Shared decision making

Yes, you could make sure you have something to say about decisions and get yourself elected on the board of directors; still, you are not the only decision maker.

Association fees

You have to pay the same amount whether your unit is rented or vacant. In other words, you get to pay the same amount whether you use or not the services (for instance, the water bill portion of your assessment).

Special assessments

When you bought your condo unit, there were no special assessments and none were being considered. Six months later, the association decides it’s time for a new face and there’s not enough money in the reserves. They decide to go ahead with the face lift and pay it with special assessments. Your share is going to be twice your profits for the next 20 months. Can happen.

Yes, things can go wrong with a single family investment or an apartment building investment. But there you have more control. Because there you can have a home inspector inspect the whole structure. Because there there’s no board of director’s member whose boyfriend owns a construction company that could use a few thousand dollars.

So, overall, buying a condo as an investment is not the way to go. That is, if you can afford a single family house. A single family house is not the best way to go if you can afford a 2-unit building. A 2-unit building is not the best way to go if you can afford a 3-unit building and so on. Because of 2 reasons: when a condo is vacant (or a single family house) the whole income source is gone but the expenses are still there.

In any case, if you’re buying a condo as an investment property, you should know what you’re getting into.