HI people, I jus recently joined this site and I must say I pleased to find quite afew of u u smart nigerians doing CFA. Trust me it ll b good 4 ur career in finance.
I am myself, will be currently sitting the the CFA level 2 exams in JUNE and I worked for a Derivatives advisory firm in london for almost a year as a financial risk analyst, I also value companies with a friend of mine who is a freelance eqiuity research analyst (i bulild the financial models on excel) and I have worked as a finance analyst in an energy for a year. I am an active investor in the NIga stock market.
I am well educated in the UK with BA in accounting & finance & also MSc in Fund management at exeter university.
HOwever despite all this I want to move back to nigeria and work in the INvestment banking side preferrably in a M&A or private equity or even trading before setting up my own business a few years later.
Can anyone pls tell what the average salary is for front-office guys in investment banking in nigeria and what the bonuses are like. Naira amount would do just fine. Please guys just numbers and the area of Investment banking will do.
I would also be happy to advise people on CFA if u need my help. Thanks guys

i work in one of Nigeria up coming big bank,i think for your qualification and experience you would most likely come in as a manager in any of the bank and the salary range across the industry for that postion is btw =N= 11,000,000-13,000,000/yr(45,000 --55,000 pounds per annum) you will be entitle to a Honda accord latest model(most banks),for some banks you will be entile to profit sharing.
But i think your driving force of coming back should be coming to add value,if you look at the money you will be disappointed at the end of the day,cos of inflation.you can try banks like IBTC-stanbic,GTBank,Zenith.
I also believe some of these investment houses pays better than banks,so u might get investment house offering you btw 50,000 --- 70,000 pounds per yr.

Good luck!

hey ty2001,

Thanks alot, I really appreciate ur reply. Of course I agree with you that my returning home should not just be money motivated but to add value which is one of my reasons anyway. But I need to look at ££ side too because I ll be bringing a new wife with me and she has to eat.
As it stands I have 3 interviews with banks back home. Rand Merchant Bank, Renaisance Capital (russian Bank) & the investment arm of world bank.
Thanks a lot for input and god bless, hopefully I will return the favour next time u need help.

@chiks-cfa2

i kind of agree with ty2001 about the pay for a person with ur level of Xprience but aside from being home sick don't u think the world bank prospect is better?
Secondly i want to pursue a career in finance myself, so pls can u shed more light on CFA. a lot of people seem to think it's Xtra difficult. pls share ur Xprience so far. tanx

gentleme,

To be honest with u, i believe there is no such thing as too difficult. If u want somethin bad enuff, u ll find a way. Its abit like living or fighting for ur family.
The thing with the CFA, try to undastand the concepts first by reading thru the main material, if u have a background in accounting or finance or maths like myself it is abit easier. also make sure u do lots of pratice questions a month b4 the exam. The CFA now offer mock exams I suggest u try them a month b4 the real thing.
MY trick was that I used a combination of the CFA core study material they provide for areas like ethics & economics and I use a study guide called schweser for areas like financial statement analysis (which is accounting ), fixed income (bonds) and equity valuation.
I will b happy to provide links if need for this study guide and also more light on how I have so far successfully tackled the exam if u want.
Lastly make ur highly motivated, sometimes studying and working depresses people it even gets to me sometimes but I jus thing of what it will do for me at the end of career, thats what keeps me going.

chiks-cfa2,
Really interested in investment banking and think i need some advise. cld u pls send me ur email addresss 4 some consultation. mine's greatobie@yahoo.com

greatobie

u ll have to tell what ur background is first. For example, what u studied at school, what u done so far so its easier for me to give u direction.

Chiks-cfa,

Hi, am quite impressed with you, i work as a fixed income securities dealer in one of the major banks in Nigeria and currently rounding up my MBA with one of the top 5 business schools in UK. I will start my CFA level in Dec08.

I hope to stay in Uk and work for 1 yr 'cus of experience and return home. Do u think this is a good idea?

chiks-cf2, thankz for your post and i will be glad to get your advise, I studied Accounting and hope to pursue an MBA in fixed asset mgt or fund management. I intend writing my ICAN PEII this Nov.08 and hopefully write the CIS (chartered institute of stockbrokers Nig) but a friend advise that CFA is better and well recognise. plz could u trow more light n how much does it take to write the exams here in Nigeria.thankz

Chiks-cfa,

I am impressed. I am a banking and finance graduate but honestly am confused on what professional exam to write in order to booth my career. And right now am working in an oil and gas marketing company as administartive officer. And i feel i need to do more on my degree.But I have three options open to my mind and these are cibn, ican, cfa.

Could u please use your expertist in giving me the counsell i so much needed in his regard. I went through your comments and noticed that you are experienced in these fields,

Thanks you and i expect ur reply soonest

Commercial banks in Nigeria can't be blamed for overpaying their staff, it comes with the industry

I am a student of accounting in the university and i want to know what CFA is. The full words of the abbreviation, the meaning and how important it is. My number is 08060818429 and my email address is darzles@gmailcom

CFA means Chartered financial analyst. It is a certification that stands out Finance professionals from the "other". You can read up about them from their web page cfainstitute.org there You will find every info You need. Also there are other threads on nairaland that talks extensively on the qualification. Do well to search them out and read about it .cheers.

How does a CPA from a big 4 Accounting firm in the M&A due diligence group fair on banking or PE jobs in Nigeria? In Africa? Is there an easy way to connect with recruiters?

Africa is the place to be... gotta get over there.

EmergingfromNYC: How does a CPA from a big 4 Accounting firm in the M&A due diligence group fair on banking or PE jobs in Nigeria? In Africa? Is there an easy way to connect with recruiters?

Africa is the place to be... gotta get over there.

You might be able to get a banking gig; but a PE gig might be a stretch. Even an MBA from HBS with 2+ years of IB experience at a New York/London bulge bracket does not make a candidate an automatic shoo-in for PE roles; breaking into PE is really tough even with a perfect pedigree. If you really want to break into private equity, try to get a year or two of investment banking experience abroad, apply to B-schools at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton or Chicago and then try your luck. It's not easy oh! I have a couple of friends who tried to break into Africa-focused PE with HBS degrees 1-2yrs ago without success.

moremi2008:

You might be able to get a banking gig; but a PE gig might be a stretch. Even an MBA from HBS with 2+ years of IB experience at a New York/London bulge bracket does not make a candidate an automatic shoo-in for PE roles; breaking into PE is really tough even with a perfect pedigree. If you really want to break into private equity, try to get a year or two of investment banking experience abroad, apply to B-schools at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton or Chicago and then try your luck. It's not easy oh! I have a couple of friends who tried to break into Africa-focused PE with HBS degrees 1-2yrs ago without success.

PE is really a tough one. That is the ultimate dream of many ibankers. But, are you talking about PE firms based in naija?

tanimola22:


PE is really a tough one. That is the ultimate dream of many ibankers. But, are you talking about PE firms based in naija?

PE shops in Lagos differ greatly in quality. But yes, including good quality PE shops with Lagos offices; the weak economies in the US/UK have made Lagos a more attractive destination, at least temporarily. It might be easier to get a PE role in Lagos, but it won't be totally easy. You'll have to compete with a small pool of Nigerian bankers from the diaspora (at least that's my impression from casual conversations friends that are in that line of work).

And no, PE isn't the ultimate dream of investment bankers; the ultimate dream is a hedge fund gig (a couple of great years and you can retire to the Caribbean).

Ya thanks guys that is what I figured. What about banks in Lagos? What are the top ibanks based on prestige and exit ops? Any idea how to connect with their recruiters? The banks I looked at Diamond, First, etc. don't have great recruiting info on their websites. Whats the thought on ibanking in Joburg instead of Lagos- from a prestige/exit ops standpoint. Thanks for the insight.

moremi2008:

PE shops in Lagos differ greatly in quality. But yes, including good quality PE shops with Lagos offices; the weak economies in the US/UK have made Lagos a more attractive destination, at least temporarily. It might be easier to get a PE role in Lagos, but it won't be totally easy. You'll have to compete with a small pool of Nigerian bankers from the diaspora (at least that's my impression from casual conversations friends that are in that line of work).

And no, PE isn't the ultimate dream of investment bankers; the ultimate dream is a hedge fund gig (a couple of great years and you can retire to the Caribbean).

The PE shops in Lagos wouldn't be a bad idea if one could get into any of them.

Meanwhile, it is good you mentioned HF. HF is great, no doubt. Both HFs and PEs do buy-side finance, with the major difference in their business models being that PEs are more likely to take a longer position than HFs whose main aim is just to positively beat the market anyhow through leverage, taking wider positions, short-selling, this and that strategy etc. Nowadays, at least in the developed markets, it is not uncommon to see many HFs owned by PEs and many PEs owned by HFs. The gap between both of them is tending towards zero as the years and quest for huge returns soar.

As far as I know, both offer good pay and bonuses. Both are prestigious; both are the dreams of many ibankers, at least based on the opinions of the ibankers I have come across over the past years.

Using my largely theoretical knowledge, if I were to compare both HF and PE then I would suggest that the better to go for would depend on one's preferences and professional view. Both serve as good exit strategies for many ibankers. Both offer killer salaries and bonuses.

One of the things that recently scattered my head was the salaries offered by both of them-HF and PE. I am happy that my theoretical research is well-posed as it is not too far away from quantitative hedging. God knows that I could end up as one of them in the very near future. Anyway, anyone who wishes to dream a little should click on http://www.careers-in-finance.com/hfsal.htm.

Just imagine Bruce Kovner's pay. He even boned his Harvard PhD sef. Anyway, God dey.

T22.

EmergingfromNYC: Ya thanks guys that is what I figured. What about banks in Lagos? What are the top ibanks based on prestige and exit ops? Any idea how to connect with their recruiters? The banks I looked at Diamond, First, etc. don't have great recruiting info on their websites. Whats the thought on ibanking in Joburg instead of Lagos- from a prestige/exit ops standpoint. Thanks for the insight.

Have you tried breaking into the London offices of any of these banks? The sad truth is the vast majority of high profile deals out of Africa are run out of London. You might end up being a better Africa banker sitting in London than sitting in either J'burg or Lagos. If you must move to Lagos, then your best options are the Lagos offices of international banks (e.g. Standard Chartered, RenCap, StanbicIBTC etc).

J'burg is ALWAYS a better option than Lagos; you'll have access to better quality deals and your exit ops are better because the SA economy is way more developed. Besides future employers will give your experience in J'burg a lot more credit when evaluating you. I know that US/UK employers will give little credit to any experience you get from a non-international firm in Lagos.

Above all, go to the place that's most likely to give you the best brand for your resume and expose you to the sharpest minds, the biggest deals and the highest volume of completed M&A and financing deals; that's the only way to develop your human capital.

Good luck!

hw easy can someone with a Bsc Physics (2.1) and abt completing an Msc Applied Geophysics find the CFA program, considering that i hv no finance background at all.
i want to make a try at it, but i feel my lack of finance background would limit me.

doziej84: hw easy can someone with a Bsc Physics (2.1) and abt completing an Msc Applied Geophysics find the CFA program, considering that i hv no finance background at all.
i want to make a try at it, but i feel my lack of finance background would limit me.

Easy? Well, if it were that easy, every aspirant would be a CFA by now.

On a positive note though, many physics graduates have gone ahead to take and pass all the three stages of the CFA. If you checked the CFA thread on this career section, you would read about a physics guy, just like you, who took and passed level 1 CFA and is now on level 2. There are many others like him scattered all over the globe.

If it's something you really want to get, then I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to get it in at most 4 years, given your background. One thing I know is that the physics which you got your 2:1 in is by far more difficult than the CFA. If physics grads could pass the much dreaded actuarial science professional exams, then I personally see no reason why you won't do well on the CFA exams. If that is what you want, then go for it.

Although I am not yet a CFA, I suspect the difficulty is over-hyped. This is an exam that people, even undergrads and young grads without MSc, pass every year. This doesn't mean plenty candidates who take the exams yearly don't fail.

T22

I think a quantitative background like Physics is a plus for the CFA Program. Though the CFA exams are not about quant and finance, but can be as quantitative as they are qualitative in nature but your training in physics will help. On a second note, to maximize your potential, why not go for a graduate program (M.Sc)in Financial Engineering that employs extensively advanced math, finance and computer science and then cap it with a CFA designation, and if you like studying like me (haha!), complete it with a risk management designation like FRM or PRM. You should then be a mine of incredible substances and most valuable to any bank or financial institution. I will say what makes the CFA exam a bit daunting is not the level of difficulty (as it is not near what I went thru in an M.Sc in Financial Engineering), but the cheer volume/tons of materials thrown at you at one time to master and expected to pass with close to 70%. Undoubtedly, a science (with significant math content) background is a better foundation for a career in finance. In fact, the fields of quantitative finance and risk management are populated with Physics and Math PhDs.

doziej84: hw easy can someone with a Bsc Physics (2.1) and abt completing an Msc Applied Geophysics find the CFA program, considering that i hv no finance background at all.
i want to make a try at it, but i feel my lack of finance background would limit me.

Pardon my curiosity, Bsc Physics with Msc Geophysics is an "Amazing foundation" for a delightful career in OG sector.
Why derail?

Sorry, am just curious.

27naira:

Pardon my curiosity, Bsc Physics with Msc Geophysics is an "Amazing foundation" for a delightful career in OG sector.
Why derail?

Sorry, am just curious.

just trying to have a plan B on ground.u neva can tell, my broda.
opportunities for Geophysicists are limited in Nigeria due to the discrepancies in our O & G sector.
if it were in North America or Europe, wld an Msc Applied Geophysics be thinking of a plan B.(na madness)

but this is Naija, u've to have up to a plan c to be able to survive or u'll go extinct.na so the matter dey.

All is well

doziej84:

just trying to have a plan B on ground.u neva can tell, my broda.
opportunities for Geophysicists are limited in Nigeria due to the discrepancies in our O & G sector.
if it were in North America or Europe, wld an Msc Applied Geophysics be thinking of a plan B.(na madness)

but this is Naija, u've to have up to a plan c to be able to survive or u'll go extinct.na so the matter dey.

Is your MSc not from an institution in Europe or North America?

tanimola22:

Is your MSc not from an institution in Europe or North America?

NO. University of Port-Harcourt.

chiks-cfa2:
HI people, I jus recently joined this site and I must say I pleased to find quite afew of u u smart nigerians doing CFA. Trust me it ll b good 4 ur career in finance.
I am myself, will be currently sitting the the CFA level 2 exams in JUNE and I worked for a Derivatives advisory firm in london for almost a year as a financial risk analyst, I also value companies with a friend of mine who is a freelance eqiuity research analyst (i bulild the financial models on excel) and I have worked as a finance analyst in an energy for a year. I am an active investor in the NIga stock market.
I am well educated in the UK with BA in accounting & finance & also MSc in Fund management at exeter university.
HOwever despite all this I want to move back to nigeria and work in the INvestment banking side preferrably in a M&A or private equity or even trading before setting up my own business a few years later.
Can anyone pls tell what the average salary is for front-office guys in investment banking in nigeria and what the bonuses are like. Naira amount would do just fine. Please guys just numbers and the area of Investment banking will do.
I would also be happy to advise people on CFA if u need my help. Thanks guys

@ chika cfa plis i am also intrested in investement banking and i am a fresh graduate from the university of lagos B.sc economics.my email is ayfly@yahoo.com.wud be wating for a feedback sir thanks

@chika-cfa2

By now u r probably in Nigeria or still abroad. I am currently an ACCA student hoping to go into investment banking. I wouldn't mind if you could be my mentor in IB.I am very interested in finacial modelling and mergers and inquisitions. I would really appreciate it if you could be of help.

Regards

chiks-cfa2:
HI people, I jus recently joined this site and I must say I pleased to find quite afew of u u smart nigerians doing CFA. Trust me it ll b good 4 ur career in finance.
I am myself, will be currently sitting the the CFA level 2 exams in JUNE and I worked for a Derivatives advisory firm in london for almost a year as a financial risk analyst, I also value companies with a friend of mine who is a freelance eqiuity research analyst (i bulild the financial models on excel) and I have worked as a finance analyst in an energy for a year. I am an active investor in the NIga stock market.
I am well educated in the UK with BA in accounting & finance & also MSc in Fund management at exeter university.
HOwever despite all this I want to move back to nigeria and work in the INvestment banking side preferrably in a M&A or private equity or even trading before setting up my own business a few years later.
Can anyone pls tell what the average salary is for front-office guys in investment banking in nigeria and what the bonuses are like. Naira amount would do just fine. Please guys just numbers and the area of Investment banking will do.
I would also be happy to advise people on CFA if u need my help. Thanks guys

I look forward to hearing from you.

Nice thread really nice to see business guy well I have a bsc in biochemistry, I intend going to canada for Msc in biochem or petroluem engr on US or canada , then work for like 4 years, then apply for MBA at wharton or chicago booth cos they are highly rated plus d networking and then move to investment bank @ wall street, I intend bagging CFA and ACCA along my MBA, what do u guys think about this plan ?