Insights and experiences

Being a new analyst at MUFG, I was exceedingly excited to be part of the family. The holistic graduate program kick-started with six weeks of training in the London office, where I was given a golden opportunity to attend lectures to gain concrete financial and accounting knowledge to help me excel in my future work.

With a great passion for this industry, I really appreciated the training in London that enabled me to sharpen my sword given my non-finance major background. Thanks to MUFG, the six weeks were fruitful and useful in allowing me to build up my knowledge. Even better, we were taught in a class with employees from the New York and London offices which granted us a platform to interact with each other and learn at the same pace, despite being from different backgrounds.

In addition to the lectures, networking events and a speaker-series were conducive to our growth as speakers were able to share their own experience and give advice to help us on our career paths.

Life is like driving. It’s time to step on the gas pedal after a new turbo engine has been implemented. Now in Hong Kong after six weeks of fruitful training, I am ready to go with full power.

During my first 6 months at MUFG, I completed two rotations, each lasting four weeks. My first rotation was with Legal and my second one was with the Credit Trading and Sales team.

My final placement in the Analyst Program is with Debt Capital Markets (DCM), but, in order to get a better understanding of the different divisions and how they interact with each other, I had the chance to do these two rotations. Both rotations were a steep learning curve and I learnt a lot – all of which has helped me with my day-to-day work in DCM.

With the Legal department I was mainly reading different EMTN programs to develop a better understanding of bond issuance programs, what they look like and the key aspects that need to be disclosed. As this forms an important part in every bond issuance, I had the chance to learn about the relevant components, applicable for my later role in DCM.

In my second rotation with the Credit team I was shadowing traders and sales people with different regional and product focuses. This gave me huge exposure into how MUFG directly interacts with clients, and what to consider when they price their trades. I was working on different projects, helped provide pitch materials for clients and roadshows and developed a good understanding of market sentiment. Understanding investor appetite and how economic events may impact the markets was a valuable lesson during this time.

Now that I am back in DCM, I can say that the two rotations were exceptional. Apart from the work experience, the rotations helped to increase my network at MUFG and to get to know the people that I only knew via email before. It was very well organised and perfectly integrated in the Analyst Program. The whole Analyst Program so far has definitely met and gone beyond my expectations.

I would strongly recommend the Analyst Program to you, if you are willing to be proactive, are keen to challenge yourself every day and want to learn as much as possible.

Corporate Social Responsibility is highly emphasised at MUFG. I was leader of the Information & Data Management team at this year’s ‘Run in the Dark’ in Battersea Park. MUFG as a whole entered 20 teams with our entry fees contributing to the great work of the Mark Pollock Trust and each team aiming to raise a minimum of £500 per team for another worthy cause – Save the Children’s Syria Appeal. Our fundraising efforts were international with contributions from all over the world.

While the 5km distance may seem minuscule to the marathon-running readers among you, it certainly feels much longer on a wet and windy autumn evening. And so, the hardy MUFG souls signed up for the event left the office to brave the elements in aid of these two great causes.

Wet leaves scattered the paths on which we’d be running and it was a great occasion to bring many MUFG departments together. We set off under an inflatable arching wearing ‘chipped’ number plates on our fronts to record our times. To add a competitive edge to the event, the top 3 times from each team would be placed on an MUFG leader board. As I ran around the beautiful surrounds of Battersea Park, my thoughts wandered to the commitment and dedication I would need to run a full marathon – over 8 times the length of our short circuit.

The thousands of runners made up a sea of colours with the red ‘MUFG Gives Back’ t-shirts highly prominent and identifiable – even among the frontrunners. The highest placed MUFG runner was 4th place overall posting a very quick time of 18 minutes 55 seconds.

After the run, we felt our tired bodies deserved some refreshment. An MUFG cohort retired to a local bar for some light refreshments where we discussed the next step in our running careers! The fundraising in advance and the evening itself were fine examples of the great effort of all those at MUFG to help worthy causes and to give back to the international community.

The analyst experience at MUFG can be best defined by intense growth. When I joined MUFG’s Capital Markets group in New York in July 2016, individuals across business lines, seniority, and geography took immediate interest in my professional abilities and personal growth. My own abilities and qualifications were always a priority at MUFG.

Our analyst training in London was rigorous and designed to give us each the ability to surpass our clients’ expectations and prepare us for our regulatory exam requirements. Additionally, the training was designed to prepare us for life at a global company, learning about the customs and regulations of business in each of our locations while exploring London with our counterparts from across the world. Expectations are high at MUFG, but resources are provided to help analysts rise to the challenge.

MUFG strives to be the world’s most trusted financial group, and integrity, honesty, and responsibility are extremely important. My learning experience was not limited to just an expansive financial education. I am expected to demonstrate our core values of integrity and responsibility, professionalism and teamwork, and growth daily. I was taught early the importance of becoming a trustworthy counterparty to surpass clients’ expectations and develop profound pride in the intrinsic honesty of my work. I am still challenged daily by peers to develop deep integrity consistent with MUFG’s values and expectations.

The culture of self-improvement at MUFG has been crucial to my career development. The analyst experience is very demanding at times, but MUFG has given me opportunities for legitimate development which will provide returns throughout my career. My training has included the rigorous London experience with other analysts across our global offices as well as quick lunch-time training sessions with senior bankers across our product lines concerning our clients, the detailed descriptions of many products we offer from derivatives to brokerage services, and interesting or important minutiae of global financial markets and their participants. Each of us in the analyst class was given expectations of diligent work and incessant learning, and support in this endeavour has been pervasive. Based on my existing experience at MUFG, I anticipate the next few months to be filled with even more learning, challenges, and support from my supervisors and peers at the company.

As a new analyst at MUFG, I have found that an aspect which makes MUFG unique is its Sports and Social committee. The committee meet once a month to decide on different activities and events to hold for employees. The activities vary from poker and quiz nights to bowling and karaoke. Last week, I attended introductory lessons at an indoor bouldering centre.

Bouldering is similar to rock climbing; however it is climbing without ropes above a soft landing. Routes are identified by the different colour of the rocks, so a climber can link between a starting and finishing point only using a certain colour of holds which are on the walls. The centre has bouldering routes that cater for people all climbing abilities and I was thoroughly excited for my first lesson to begin!

When we arrived we started with a warm up, this gave everyone a chance to introduce themselves to the group and for everyone to get to know each other. We started in a beginner zone, the instructor would teach us different moves and then we would take it in turns to follow. Everyone was incredibly supportive, and as a beginner I found it helpful to receive tips and advice from those who had had lessons before.

When the lesson ended we were beginning to feel a little sore in our arms, so it was perfect timing that we had received our pizza delivery! After enjoying our welcomed break and feeling refreshed we hit the climbing walls again. This time my sub group aimed for more challenging paths, with the help from those who were more experienced I managed to feel more confident and also aimed for harder routes. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and I have found a fun yet challenging new hobby!

It has been nine months now since I joined MUFG as a new Analyst in Debt Capital Markets. The program started in August with a four week product and financial training course, where we not only had the chance to develop a comprehensive understanding of financial and professional topics, but also got to know the other Analysts from New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo. This was the first opportunity the expand our network across the firm and to get to know other Analysts from different locations.

Meeting the other graduates and spending four weeks with them on the training program helped us to establish strong connections with each other. As I started working on projects with the other graduates from New York and Hong Kong immediately after the training program, these connections proved to be extremely useful from day one.

After the financial training, the networking opportunities continued and I had the chance to meet employees from all levels of the organisation. The highlight was a breakfast with the International Management Committee where we had the chance to ask questions and get to know the International Business Heads. Talking to the CEO or the International Business Head of Capital Markets, and having the opportunity to ask not only business but also personal questions is not very common and was a unique experience.

Having a great network is important – your hear this at university as well as at every career event for entry-level positions. And MUFG offers many different opportunities to expand your network within the company and your knowledge in different areas.

As part of my program, I am currently rotating through different business departments. The aim is to get to know a number of employees from across the business, to broaden your knowledge and get a better understanding of the firm’s strategic direction, as well as the interconnection between different departments.

Overall, I have found this to be a very valuable experience as MUFG is helping you from day one to develop a strong network across the firm and across different levels of the organisation. You are not only expanding your financial knowledge and getting exposure to different business areas but also you have the chance to learn from different people that are happy to share their experience with you. The only limit is your personal commitment. I am sure that this network and this experience with my colleagues and senior executives will be be a value asset in the future.

My name is Andrew Padula and I am currently a first year analyst in the Investment Grade Credit Trading team. As I reflect on my time at MUFG to see how I have grown thus far, I think back on my experiences leading up to joining the firm, my training in London and now working hands on in the day to day dealings of the desk.

Last May, I graduated with a finance emphasis from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. As a sophomore, I chose to pursue finance as I began to develop a growing interest in the global markets. In addition to taking finance specific electives such as Fixed Income Securities, Quantitative Analysis & Portfolio Management, and Capital Market Investments, I also joined business related clubs such as the Ross Global Investments Club to further build on this interest. I would highly recommend this to those still in college in a similar situation. Not only does it help a resume, but it gave me a necessary rudimentary understanding of market basics and it solidified what I wanted to do in my professional career moving forward.

Although I had interned elsewhere, fortunately in the fall of my senior year I was given an offer to join MUFG to enter the field that I had hoped to pursue, Sales & Trading.

While we did have about two weeks to meet the teams in the US and get settled into our respective desks, our analyst program officially kicked off early August in London for a four week training program. I think every analyst agrees that it was an incredible experience. Not only was it unbelievable to become immersed in a new culture for a month, but our training was extremely helpful. Each day our teacher taught us about a variety of market fundamentals and technicals ranging from central government intervention, to the pricing of different fixed income instruments, to understanding the needs of various institutional clients. However, more important than what we learned in the classroom were the connections we made outside the classroom with our analyst class. Every night, analysts from the New York, London and Hong Kong office would get dinner, go to soccer games, explore the town and enjoy the London nightlife. I consider many of these analysts to be friends now, and I speak to them daily and increasingly more to assist each other in our everyday jobs.

Those prior experiences have led me to where I am today as an analyst on the IG Credit Trading desk. While the learning curve is admittedly steep, I find myself learning more every day and slowly but surely creating additional value for those that I assist. I have never felt that I am doing monotonous work as a small cog in a giant corporate machine. I am given real responsibility on real work that has real implications, and I have found that to be very rewarding. Through my past, recent, and every day work I look to continue to grow as I continue to move forward.

You might think that coming into banking is work, work and more work, but this isn’t always the case.

MUFG has a Sports & Social Committee who organise several events throughout the year such as this one – White Water Rafting at the Lee Valley White Water Centre. On a Thursday evening in July, 32 employees from a range of departments took the train from Liverpool Street to Waltham Cross, underestimating the challenge ahead.

First, there was a test of your swimming abilities. The novices among us assumed this was to tick a box when it came to health and safety, but we soon realised its importance. After an easy practice run through the course, the wave machines were ramped-up. On subsequent laps of the course, people were being thrown out of boats at each turn, while two of four boats capsized throwing everyone, including the instructor, into the water. The centre’s staff rushed to throw ropes in and get everyone out as quickly as possible!

As each lap passed, the wave machines became more and more vicious. One member of my raft snapped her paddle in half and had to spend the rest of the evening holding onto the side of the boat. At each wave, the instructor would roar “LEAN LEFT!”, and we would all lean to the left to stop us capsizing. For other rafts, this didn’t work out so well.

After two hours on the water, we were physically drained and needed some respite. This respite came in the form of a barbecue and drinks on the centre’s balcony. The barbecue was a good way to meet people from the business in an informal setting and get to know them. Analysts, VP’s and Directors all mingled just as we had in the rafts, and laughed at those who’d fallen into the water. A good evening was certainly had by all.

The evening exemplified the culture at MUFG. There are no barriers between departments and everyone is both open and willing to meet and speak to other people from across the firm. For Analysts like me, this was an invaluable way of hearing more about MUFG and gain an insight into other departments.

During our third week of training on the graduate scheme we had a lunch scheduled without any indication about what the event would involve. All the graduates were discussing what the event would comprise and we were placing bets amongst ourselves as to what it would be. I picked up on a subtle hint that was given and managed to guess correctly, we were to begin the trading simulation!

The trading simulation would take place for a month, where we would be able to buy and sell futures linked to real market prices. We were split into three teams, so not only would we be responsible for our individual profit and loss, we were also responsible for the performance of our team and the organisation overall.

The next day, the simulation began. In total we could trade 25 different future contracts. I started to read the information about the futures that sounded familiar; gold, silver, WTI and currencies to name a few. Over the next week I bought and sold futures, and with every trade I felt that I was gaining a better understanding of why I was performing each trade. We would share tips and strategies with each other in the class. For instance Andrew, an analyst who works for the credit sales group in New York, taught me how to calculate stop loss levels based on the maximum amount of money that I was willing to lose on the trade.

Over the month there were many major news items; wheat hit 7 year lows, uncertainty over the Fed’s interest rate trajectory caused global stocks to suffer their sharpest decline since the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, the ECB’s unchanged stimulus strategy sharply pushed bond yields up and the BOE, BoJ and the Fed all announced that they would keep interest rates unchanged. As each day commenced I spent additional time reading different news sources in order to gain a deeper understanding of the markets that I was trading in. I found it important to always have a view, and that preparation in advance is crucial to ensure that you are fully prepared for all possible outcomes from major announcements.

Overall, I finished with a profit of £1,313,657 and completed 98 trades. However, what I really gained from the experience was a deeper understanding and knowledge about the markets. All the graduates learnt how valuable it was to share trading ideas, with the more experienced teaching the beginners key tips and facts. The trading simulation was a great taster of what it is like to trade in the real markets; I would strongly recommend this experience to anyone!

During my 10-week internship at MUFG, I completed two rotations. My primary rotation was with Prudential Risk Management (PRM) and my secondary placement was with the Rates Trading Group (RTG).

The learning curve for both rotations was exponential – I came into the internship with only a vague knowledge of investment banking. Coincidently the first question I was asked when I sat on my secondary rotation was “what is an investment bank and what exactly do we do?” The question seems pretty obvious, but explaining it was a different story. The lesson I learnt from that experience was before getting into the details, understand the basics.

To get the most out of the internship, I had a specific plan that I devised beforehand. The gate pass works for 10 weeks, that is 50 working days, hence I should at least learn 50 different aspects about the financial sector and, more specifically, how MUFG contribute, within this time.

In terms of day-to-day activities, my work differed between the two divisions. With PRM I was mainly reading Basel papers and implementing the new changes into the current methods used, with the aim of calculating capital requirements for counterparty credit risk. It was imperative I understood the different departments within risk. These include, credit risk, market risk and operational risk. My secondary rotation with RTG was more of a learning placement and gave me huge exposure into how MUFG directly interact with clients and how they price their trades. During this rotation I was given the responsibility of P&L for the traders. Rather than just writing down what figures I was told, I would ask why there was such a swing in the P&L and what exactly caused the deviance. Hence I would be able to follow the markets and see how adverse movements affected each trader.

The 10-week internship was exceptional. Apart from the actual rotations, we had speakers from across the business give us an insight into their departments, therefore broadening our exposure. There were many social events for the interns to network and get to know each other as well as graduates who have joined the firm. The internship has definitely met and gone beyond my expectations. We even had a brunch with the CEO, which was the icing on the cake for me.

At the end of the internship I was lucky enough to be offered a position on the Analyst programme and I now work as an Analyst within our Rates Sales & Trading Team. I would strongly recommend this internship to you, if you are willing to be proactive, willing to treat every day as an opportunity and are willing to be a sponge for information.

It’s been eleven months since I first stepped foot on the 1st floor of 25 Ropemaker Street as a new product control graduate analyst… and now I am writing this blog from the 10th floor of the Hong Kong office. In less than a year, I have been given the opportunity to be involved in an important project for the international business and be exposed to a different culture than mine.

Starting this grad journey from a different place to most of my fellow grads, I got significant desk exposure first, accompanied by rotations and the “welcome” grad training month at the end. Each and every one component of the grad training helped me to secure this 6-month secondment and the opportunity to make a significant impact for the regional coverage in Hong Kong.

It is my first time in Asia but I think I have adapted well. A new team, new challenges and new opportunities lie ahead. While in London, I spent a significant amount of my time interacting with people in Hong Kong by phone and email. At last, what was only a name or email account has given its place to a face, a person. Personal communication is the key for all businesses in order to achieve better results and this is something I have been working on over the last month. MUFG values are key here; people have the same aspirations as in London and share the same goals – so I feel right at home!

I am only at the beginning of this journey and pretty sure that exciting things lie ahead. I look forward to sharing these with the MUFG community in my next blog, accompanied by hopefully my travel experiences in this magnificent continent (coming here and not travelling is impossible!!!).

Each summer at MUFG Securities, the firm opens its doors to a number of interns and business trainees. In addition to the typical training and business shadowing, everybody has the opportunity to spend a day doing voluntary work for local good causes.

As an intern last summer, we teamed up with the City of London Business Trainees to volunteer at a local Islington primary school. We were working with Sofia from Plant Environment, a local charity that provides outdoor-focused environmental education to Islington primary schools, helping to get Montem Primary School’s outdoor spaces ready for the start of term. The sun was shining when we arrived, so we grabbed our paintbrushes and got to work sprucing up old benches and planters while the weather held. It was amazing how a simple lick of paint brought the play areas to life.

We retreated in for lunch just as the rain hit and spent the time chatting with Sofia about her work, and catching up with each other’s news from our latest rotations. The great thing about working at a company like MUFG is that it’s small enough intake that the interns all know each other well at this point, and we can depend on each other to share mutual advice and support. After lunch we got back to work, assembling planters, cleaning up the garden areas, and finishing off the last of the painting. It was great to get lost in the physical work for a while, helping us to recharge from the more intellectual work of our usual working day. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we were all pretty satisfied with what we had achieved over the course of the day, and Sofia was delighted with the progress we’d made. We left on a high, keen to take part in similar activities in the future.

This is just one example of the many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) events that MUFG is involved in throughout the year. Just over the course of my summer internship, we participated in the Baton for Life (a charity run in support of Haven’s Hospices), “dressed down” in August in support of a local Islington youth centre, supported the previous year’s graduates in a 24 hour CSR challenge, and got involved painting and gardening for Plant Environment. All employees are entitled to two days a year separate from their annual leave for them to devote to volunteering, and there is always something charity related going on in the office for us to get involved in. As somebody who has always enjoyed taking part in voluntary work, I love to see the shared enthusiasm for CSR activities that is so evident at MUFG and look forward to getting stuck in, myself.

Blog entry by Milly Green (Analyst, Risk)

The one thing I noticed very early on was how much the firm is willing to invest in its employees.

Right from day one I had a comprehensive training plan designed specifically for me to ensure I developed the knowledge and skills required to do my job. My managers and HR had taken the time to understand what my needs were and designed a programme which was bespoke to me.

I work in the Capital Markets Group in the Hong Kong office, but my manager felt it was important for me to understand the international business. Therefore, I was lucky enough to spend a month with the Capital Markets Group in London followed by another month with the Singapore team.

Spending this time with the international teams has been invaluable as we work very closely together. Being able to meet my colleagues in the other offices and understand what they do has being very helpful. I have expanded my networks across the international business so if I have questions I can simply pick up the phone and ask one of my colleagues.

I really appreciated being given this opportunity as I know it takes a lot of time and resources to arrange bespoke training plans – which is not something all companies offer.

What it demonstrates is the firm’s strategy and vision to invest in and nurture its people – one of the most important engines for growth.

As a new analyst at MUFG, I was particularly looking forward to the four week product and financial training. This would provide an essential foundation for my future career at MUFG by providing me with the basic financial and professional knowledge to help me succeed.

Throughout the past four weeks, we had lectures, conversations with MUFG business leaders, trading simulations, a trade idea presentation and many social networking sessions. I especially enjoyed meeting my colleagues that come from offices from around the world because it exposed me to new ideas that I may not have thought of on my own.

The class was a great opportunity to discover answers to some questions that have been puzzling me for months. For some of my classmates who didn’t have a financial background, they were able to learn about the capital markets businesses and become familiar with the products MUFG offers. Ultimately, we all learned how to recognize appropriate applications for new products and demonstrate how to implement complex strategies with clients. The exams on every Monday were crucial to help us digest the material from the previous week.

We also had business speakers come over every day; some from the London office and some from the New York or Asia offices. We had the opportunity to speak with employees from all levels of the organization; from analysts like us right up to CEO’s from all the international offices. We even got to have lunch with the Head of the International Business – how many grads in other organisations can say that they’ve done that?

Meeting these members of the senior management team really enhanced the training program as it gave us the chance to understand the structure of MUFG, business straregy, client base and international collaboration. Besides this, there were networking sessions after work with MUFG employees. I found this very valuable as I could talk to junior and senior colleagues across the support functions and front office. I am sure the relationships with my colleagues and senior executives will be an asset in the future.

Out of the office and onto the saddle: 30 sets of tired legs and 90 kilometres later, what did we have to show for it? Our team raised £12,500 pounds for charity which the firm matched by donating another £12,500!

A group of 30 employees, including the CEO, set out to tackle a part of the 2014 Tour de France course in the Yorkshire Dales. We took on the nastiest climb in the course (the formidable Buttertubs Pass- at nearly 200m high), and the whole team managed to complete the climb. The challenge wasn’t just to finish but for each participant to raise at least £300 for Help for Heroes; a charity that provides support for members of the UK armed forces that have been injured in the line of duty. With some incredible generosity from MUFG employees, friends and families, we managed to surpass our £9,000 target. It was a brilliant opportunity to meet and have fun with people from across the company and raise money for a great cause!

Working in Debt Capital Markets at MUFG has been an exciting journey. With so much going on, the ability to multitask is essential (juggling seems to me to be a suitable metaphor!). If you like the fulfilling experience of managing different projects, tasks (urgent or long-term, ranging from deal-pitching material preparation, credit analysis to swap market analysis, model building, as well as pricing and execution), you should set your foot in here.

My typical day in the Hong Kong office looks like this:

It all starts with a morning call with the Asia team in Singapore. The call summarises overnight market movement, key events, previously priced bond deal performance and looks ahead at things to watch for the week. I then continue with live deal projects, which could be anything from preparing investor marketing material, to speaking with issuers and clients on specific issues related to deal preparation.

In addition to the live deals, preparing pitch materials takes up quite a lot of my time. This involves a fair bit of PowerPoint and Excel work (including capital structure analysis for the client company, primary market trend summary, key recommendations, etc.). Toward the end of the day, I jump on a call with the European team to get an update on deal pricing summaries and market updates from the other side of the world and to update them on the Asian market. Capital markets is highly reliant on global team collaboration.

The rest of day is dependent on the current workflow, be this long-term projects or helping to put together pitch books.

In summary, I enjoy the broad exposure of working in the DCM team at MUFG and the skills I find myself developing each day. The intensity of work could be a double-edged sword, therefore being able to prioritise and manage your time is essential.

It was Christmas Eve babe… Actually no, quite the opposite, it was thirty-three degrees in the peak of summer when I stepped off the plane and hopped in a taxi to the New York office for my first business trip – I certainly did not expect this level of exposure and responsibility just eighteen months into the role.

I work as a quantitative analyst in the London office; my job involves assisting traders with the pricing and risk management of interest rate derivative products. With a mathematics degree in hand I rolled straight out of university and onto the desk. My initial lack of financial knowledge was not an issue in a company that seeks potential and willingness to learn in its graduates.

Two years ago I didn’t know what an interest rate swap was. Now I’ve had the chance to visit the Big Apple, develop my knowledge and work as a part of an international team. Opportunities like these don’t grow on trees, but if you have the right attitude, work hard and perform well then this company will ensure that you go far.