JEFFERIES PRIVATE CAPITAL ADVISORY ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Tell me about yourself 1) I’ve always been a team player. - Growing up, I dreamed of playing professional baseball. - I dedicated my life to it. - I received some division 1 offers to play centerfield. - Unfortunately, during Junior summer, I tore tendons in my left wrist, so the baseball dream was over. 2) When I got to Northwestern, I kept an open mind. - Freshman year, I joined the Investment Management Club, where I learned about hedge fund and asset management investing strategies. - I was hooked. - Sophomore year, I joined Northwestern Capital Management, where I analyze and pitch tech stocks. - I earned a spot in the Investment Banking Club, where I learn about bankers’ roles in capital markets. 3) Northwestern does not have a standard finance program. - I tailored my curriculum to bolster my finance knowledge. - I am pursuing a Business Institutions degree with classes like Accounting, Corporate Finance, and Marketing. - I also have a strong quantitative background in Micro, Macro, Stat, and Calc. 4) I wanted to pursue as many areas of finance as possible to find my passion A. Sophomore winter, I did a private equity internship at CORE Industrial Partners - conducted proprietary research in the middle market manufacturing space B. Last summer, I did an IB internship at Rush Street Capital - analyzed lender credit quality - performed valuation on PE client acquisitions C. This summer, I worked on the Convertible Bonds desk at Oppenheimer - crafted the desk’s morning note to institutional clients - presented a financial advisor pitch, focused on portfolio deleveraging to a family office - presented two stock pitches to the equities department Why Private Capital Advisory? (GHE) 1) GROWTH - PE secondary market is growing tremendously - increasing importance of alternative capital for liquidity - secondary market will surpass $100bn in 2021 for the first time - rush into the secondary market by fund managers 2) HIGH-PACED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT - hands-on work with GPs and LPs in a lean deal team - participating on multiple active deals with hundreds of millions of dollars in value (if not more) - work under pressure with tight deadlines 3) EXPOSURE TO A MORE DYNAMIC SIDE OF FINANCE - I’ve had internships in PE, IB, and S&T - PCA offers 2 unique opportunities - opportunity to strengthen my interpersonal and marketing skills (pitch books and live deal materials) - opportunity to strengthen my analytical skills (deal execution and fund valuation analysis) Steve Dresner interview tips - Be more animated than less animated - Find common ground, ask them how they're weekend was - Put on an act and tell them you did the same thing - Smile a lot and express confidence 3 strengths (IRB) 1) INTERPERSONAL SKILLS - take an interest in others - very personable - easy to work with 2) RESOURCEFUL - always ask myself what assets I have at my disposal - self-sufficient worker - can figure things out by myself 3) BACKGROUND - broad exposure to PE, IB, and S&T - developed knowledge of different financial services - learned unique skillsets in each internship 3 weaknesses (DPR) 1) In my mid-summer review, I was too focused on details for larger picture - over time, became cognizant about being detail-oriented and then getting project out on time - as I spent more time on the job, became better at checking work 2) PEOPLE PLEASER - trouble saying no - like being a good teammate, friend, and employee - When someone asks for help, I always try to do whatever I can. - But sometimes this can get in the way of my own work. 3) RELUCTANT TO DISAGREE WITH SUPERIORS - found it tough to disagree with my boss. - Sometimes, like in meetings, that was totally appropriate. - But other times, where he would ask what I thought about an issue, I would agree because I thought I didn’t have the experience to offer a differing opinion. - Throughout the summer, though, I learned to trust myself, and recognized that he was only asking for my opinion because he genuinely thought I had something to bring to the table. Why did you attend NU? - looked at Ivys for baseball - NU has excellent academic reputation and balanced student life - quarter system allows me to explore different subjects Why did you major in political science? - primary interests in history and foreign policy - want liberal arts background of political science - liberal arts background has developed my critical-thinking and communication skills - in combo with technical/quant skills of business institutions What has been your favorite class so far? - Principles of Entrepreneurship - the professor taught me so much about presenting, people skills, building relationships - also learned the difficulties of running a business (funding, business plan, operations) In your internship this summer, what feedback did you receive? 2 POSITIVES 1) HARDWORKING - first one in the trading floor in the morning and last one to leave - improved multi-tasking ability 2) ANTICIPATING OTHERS' NEEDS - constantly asked "how can I be helpful" - sending out equity research reports - providing sales client access to conferences - confirming and allocating traders trades 1 AREA OF IMPROVEMENT 1) In my mid-summer review, I was too focused on details for larger picture - over time, became cognizant about being detail-oriented and then getting project out on time - as I spent more time on the job, became better at checking work Discuss an ethical challenge and how you faced it. SITUATION - this summer at Oppenheimer, S&T interns were given a test to assess our technical knowledge TASK - the other 3 interns and I had to complete a 10 question test in 15 mins - no help or outside assistance ACTION - I did the best I could honestly - I noticed that another intern was looking up answers on his phone RESULT - BUT I didn't turn him in - important to act ethically - instead I asked him how I could help catch him up to speed What was a time you had to sacrifice your time for the sake of a team project? SITUATION - this summer at Oppenheimer, I spent a lot of time networking on coffee chats and phone calls TASK - during the last week, I had meeting set up with a couple research associates to learn more about what they do - however, my teammate needed help with the Fortinet pitch ACTION - I'm a team member first - I rescheduled my meetings with the research associates to next week RESULT - I was able to assist my partner - I set up a 30 min call with Fortinet's coverage associate to get more insight into the stock What are primary and secondary funds? - Primary funds: investments into newly formed PE funds - Secondary funds: investors buy existing limited partner PE interests from other limited partners What is a general partner? - General partners: PE funds and private credit managers - All the influence over investment decisions - Fully liable to the market for debts and obligations - Receives 2% management fee and (up to) 20% performance fee (carry) - Attain capital from limited partners What is a limited partner? - Limited partners: investors - Pensions, endowments, HNWI, sovereign wealth, family offices - No influence over investment decisions - Liable for up to the full amount of money invested - Provide capital to general partners What does the duration of a fund look like? 1) Organization