Simon Hirst has spent the majority of is live in various leadership positions within the M&A and Private Equity industries, including 12 years at Lehman Brothers. He also served as a Global Co-Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at Commerzbank and as the CEO of a London Stock Exchange listed company. He is also a visiting professor at some of the top European business schools, such as the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Cass Business School, as well as IE.

To make a long story short, what you are about to hear is the fruit of that initial hard work (which, by the way, pales in comparison to what we have done since!). 

We really hope you enjoy the interview and excuse our newbie mistakes! We are really excited to put out this content for all of you and are determined to improve as we go along.

If you like what you hear, it will be really helpful to is if you could leave us a 5-star rating on iTunes, as it really helps spread the word to those who could eventually benefit from the content we are producing.

To the show notes:

•	The difference between his experiences studying at Oxford and Wharton [05:04]
•	His experience working in M&A at Lehman Brothers [06:55]
•	Work-life balance (or rather the lack thereof) in M&A [08:01]
•	Simon’s definition of a financial crisis [11:10]
•	His experience in a turnaround situation of a publicly traded company [12:50]
•	Comparison between his experience in M&A and in private equity [14:55]
•	Discussion of the value added by private equity firms to businesses they acquire [17:00]
•	Advice for people trying to get into private equity [18:25]
•	Discussion of technology as a substitute for critical thinking [21:40]
•	Characteristics he looks at when hiring prospective job candidates and the importance of the first minute of an interview [22:35] 
•	How the industry has changed over the years [24:30]
•	What he has learned about managing people [25:50]
•	The importance of preparing for meetings [27:40]
•	The advice he received from Steven Schwarzman [30:50]
•	Simon’s view on mentorship [32:50]
•	Simon’s career advice to young professionals [36:10]

For more information and to subscribe to our newsletter please visit: www.thewallstreetlab.com

Episode #01 Simon Hirst – Investment Banking, Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Investments

Oliver Schebela, CFA is the Head of Private Equity Solutions of Bethmann Bank, a traditional German private bank, wholly owned by ABN AMRO. Prior to this, he spent 7 years at FERI Trust, where he started as a Private Equity Manager and worked his way up to Head of Private Equity. In his earlier days (he is still very young), he worked at Credit Suisse and at Commerzbank.

This is a special episode for us. Not necessarily for the great conversation we had with Oliver, but for what it means to this journey Luke and I have embarked on. Back in the day when starting The Wall Street Lab was just an idea, we used to grab coffee and talk about who could potentially be guests on the podcast. Oliver was really the first person we thought about! So having the opportunity to actually interview him serves as validation that our idea was really worth pursuing.

As you will notice from the interview, Oliver is a very down to earth, extremely competent and experienced private equity fund manager. During our conversation, we touch on topics such as the difference between direct and fund of fund private equity investing, the pros and cons of working for large companies versus smaller boutiques, his experience studying for the CFA exams, things he looks at when interviewing candidates to work for him, to name a few.

We really hope you enjoy this conversation with Oliver. If you do, make sure rate us on iTunes and follow us on the various social media platforms.

 

Please see the show notes below:

The difference between private and public equity [03:30]
The difference between direct and indirect private equity investments [04:50]
How Oliver started in finance [07:00]
The importance of combining theory and practice when starting your career in finance [08:00]
The early days of private equity in Germany [10:00]
The pros and cons of working for a large company when compared to boutiques [12:30]
Different ways to get into private equity [14:30]
How Oliver selects private equity fund managers [16:30]
How he is able to read through fund marketing pitches and extract important information from private equity managers [20:00]
The differences between investing for institutional clients versus investing for high net worth individuals [22:00]
Oliver’s view on the illiquidity premium received by private equity funds [27:00]
Oliver’s opinion on the best way to get a head start in private equity [31:15]
What Oliver looks at when interviewing people to work for him [35:30]
Oliver’s experience studying for the CFA exams and receiving his charter [40:10]
His opinion on the importance of having a CFA charter in asset management [42:05]
Oliver’s suggestion on how to prepare for the CFA exams [44:00]
What daily activity would he outsource, if he had the chance to [46:50]
Who are Oliver’s role models [48:10]
Oliver’s view on the importance of having a mentor [49:30]
Oliver’s favorite book [50:55]

For more information and to subscribe to our newsletter please visit: www.thewallstreetlab.com

The Wall Street Lab

Episode #02 Oliver Shebela – Private Equity Fund Investing

Marcus Storr is the Head of Hedge Funds at FERI Trust, a German asset management company and one of the largest investors in Alternative Assets in Germany. Marcus has held various positions in the investment industry over the years, including being a Vice-President for Global Equities at Robert Flemings in London, which is now part of JP Morgan, and a Director of Global Equities at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Letme tell you: you are in for a real treat! As you will notice very quickly, not only did Marcus provide us with great insights about the hedge fund industry, but he is also very entertaining and humorous.

During our interview, we touch on a range of topics including different hedge fund strategies, the current state of the hedge fund industry, how to improve your chances of getting hired by a hedge fund manager, and many other very interesting topics.

And now, to the show notes:

01:42 – Start of the Interview
02:05 – What does a Hedge Fund Manager do?
04:03 – How did Marcus get into Investment Banking?
08:37 – Working at a Scottish investment bank
09:05 – How does working in London compare to working in Germany?
11:40 – How does Marcus’ previous Investment banking experience compare to investing into Hedge Funds
13:00 – On moving from London to Frankfurt
14:30 – Investment Banking and “The Work-Life Balance”
17:50 – Best practices for starting out in Investment Banking
20:50 – His thoughts on the CFA Program
21:35 – Hedge Fund Job Interview
24:00 – The Perfect Cover Letter
25:40 – Intensity of working in finance
27:15 – Good body is good for the health
28:40 – Typical day as the Head of Hedge Funds
31:00 – Conversation on the hedge fund performance
33:55 – Fund of funds, direct investing and custom portfolios
36:20 – Great Manager or a great investment strategy? Which is better?
38:20 – How the due diligence process in hedge funds investing looks like?
41:10 – What is the craziest hedge fund strategy Marcus has ever seen?
42:50 – Hedge funds as an exit route for investment banking professionals?
46:30 – Personal routines and questions
 

We are really interested in your opinion, so if you have any thoughts on how we can make the podcast more valuable to you, e-mail us at contact@thewallstreetlab.com

Stay tuned for our next episode, which will come out in two weeks, on January 12th!

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Find out more at http://www.thewallstreetlab.com/