Oyinkansola Ayobiojo is a rising MBA2 and interning at Loop Capital Markets this summer. She is specializing in Finance, Strategy, and Global Business.
NYU Stern’s “Summer Internship Series” sheds light into Sternies’ internship experiences. Posts are written by rising MBA2s who are currently working at their summer internship.
My first three weeks interning at Loop Capital Markets have been great. I have the unique opportunity to sit on the equity capital markets (ECM) desk, which is in between the sales and trading (S&T), and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) groups. I spend about half of my day on projects for ECM and the other half on projects for the healthcare M&A team. My typical day starts at 7:30am with a research call where I listen to the traders discuss the global markets and research analysts discuss their specific companies as well as their rationale behind new reports and/or buy and sell ratings. Listening in on these calls has been an amazing learning opportunity and helps me to better understand the conversations I overhear the sales teams having with investors throughout the day.
On the ECM desk, my responsibilities include creating client materials and case studies on recent equity offerings, updating market data, as well as drafting selling points for equity issues that are about to launch. My team also has weekly calls with coverage investment bankers and research analysts to better understand how we can all work together to win new business and specifically, how the ECM team can position itself to pitch a company on upcoming equity offerings. On the healthcare M&A team, we advise biotechnology companies. I have been assisting the team with live private placements and buy side engagements. Getting up to speed on the biotechnology industry with absolutely no science background has been a bit challenging. However, knowing that these companies are developing treatments for life-threatening diseases has been motivating because I know that helping raise capital will positively impact lives in the future.
One of things I enjoy the most about working at Loop is the culture and the people. My experience at Loop has been unlike the horror stories I have heard about investment banking in the past. The people are very friendly and willing to answer any questions that I have. I work closely with the head of ECM and that has been instrumental to helping me better understand the IPO process. There is no “face time” and unnecessary long nights. All the interns are encouraged to work hard, but smart, and to learn about all aspects of the business, which is something that I will be focused on doing over the next seven weeks. My plan is to shadow some traders and to learn more about the public finance arm of Loop. Additionally, Loop’s lunch room is always stocked with healthy and organic fruits and snacks, which has helped me to stay on track health-wise. I also really love the firm’s location—it is downtown, right on Wall Street and across from the Seaport District! It is such a beautiful location and I typically try to take a 15-minute break to walk by the water!
Overall, I am happy with my decision to join Loop this summer in their New York office. I have been able to explore New York more this summer and was fortunate to attend the Toigo Foundation Annual Gala, where I got to hear Michelle Obama speak! The Toigo Foundation helps MBA students of diverse backgrounds break into the finance industry and then works with them to accelerate and develop their careers. The Foundation raised almost $300,000 at the gala and I am so fortunate to be a Toigo Fellow, and was even more surprised to see my face in front of the stage at the gala! The gala has been one of the highlights of my summer so far and I look forward to more amazing experiences this summer.
