Decoding Wall Street: I-Banking & Private Equity [Jennifer Hwang]

In this episode, I speak with my Stanford classmate Jennifer Hwang. She’s an absolute boss in the professional finance world and she gives the download on recruiting for and working in investment banking, private equity, and hedge funds. Jenn also balances warmth, kindness, and silliness, which is why she is one of my closest friends that I met at business school. I am so excited for you to join our conversation. Let’s dive in!
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⌚️Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:09 Start of podcast
02:53 Cherie’s goals
03:44 Biggest lessons as a content creator
05:22 How has the GSB changed Cherie?
06:19 Dealing with conflict at the GSB
09:06 Jennifer’s background
10:40 IB vs PE vs Growth Equity
13:11 Funding by company stage
14:05 Private equity explained
14:55 Investment banking explained
15:48 Public vs private investing
16:51 Public investing roles defined
18:58 Hedge funds explained
20:28 Traits needed for IB and PE
22:16 Transition from IB to growth equity
25:06 Process from IB to PE roles
25:32 Lack of diversity in finance
26:35 Are IB analysts prepared to jump to PE in only 3 months?
27:34 Training process for new grads
29:24 How research in undergrad influenced Jennifer postgrad
30:21 Cherie’s experience in research labs
32:42 Sacrificing your 20s for future success
36:00 Compensation structure for finance
37:39 Base + bonus for PE junior analyst
38:27 Base + bonus for PE VPs
40:50 What Jennifer likes about growth equity
42:43 Jennifer’s favorite brands
43:39 Traits needed to succeed in finance
44:45 Late nights in finance
45:56 Finance or “finance”
46:39 Protected weekends
48:48 “In-day” at LinkedIn
49:37 Investment banking long hours
51:04 What has Jennifer learned in the last 5 years?
52:12 GSB being a break from the work world
53:40 Life giving vs life draining endeavors
54:31 Importance of mental health in work
55:28 Should you make your passion your job?
57:33 The next 5 years for Jennifer
59:15 Where did Cherie see herself today as a child?
01:00:29 Did Cherie want to be an entrepreneur growing up?
01:02:15 Jennifer’s favorite class at GSB
01:03:52 Cherie’s favorite class at GSB
01:05:20 Why are Stanford students so passionate in class?
01:07:28 Cherie’s legacy
01:10:42 What Jennifer looks forward to in remaining time at GSB
01:11:52 Closing thoughts
ABOUT ME
Hello friends, thanks for watching! My name is Cherie and I'm a content creator, Stanford MBA student, & former LinkedIn senior product manager 👋🏻 I share personal career stories on Cherie's Corner Podcast via KZbin and Instagram, so you can learn from my friends and our successes and failures, all while owning our authentic selves and living happier lives.
Music produced by Sammy Signal open.spotify.com/artist/2Hsyk...

[@user-vw9nk5lq7b]

Thank you so much for this as I’m someone who wants to make career out of Investing Banking.All the insights regarding IB were great.You are so fun to watch and inspiring as well:) Thanks once again.

[@mitalikhade4849]

Hey Cherie! I love your videos and content, and it has been a constant motivation for me to work towards my B-School journey! I am interested to working in climate and sustainability consulting and would love to hear more if you know someone who has had experience working in the same. Thank you for sharing this amazing content and keep creating more :)

[@sarthaksharma2487]

This was so informative!!

[@user-ry5kf8wr7s]

Hi Cherie- Like FI vs Finance, why (Shuh-Ree) why not (CHE-Ree?). This was wonderful. Some real gold: 'Trust is consistency over time'. Respect/don' avoid conflict. Always learning when Jen speaks. I would enjouy a bit more about 'Mutual funds' in the public investing world. Good luck with your families. My mother had all four of my siblings after 40. She recently passed away at 98. You will be excellent. bt

[@emmyadelle]

This was wonderful - you're both very inspiring. Sincerely, an undergraduate interested in an investing career :)

[@AndrosRosas]

Hi Cherie ! Thanks for sharing this amazing discussion, it has been super informative, finally I could clarify some doubts about finance. It was also pretty reflective, some thoughts have arise from hearing your experiences.

[@cherie.brooke]

I'm so glad to hear that it helped :)

[@chriscarmine4869]

Skip the first 10 minutes.

[@abdelghanibekkouche]

😂😂 thank you !

[@renrustandi]

Hi Cherie, could you tell me about her future career? will she join back to Growth Equity or continue at Lone Pine Capital? Thanks!

[@sandramadu4977]

Great informative interview! You look like sisters😊

[@user-ts7uf7cr8o]

11:25 16:20 16:35 17:40 17:50 18:05 19:15 20:54

[@holdenangeles]

Wish I could hear her better

[@cherie.brooke]

Noted on the mic issue- should be fixed for next time!

[@user-vw9nk5lq7b]

Thank you so much for this as I’m someone who wants to make career out of Investing Banking.All the insights regarding IB were great.You are so fun to watch and inspiring as well:) Thanks once again.

[@user-vw9nk5lq7b]

Thank you so much for this as I’m someone who wants to make career out of Investing Banking.All the insights regarding IB were great.You are so fun to watch and inspiring as well:) Thanks once again.