10/13/2008

Vol II Issue I
 Wednesday Thursday

1 16 Note: All events have a business casual Bruin Consulting Resume Workshop
Thursday Friday dress code unless otherwise specified Co-hosted with Bearing Point
Ackerman 3517
2 17 10/13
7pm-9pm
Friday Saturday UBS General Meeting
Covel North Ridge Room
3 18 7pm-9pm Accenture Info Session
Career Center 2nd Floor Lab
Saturday Sunday
Bain & Co. Ace-the-Case 7pm-9pm
October 2008

4 19 Workshop
Tom Bradley International Hall BREA Low Impact Development &
Sunday Monday Stormwater Practices
5pm-7pm
Co- hosted with Geosyntec
5 20 Consultants
10/14
Monday Tuesday 8pm-9:30pm
Kerckhoff Grand Salon
6 21 PricewaterhouseCoopers Info
Session
Tuesday Wednesday Covel South Bay Room 10/16
5pm-9pm
7 22 NCCI Holdings Info Session
Navigant Consulting Career Center 3rd Floor Conf. Room A
Wednesday Thursday
Career Center 3rd Floor Conf. 3pm- 5pm
8 23 Room A
SAS Meet the Firms
Thursday Friday 6pm-8pm
Tom Bradley International Hall
6pm- 9pm
9 24 10/15
Dress: Business Professional
Friday Saturday SAS: Deloitte Recruiting
Accenture Info Session and Panel
10 25 Presentation—IFRS
Ackerman 3517 Discussion
Saturday Sunday 12pm-1pm Covel Northridge Room
Dress: Casual 7pm-9pm
11 26
LECG Info Session ZS Associates
Sunday Monday
Career Center 2nd Floor Lab Career Center 3rd Floor Conf. Room A
12 27 5pm-7pm 7pm-9pm

Monday Tuesday 10/19

BAY: Deloitte and Ernst & Young—
13 28 Teamwork and Effective
UBS Financial Services Night
Communication
Tuesday Wednesday Career Center Conf. Room A and B Tom Bradley International Hall
7pm-9pm
14 29 6pm-7pm

Wednesday Thursday Deloitte Consulting Resume 10/20

Workshop for Business
15 30 Technology Analysts Mercer Info Session
Tom Bradley International Hall Career Center 2nd Floor Lab
Friday
6:30pm- 9pm 5:30pm-7:30pm
31
UBS MBA Night
Covel North Ridge Room
7pm-9pm

2
BREA Real Estate Investment Management
Co-hosted with JPMorgan Real Estate
7pm-9pm
Kerckhoff Grand Salon

10/21

Triage Consulting Info Session

Tom Bradley International Hall
6:00pm-7:30pm

Deloitte Consulting Info Session

Tom Bradley International Hall
7:30pm- 9pm

10/22

SAS Ernst & Young Recruiting Presentation— Table of Contents

Audit vs. Tax
Ackerman 3517 Calendar [2-3]
12pm-1pm
Dress: Casual Letter from the Editor [4]
The Financial Crisis Overview [5-7]
Deloitte Consulting- Human Capital Info Session
Strathmore 117 The Financial Crisis and You [8-9]
7pm-9pm Professor Interview [10-12]
10/23
News Briefs [13-14]
Resume Tips [15-16]
BAY BDO Seidman—10 Dark Secrets of Account-
ing
Interview Tips [17]
Bunche 3164 Bruinview Tutorial [18-21]
6pm-8pm Recruiting Overview [22-23]
10/25 Business Industry Profiles [24-25]
Other Industry Highlights [26]
BREA ARGUS software training
UCLA Extension Ameriprise Profile [27-28]
10am-4pm
Note: to sign up, e-mail brea@ucla.edu

10/29

SAS:BDO Seidman Recruiting Presentation—

Interviewing Skills
Ackerman 3517
12pm-1pm
Dress: Casual

BAY Rothstein Kass—Accounting in Hedge Funds

Ackerman View Point Conference Room 1
5pm-7pm

3
 A Letter from the Editor...

Dear Readers:
Welcome to a new volume of Bruin Business Review. For our returning readers, we greatly appreciate
your continued support of our publication; for our new subscribers, welcome. We hope that this issue
begins a new journey of knowledge for you as you navigate your way through a new school year, a new
recruiting season, or a new interest in the world of business and the economy.

Bruin Business Review was founded last year as a free source of up-to-date information about the current
business environment, the economy, job opportunities in business industries, and much, much more. We
sincerely hope that each time you read Bruin Business Review, you will gain a new understanding of what
is going on in the economy around us, industries in which you may one day immerse yourself, tips for
getting your dream job or internship, and all the business-related events that occur everyday on the
UCLA campus.

Since last year, we have aimed to bring to you content that we think pertain to your interests and goals
and we tried to do so in a way that is clear and non-technical so that you don’t have to have a business
background to understand it. We will undoubtedly continue to do so this year and in all years in our fu-
ture.

But because this publication was founded to help you get the information you need, we ask that you give
us feedback and suggestions as to which topics are of interest to you. We also solicit your opinion on the
quality and content distribution of our issues so that we may better serve your needs. We want to know
what you, the reader, think we can do to bring a better Bruin Business Review each issue.

Now we invite you to a new year of Bruin Business Review and hope that this is indeed the place for you
to get your business information needs about the economy at large, business job opportunities, industry
insights, and campus business events. Happy reading!

Sincerely,

Joanne Hou

Editor-in-Chief

4
 The Financial
Crisis—How
Did We Get
Here?
By Fred Kim
Senior Staff Writer

Americans in these past few weeks have been gripped by the crisis in the U.S. financial markets, which has
not only devastated Wall Street but has also stuck fear on Main Street. Some Americans have seen their retirement
savings wiped out. Home owners have seen the value of their properties decline for the last year or two; business
owners now have difficulty raising capital and students face a tougher job market. It seems like every aspect of the
financial system from the housing market to bond market is seriously hurt. What caused this series of massive
financial turmoil that does not seem to end anytime soon?

1. After 9/11

After September 11, 2001, the Federal Reserve lowered the interest rate to stimulate the economy. It was
not particularly concerned with potential inflation; after all, much of the manufacturing outsourcing had taken place
so developing countries like China were pumping out goods cheaply. This was increasing the likelihood of deflation
and thus counteracting inflation.

2. Uncontrolled mortgage lending

With an unprofitable stock market after the Tech bubble burst in 2001 and a low yield in fixed income due to
lowered interest rates, people started to look into the housing market for higher returns. People were ready to
pursue higher return even though that translated into higher risk. Mortgage lenders, too, were willing to take higher
risks by giving out loans to home buyers with bad credit at a higher interest rate, which were called subprime
mortgages. After all, interest rates were low and housing prices were increasing so the risk they were bearing
seemed reasonably low. Those who defaulted on mortgage payments would simply refinance at lower rates, or
worse, sell the house at a higher price. In fact, subprime mortgages became extremely popular. Basically, mortgage
lenders were assuming bigger risk for potentially larger profit. By 2007, this type of lending accounted for 20% of all
mortgages written, or $2.6 trillion.

Increasing demand in housing resulted in a housing bubble which burst in the middle of 2006. In 2007, the
default rate was at an all time high and, even worse, home sales were falling.

5
 3. Spillover Effect

As mentioned earlier, fixed income was suffering from low interest in the
early part of this decade. Then Wall Street started to increase its trading of financial
instruments that are backed by mortgages, including subprime ones. The value of
these securities was contingent on the payment of the mortgage and if the
homeowners defaulted, they would become worthless. Investors both foreign and
domestic loved to buy these higher yielding mortgage backed securities. In response
to this increased demand in mortgage backed assets, banks purchased more and
more mortgages (largely subprime) from lenders such as Countrywide and started
to create more exotic instruments that were associated with the mortgages. One
important note is that when the banks bought these mortgages from the lenders,
the lenders no longer bore the risk associated with the mortgage default. Thus, the
lenders started an irrational lending spree in order to maximize their profit by
earning loan processing fees.

4. Party’s over

The seemingly endless skyrocketing of housing price eventually ended. Most subprime borrowers, who were
betting that home prices go up so that they can refinance to lower their rates, were unable to make payment on their
mortgages. Massive numbers of default and foreclosure ensued. Through a ripple effect, the mortgage backed
securities became worthless overnight. A great amount of liquidity evaporated, leading to the collapse of a number of
lending institutions, which caused the availability of credit to decrease dramatically.

5. Chain of Blame

It is not possible to pinpoint one guilty entity for this financial mess. In fact, multiple parties contributed to this
disaster, which has affected the majority of Americans.
First, there are the mortgage lenders who were originating
mortgages. Their insatiable thirst for loan processing fees led them
to irresponsibly give out mortgages to those who did not have the
ability to pay back the loan. They could do this because the risk of
default was transferred to investment banks, who created asset
backed securities and in the process took over the burden of
defaulting loans.

Home buyers are also as much to blame. Many of them

were assuming excessive risk by purchasing houses that they could
not afford. Basically, they were speculating that the price of their
houses would rise, which will enable them to refinance at lower
interest rates and pull equity out of their houses .

Banks definitely encouraged the irrational practice of

subprime lending. They were creating and selling assets that pooled
mortgages into a security. These securities, such as a CDO (Collateral Debt Obligation) or a CMO (Collateral Mortgage
Obligation), were backed by the mortgages, and the default of these mortgages would make the CDOs and CMOs
worthless.

In addition, credit ratings agencies such as Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s gave irrationally high ratings to risky
CDOs. In fact, some CDOs and CMOs defaulted while still rated at the highest possible rating level. The regulators also
did not foresee this collapse and implemented few measures to prevent this financial mess. No one is certain about the
future fate of the financial system and the economy. However, many are hoping that the $700 billion bail-out plan will
be a stepping stone in fixing this failed system.

6
 6. Notable Events In 2008

January 2008: Bank of America announced its plan to acquire

Countrywide Financial for $4 billion in stock. Countrywide avoided
bankruptcy in 2007 after a group of banks injected an emergency
loan of $11 billion into the ailing mortgage giant.

March 2008: Six months after two of its funds that invested in the
subprime market collapsed, Bear Stearns was acquired for $10 a
share by JPMorgan Chase, thus narrowly avoiding bankruptcy. The
deal was backed by Federal Reserve providing up to $30 billion to
cover possible Bear Stearns’ losses.

September 2008: Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America

amidst fears of a liquidity crisis.

Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection after it reported

record losses and creditors lost confidence in the investment bank.

The US Federal Reserve loaned $85 billion to American

International Group (AIG) to avoid bankruptcy after it ran into an
acute liquidity shortage.

Washington Mutual was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation, and its banking assets were sold to JP MorganChase
for $1.9 billion.

The last stand-alone bulge bracket investment banks Goldman

Sachs and Morgan Stanley changed their status to commercial
banks and will acquire a commercial bank arm to stabilize their balance sheets.

October 2008: Citigroup and Wells Fargo are battling to take over Wachovia. Initially, Citigroup had agreed to pay $2
billion to acquire most of Wachovia assets with the government assuming a part of potential losses. On October 3,
however, Wells Fargo offered $15.4 billion to buy Wachovia without any governmental help. Executives from Citigroup
and Wachovia had signed an exclusivity agreement which states that Wachovia cannot negotiate mergers deal with any
other companies. However, Citigroup did not sign a definitive merger with Wachovia. Citigroup later dropped its fight
against Wells Fargo for the right to buy Wachovia, leaving Wells Fargo as the buyer.

Congress passed a $700 billion bailout plan that would attempt to stabilize the frozen credit market by buying toxic,
illiquid assets from banks so that banks can start providing credit to the economy. The House of Representatives
originally rejected the bailout package, causing the Dow Jones Industrials to suffer its largest single day loss ever.

The Dow Jones had its worst week in history during the week of 10/6-10/10, in which the Dow Jones Industrials lost
18% or 1,874 points over those five days.

The European Union agreed to guarantee bank refinancing , interbank lending, and the survival of major banks.

The Treasury Department considers buying stakes in banks to help them restart flow in the credit markets.

7
 The Financial
Crisis and You
By Jaeman Kim
Staff Writer

The past few weeks will likely change the way Wall Street operates forever. Several major firms have been
bailed out, some have been taken over by other firms, and most recently, a $700 billion dollar bailout bill was passed.
But many have not yet fully grasped how these series of events affect everyone outside of Wall Street. In other words,
how is this going to affect you?
The most important thing to understand is that for the average person, the biggest impact will be in the
credit market. The credit market includes everything from treasury bonds and notes, to home mortgages and college
loans. But first, where did all these problems come from?
The current financial crisis can be blamed on subprime mortgages and the housing bubble. For several years,
banks and mortgage lenders have been giving out loans to those who, at least in retrospect, should not have
qualified for them. Referred to as subprime mortgages, these loans are
meant for those with credit ratings that are not quite as good as those who
would qualify for prime mortgages, and therefore come with higher
interest rates. However, banks were handing them out without fully
considering the risk that came with them. They either should have been
more selective when giving out these loans, or they should have raised
interest rates to cover the higher default risks.
The banks, however, knowing that firms like Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac would ultimately buy these mortgages and thus effectively
moved the risk away from themselves, freely gave out the loans. Then, as
housing prices started declining, people began to default on their
mortgages.
As a result, the financial companies began to fail and became
unable to pay their debts, and lenders started to become nervous and were
lending less and less. Since banks, who run their day to day operations by
borrowing money, are now unable to borrow as much money as they did
before, they also are less able to lend money out to their borrowers.
So, back to the original question. How is all this going to affect you?
First, credit cards. Interest rates on credit cards are calculated using what is
Ben Bernanke Chairman of the U.S. called Libor (London interbank offered rate), a widely used bank-to-bank
Federal Reserve lending rate. Due to the financial crisis, Libor has gone up, meaning higher
interest payments on credit cards.
Secondly, many of you are going to graduate from UCLA, and therefore need to find a job.
Unfortunately, it is very possible that this financial crisis will have a large impact on the current job market.
Unemployment has already risen 1% since the fall of Bear Stearns. Obviously, jobs in banking, finance, and real estate
will take a hit, as that is where the problem started. Still, other sectors of the job market will be affected, too.
Industries that rely on customers who use credit to buy their goods will likely slow down. For example, auto financing
8
is now less available, and as a result, car sales have also dropped. How the Financial Crisis
More important to those reading this article, however, may be student
May Affect You...
loans. A large percentage of students use loans to finance their education and
the financial crisis may make it harder to get approved for one. Almost 140
lenders have stopped funding federal student loans and another 33 have
stopped funding their private programs. The hardest hit have been students at
community colleges, technical schools, and private schools. So students at
UCLA may not have to worry too much. Still, PLUS loans, also known as Parent
loans, which are credit score dependent loans made out to parents who have
Credit Cards: Interest rates on
dependent children, have fallen significantly by 29%. It is very possible that
credit cards, which are connected to
some students will begin to find it harder to get a loan. Libor (London interbank offered
Most obviously affected is the housing market, the source of all the rate) may go up.
mayhem. While most of you are probably not looking to buy a house anytime
soon, it is still important to understand the current condition of the housing
market. First, the good news. Houses are now cheaper than they have been in
years, and they may continue to drop heading
into 2009. The bad news, however, is finding a
way to finance. Mortgage rates are still where
they were at the beginning of the year at
around 6%, which is not too bad. The problem
is trying to get approved for a loan. As banks
are strapped for cash, they are now looking
Job Market: Due to the current
for less risky borrowers. In other words, you economic situation, there may be a
need a good credit score. If you have a bad negative impact on the job market,
credit score, expect to pay much higher including industries outside of
interest rates, or you may not even get finance.
approved at all.
Due to the state of the economy,
everything from gas to food will begin to cost
Henry Paulson United States more. But now is also a good time to start
Treasury Secretary
looking at the way that you spend your money.
As more and more people begin the face the reality of an economy that is
slowing down, it may become necessary to keep track of your spending. This
can be as simple as writing down all your purchases to stay aware of where Student Loans: Students who use
loans to fund their education may
your money is going. One thing that you may not realize is that most of your
find it harder to get approved for
money may be going to things you do not really give a thought to, like the cup one due to the credit crisis.
of coffee you have every morning. Several dollars a day can add up. Just
keeping track of your spending will allow you to cut back on unnecessary items.
For others, now might be a time to change the way they are investing
their money. For example, for those who invest in the stock market, the
financial crisis should be a wake-up call to diversify the stocks they invest in,
not only in the types of industries they have their money in, but also investing
globally.
As we head into what looks like a possible recession according to some
economists, prices may rise and living costs will go up. But smart spending and
saving will help everyone get through the difficult times ahead.
Mortgages: For those that are
looking to buy property soon, it will
become more difficult to get
approved for a mortgage as banks
are becoming more careful about
who they lend to.

9
 INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR THOMPSON: The Bailout
By Grace Chan
Senior Staff Writer

Professor Earl A. Thompson graduated from UCLA with B.A. honors,

studied at the London School of Economics, and later received his M.A.
and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. Throughout the years,
he has received many grants and awards from different foundations
and institutions, written over 43 published articles and is in the
process of penning more books.

BBR: Do you support the bailout plan, why or why not?

Thompson: Oh, I call it the giant band-aid. If not, it’s going to do just about nothing. It will do a little. It will prevent a
few bankruptcies, but that’s not the real solution.

BBR: The goal of the plan was just to free up the credit, like make the banks less wary about lending out their money,
right?

Thompson: It will help do that. But there is a better way to do it. The better way to do it is just to immediately increase
the paper money supply. Increase the supply of Federal Reserve notes. The Federal Reserve has independence, and it
could do it itself. All it has to do is go out, print out a bunch of fresh notes, and buy quality U.S. treasury securities, it
doesn’t have to buy any junk mortgages, and this is traditional.

BBR: Why do you think they’re not doing that right now?

Thompson: I just have conjectures. One conjecture is that Bernanke, the head of the Fed, responded to the
recessionary shocks of mid-2006, when the real estate crash began, to the end of 2007, when there was a suddenly
falling real estate market. Roughly the same time there were rapidly rising oil import prices. Think about it, both of
these shocks are recessionary: they create unemployment. They decrease the demand for labor, and so they threaten
full employment. Bernanke in that period increased money supply about 10%, he appropriately responded to the
recessionary shocks of the 2006-20007 era.
I considered him a hero because prior monetary authorities had not done that. They just allowed the
recessions to occur. Why? Because they were bankers, and bankers don’t mind recessions. In fact, the banks gain
because they are in a position of owning securities that pay them a constant number of dollars every year. Bonds, loans,
and their asset-positions are constant dollar denominated.
If there is an increase in the price level, then those dollars are worth less in real terms, so they hate inflation.
The banker, the profession of banker is to hate inflation, and so if you hire as the head of the Federal Reserve one of
these professional bankers, you’re guaranteeing an insensitivity to recessionary shocks, rather what you have are
recessions. Now, what Bernanke did that made him exceptional is that he responded to the recessionary shocks of
2006-2007 appropriately by increasing the money supply and general price level by like I said, about 10%. Beautiful.
And that prevented recession, and so we didn’t have a recession in 2007. And the investors said, aha now we
understand Bernanke. And so, in 2008 there is a sharper decline in house prices; there is a bubble that’s bursting, so
house prices decline even more—that’s recessionary. When people are poorer they are not going to spend as much on
goods. Similarly the oil prices rose, which makes it harder for them to buy things. That’s recessionary and its lowers
their productivity at work, because there is less oil to complement their labor, and so that’s going to decrease
equilibrium wages. They’re both going to decrease equilibrium wages, but the workers don’t respond well when you
decrease equilibrium wages. It takes them a long time to accept lower wages, so it creates unemployment. So these
are recessionary shocks that hit in the first half of 2008. And he should have done what he did before, which was
beautiful, just increase the money supply.

10
 This is background. So what happened is that all the speculators saw what he did in 2007, and said, ‘Aha, he’s
going to increase the money supply like he did before,’ which is beautiful, which is what he should do. He saw the
speculators bid up the price of assets, so you saw commodity prices take off. What was that based on? It was based on
the expectation that Bernanke was going to print out more money to fight this recession. He saw those price increases,
and he said, ‘That’s just speculation. I’m not going to reinforce that by increasing the money supply, so I’m not going to
increase the money supply. I want to defeat the speculators.’ So Bernanke wouldn’t lower the discount rate, which was
what he did before, in response to this latest shock. Discount rate should be at 0%. So Bernanke is maybe under the
influence of the creditors; maybe he thinks speculative profits are immoral; maybe he is a closet democrat and he
doesn’t want to support the re-election of the Republicans; maybe he thought it would create long-term inflation;
maybe he thought that investors would be foolish enough to continue that expectation.
So in any case, he starved the economy of money this year. As banks are losing liquidity and these other
institutions are losing liquidity, He acquired Bear Sterns, so he’s putting money into the system there in special little
situations. So if you look at money supply statistics, they rise, but only because there is a higher demand for money
right in these special little situations. So if you respond to a higher demand for money with a higher supply of money
that’s not going to expand the economy; that’s not going to do anything to the economy. You have to increase the
money supply even more than that. You would have seen that if he had lowered the discount rate more, but he kept it
frozen when he should have lowered it big time.
So you saw commodity prices like oil and all that collapse. Some of those speculators like Bear Sterns, Merrill Lynch,
and other financial institutions are betting that there’s going to be price increase, and so they are buying these
mortgages because the mortgage holders are going to gain a lot from inflation in that house prices will increase. All
these big financial institutions are buying these mortgage packages, betting on monetary expansion, just like those
commodity holders, so those portfolios collapsed, just like all those commodities. But they had a huge leverage on this
position. They really bet big money on it, and they borrowed tons of money in order to acquire these mortgage
portfolios. So as soon as these prices decline a little bit, because they borrowed so much, now these financial
institutions are illiquid. They are ready to go bankrupt.

BBR: I know that the U.S. decided not to bailout Lehman Brothers, but they bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
why is that?

Thompson: One is a bigger deal. You’re talking trillions, like $5 trillions *in the case of Freddie and Fannie+; in Lehman
Brothers’ case you’re talking less than $1 trillion.

BBR: Are they doing us a favor, the people down at the bottom, by rescuing these firms?

Thompson: Yes, they are saving bankruptcy proceedings. Bankruptcy proceedings are where you have a judge and a
bunch of lawyers getting involved, *stopping+ up resources, and they don’t know how to manage it any better than our
treasury bureaucrats. They’ll manage it in the interests of the state, rather than the interest of the lawyers and the
judges. So it’s not that bad of an idea when we take these guys over. But the whole thing is preventable by just doing
the right job and printing out money. See its basic root is not the real-estate crash, that’s just environment. That called
for an increase in the money supply and then nothing would happen, it would have been just fine. This is just declining
real-estate values, and if you had a correct monetary response, there wouldn’t have been a financial panic of any sort,
nothing.

BBR: How does the $700 bailout help out the taxpayers?

Thompson: It’s a band-aid. It’s preventing these *financial firms+ from going under. Taxpayers are going to get the
mortgages in return, so it won’t be that bad. It’s going to be mismanaged. These guys aren’t natural creditors. They
don’t know how to do it right, it’s inefficient, but the private foreclosure process involves kicking people out of their
houses. Private bankruptcies involves all these lawyers and judges, these are costly. If the government takes it over, it
is going to be able to do it at a less social cost because it is not going to kick the guys out of their houses as much,
especially with a Democratic legislature. It puts constraints on it. This is socialistic because government is going to own
these bad mortgages that require operation. Government operation is more humane. It’s more sensitive

11
to real people and their loses. So there’s something to say for the bailout for that reason, but the bailout is
unnecessary! If you print out the money, then these people are going to have higher house prices, and almost all of
them are going to be willing to pay off their mortgages because their houses are worth more. The reason for all the
foreclosures is that the house price is below the mortgage owed. What we need is a 10% increase in prices, which will
increase those house prices by 10%.. People who feel like it’s hopeless, who feel that they’re just going to walk away
from their mortgages, will get back into it, and will pay it off, so you’re not going to have the foreclosures. That’s all you
have to do: do what the investors thought was the only reasonable thing. Investors had it right, and the Fed shouldn’t
have worked to defeat the expectation of the speculators.

BBR: Are there any adverse effects to increasing the money supply?

Thompson: If you are a bond holder, if you just hold bonds, you will take a loss. The only people that are pure bond
holders are ultra-rich and those are mostly municipal bonds, so municipal bond holders have been suffering the last
few months, because everybody has been expecting this monetary increase which will make their bonds worth less. So
there is a wide-spread abandonment [of these bonds].

BBR: Why did all the investment banks borrow all that money to invest in the mortgage-back securities?

Thompson: They were speculating. They knew there should be higher prices, [so they were] going way out on a limb
and then going bankrupt. They were not looking at the long run; they knew that there was a good fraction of bad
mortgages in those packages, but not ridiculously high, maybe like 20%. But if the underlying house prices rise, they’re
going to make a capital gain because they didn’t have to pay much for them. They got it at a discount and they
expected that the prices would rise. They were doing what everybody else was doing from March to July—they were
speculating their heads off because they were sure [Bernanke] was going to increase the money supply.

BBR: Regarding stocks, is this a good time to buy or sell?

Thompson: Buy. If I were to bet on it in days, buy stock tomorrow, because it’s just a matter of days before the price
jumps. I switched into very illiquid assets. You don’t spend any time thinking about whether you buy or sell things, and
that’s how an academic should do things. An academic, especially an economist, should never get involved in day to
day speculation, or even month to month, he should be involved in very illiquid assets so that he doesn’t have to
occupy his mind with this nonsense, so that’s what I do.

BBR: Any advice to students graduating soon, regarding the job market?
Thompson: This thing is going to turn around. I think that the attack on the middle class is ending. So part of that attack
was that normal executives, young executives, were really struggling. Yeah they get good jobs once in a while, but they
work them miserably for years and normally they wouldn’t get to the top. The top are the elites, the only place there is
big money, and normally they don’t get there. Life for the middle executive, which is what most of the students are
aiming for, is looking up. I think things are looking up for the masses. Society is going to be trying to benefit them, and
therefore make the democracies look better in the world. I think there is a little bit of hope in that thought, a little bit
of bias towards optimism there. But for this little thing we’re going through, I think that it’s going to cure itself because
Bernanke can’t stay that stupid. It’s just a matter of days before he wants a higher price level and he realizes his error.

12
 News Briefs

By Shannon Kung
Senior Staff Writer

Fed slashes interest rates

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday which lowered the federal funds rate to 1.5 percent as a part of
a coordinated movement by six central banks, including the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. This cut
was in response to the dismal forecast from new economic reports ranging from recession, deep recession, and
depression. Many analysts believe that this is a step towards restoring confidence, and Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson praised the move as a sign that world banks are working together to support the global economy.

Citi ends talks over Wachovia

Citigroup has announced that it is no longer interested in buying any part of Wachovia’s assets and has ended talks
with Wells Fargo over the proceedings. Citi and Wells Fargo have been embroiled in litigation over the purchase of
Wachovia for the past week. Although Citi is no longer seeking to block the merger, it will still ask for damages from
the two banks for breach of contract. The Fed announced that has approved Wells Fargo’s $12.2 billion purchase of
Wachovia. This Wells Fargo victory will give the bank, whose operations are largely located in the Midwest and on
the West Coast, a much greater presence in the Southeast and on the East Coast.

AIG gets additional loan

Insurance giant AIG has acquired an additional $37 billion loan from the Federal Reserve. This follows a $85 billion
dollar loan the Fed agreed to lend AIG just three weeks prior. The Fed decided to save AIG from imminent
bankruptcy, claiming that the AIG’s collapse would have dire consequences for the already ailing financial markets.
In return for the extra $37 billion cash injection, AIG will give the New York Federal Reserve investment-grade, fixed
income securities that had traditionally only been lent out to institutions on a fee-basis. Upon hearing the news,
many institutions are now returning the securities and demanding their money back.

13
 Morgan Stanley receives Fed backing

Investment bank Morgan Stanley has received regulatory clearance to sell a 20% stake to Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ.
The sale would provide Morgan Stanley with a much needed money infusion that will help to reduce leverage ratios
and strengthen its capital. This deal follows the Federal Reserve’s decision to allow Morgan Stanley and Goldman
Sachs, previously stand along investment banks, to now have a commercial banking arm, which would help to stabilize
their balance sheets.

Moody’s May Drop Morgan Stanley’s Rating

Rating agency Moody’s Investor Services announced that it may decrease Morgan Stanley’s investment credit rating
due to concerns that the current financial situation will negatively affect earnings and investor confidence. In August,
Morgan Stanley’s credit rating was cut from Aa3 to A1. Currently, Morgan Stanley has the 5 th highest credit rating.
According to Bloomberg analysis, it is crucial that Morgan Stanley close the deal with Mitsubishi UFJ in order to keep its
current score.

Iceland’s Financial Collapse

Iceland is experiencing a total collapse in its financial institutions which struggled under the weight of foreign debt.
Iceland’s main banks, Glitnir Bank, Landsbanki Island and Kaupthing, were unable to finance about $61 billion dollars
worth of debt, causing the government to seize control of the banks and takeover the financial industry. This failure
has affected 420,000 British and Dutch investors and has frozen countless assets. All trading in their equity markets are
suspended until Monday and the government may borrow money from Russia and ask the International Monetary
Fund to help guarantee deposits.

Tech Industry Affected by Financial Crisis

The technology sector, which had previously been relatively unscathed by the financial crisis, is now feeling the effects
of the credit crunch. Until recently, the tech industry functioned normally due to strong international sales and a weak
dollar. Their limited exposure to the credit markets stemming from little debt on their balance sheets created a sort of
complacency that the tech industry has rudely been awakened from following the turmoil of the past few weeks. Tech
companies are now struggling with an ever decreasing demand and venture capitalists are having trouble raising new
funds. Many tech companies are now putting more emphasis on cutting costs and trying to be profitable.

14
From Nothing to
Something:
Maximizing Your

Resume
By Benjamin Lo
Staff Writer

Many students are intimidated by the idea of a resume because they hold the misconception that they do not have
the adequate information to make their resume stand out. This does not have to be you.

Creating your personal resume is an art. Your resume is one of the most important aspects toward landing that
dream internship or job that you have been waiting for, yet many people fail to create a resume that optimizes all
their positive skills and experiences for the position.

Every resume is unique. They should be tailored toward a specific applicant and toward a specific job. Subsequently,
your resume does not need to follow every systematic rule your generic guide states you must abide by.

Don’t Have Much?

You should think of your resume as a marketing opportunity – a crucial chance for you to communicate to your
potential employer why you are the best candidate for the position. You do not need an endless list of activities and
awards to stand out against your competition.

Often times, students are turned away from the job market because they feel they lack the proper work experience
or activities to create a resume that can compete against other applicants. Like any marketing campaign, you just
need to understand what the company is looking for and how you
could benefit them. “Students with limited experience do not
need to have resumes that are less
Keeping this in mind, you must ask yourself how you can make impressive than those who have more work
yourself stand out as the best candidate for the position. What does experience.”
the position require? What is the company looking for? How can you
put yourself ahead of the competition?

There are many simple things you can do to help maximize your resume even if you do not have as much work
experience as the applicant next to you. Two overlooked points that can help optimize a mediocre resume are the
format and the diction of your resume.

FORMAT

Many resume guides will tell you to follow a specific one-page format yet this is often not the case. There is no need
for you to force your own background into a traditional resume format that is designed to highlight the
traits of someone who has been a manager their entire lives.

15
If you have minimal work experience you should consider formatting your resume into a more functional style, which
highlights the positive traits you do possess such as your course work and transferable skills.

COURSE WORK

Often people fail to highlight every aspect of their education and merely list the school they attend and their overall
GPA. If you do not have a lot of work experience under your belt,
your course work may be the most vital part of your resume and you “You should think of your resume as a mar-
should provide any information that would make you stand out. keting opportunity – a crucial chance for you
Along with listing your overall GPA, you can look into providing the to communicate to your potential employer
GPA for your major in order to highlight your proficiency in your why you are the best candidate for the posi-
subject area. tion.”

Also, many people overlook the importance of their undergraduate

course work. If you have taken applicable courses such as Microeconomic or Macroeconomic Theory, there is no
reason why you should not list them. Any course that illustrate your passion toward the job field is another concrete
example of why you possess the knowledge necessary for the job even if you do not have a long list of related work
experience.
ON CAMPUS RESUME RESOURCES
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
UCLA Career Center
Although you may not have related work experience, that does not mean Available online resources & drop
you do not possess the skills and positive characteristics the company is in counseling
looking for. Try to think of activities and skills you have developed in Career Center Library, 2rd Floor
other fields that are applicable for this new position. Just because you are
applying for a job as an investment banker does not mean your social Bruin Consulting
Student organization
skills are not important. Often times, companies will look for applicants
who have a holistic background, which tells them you can not only do the
Undergraduate Business Society
analytical work but you are also someone who fits well in the company.
Student organization
DICTION

You need to strategize the best way to convey your traits. Even if what you want to say may not be that impressive, it is
important to state it in a way that would benefit the company.

Do not get caught up in listing out all your activities in bullets with the first action verb you can think of. Instead,
consider what the company is looking for and phrase your experiences in a way that would make you stand out.
Resume Tips
 Do not be discouraged if you feel you
do not have a lot of work experience.
 Personalize your resume to highlight
all your positive traits.
 Format your resume so that you focus
on positive traits you do possess.
 Do not be afraid to highlight the GPA
for your major and all relevant course-
work.
 Stress your holistic background by
providing transferable skills.
 Express the result and impact you had
in previous experiences instead of list-
ing them.
Instead of simply stating what you did, try to express how your
previous actions positively affected your surroundings. Instead of
saying that you “led as vice president of a student organization” you
can say you “doubled the membership of your student organization
by leading a marketing campaign.” You want to be able to express the
result and impact of your experiences. By following this method, even
tasks you may have thought were not that important can become
applicable toward landing you that dream job.
Students with limited experience do not need to have resumes that
are less impressive than those who have more work experience.
Many qualities that students overlook, especially for first and second
years, can be maximized in a resume. For many companies, these
traits can be just as important if not more important toward landing
that interview.

16
 Nailing Your
Interview
By Gloria Ho
Senior Staff Writer

Once you’ve passed the first hurdle in the recruiting process and secured yourself an interview, the next most
important step is doing it well. Typically, for many of the firms present at UCLA, the recruiting process involves at
least two rounds of interviews: one on campus and the other in house, meaning that the interview is conducted at
the company’s local office. It is also possible for the firm to require three rounds of interviews, with the third one
taking place at its main national office.

When going in for the on-campus interview, keep in mind that this most likely isn’t the interview that will determine
if you’ll land the job. Rather, it’s the interview that will determine if you will be able to continue on to the second
interview, which, provided that it is the final interview, will be the one to decide whether or not you’ll receive a job
offer.

Consequently, your first interviewer has only the power to deny you the offer, but not the power to give it to you.
What does this mean? The interviewer will be looking for characteristics in you that may turn out not to be a good fit
for the company or, in other words, reasons to say no. So in the first interview, it is not absolutely necessary for you
to put yourself out there. What’s more crucial is that you don’t stand out in a bad way. Conclusion: Don’t take any
risks that someone could view negatively. Save the riskier stuff for the final round.

General tips to keep in mind at any interview:

♦ Act professionally – Leave any slang or colloquial language at the door. An interview is a professional business
meeting so avoid addressing your interviewer as you would a friend. Present yourself as a mature, self-confident
adult who knows what he or she is doing.
♦ Be positive – and smile. No one likes a gloomy person and neither will your interviewer. Acting positively will show
that you are interested and excited about the position and that you’ll be bringing a positive attitude to the workplace.
♦ Know what the firm is looking for – and show yourself to fit those criteria. It is essential that you know the firm and
the position before going in for the interview. If you don’t, it will most likely show in the interview. And it wouldn’t
hurt to know your interviewer as well.
♦ Be a storyteller – Know the stories that highlight your accomplishments and tell them well. Focus on the ones that
demonstrate the skills the firm is looking for.
♦ Avoid talking nonstop – Try to keep your stories between 60 to 90 seconds long. Droning on may bore the
interviewer and decrease your chances of presenting yourself in a positive light. Also, make sure that you can
somehow tie in your story to the topic at hand.
♦ Dress business professional – That means a full suit with dress shoes and a tie for the guys; a matching jacket and
pants or knee-length skirt for the girls. If in doubt, choose the more conservative choice.
♦ Ask questions – Always ask questions when your interviewer presents you with the opportunity. Ideally it will show
that you have a real interest in the job and have done your research. For some people, it might be better to go in
with a prepared set of industry-related or job-related questions.
♦ Remember to say Thank You – After the interview remember to send a follow-up e-mail to your interviewer.

And of course, Practice, Practice, Practice – either with a friend or at workshops provided on campus by various
student groups. Some of us may be naturally good interviewers, but don’t count yourself among them until you
know for sure.

17
 A Quick Guide to UCLA’s BruinView
By Dmitry Shuster
Staff Writer

BruinView is a very convenient and helpful tool. It is designed to aid UCLA students in finding prospective jobs and
internships, and provides an abundance of features aimed at helping students find what they are looking for. Many
large firms and employers use BruinView to submit their open job positions in an attempt to find qualified students.
The website can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Be sure to check BruinView on a daily basis to see what
new jobs have been listed as the system is frequently updated with hundreds of new listings. Furthermore, refer to
the calendar section to keep track of the useful information sessions and company presentations which are offered
on campus. All in all, BruinView is a very powerful and helpful tool that can help you pursue and land the job you
have always wanted.

Above is the main page of BruinView, which appears immediately after you log in. This page features quick links,
alerts, and a calendar, as well as a menu at the very top. The menu is used to navigate the various services offered by
BruinView. Each of the features is explained below:

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 Creating, Uploading and Managing Documents

To get started, you need to upload the necessary documents (resume and cover letter). The cover letter should
simply be uploaded as a Microsoft Word file. You can then choose to upload your resume (in Microsoft Word or
Adobe PDF format) or you can use BruinView’s Resume Builder. The builder requires you to input specific information
about yourself, in addition to information about your education, work experience, extracurricular experience, and
skills and awards. Once compete, it will allow you to select one of two resume templates to use as your primary
resume for job applications. Once you have finished, you should carefully review the resume and make sure that all
of the information is both correct and neatly formatted.

Searching For and Locating Jobs

The primary feature of BruinView is to help students locate jobs and internships. This is done in the “Jobs and
Internships” section where students can find a wide array of jobs, which can then be filtered according to different
criteria and preferences.

19
The picture above displays BruinView’s job postings. The website is fairly straightforward and easy to navigate. The
page consists of several columns which display the job position, employer, location, position type (i.e. full time, part
time, or internship), as well as the deadline for the application. Students can choose to either navigate all of the
listings, which can prove to be quite time-consuming, or they can select specific jobs which match their own
preferences and search criteria. This is done through the “Advanced Search” option which can be activated by
clicking on the “Advanced Search” tab at the top of the page.

The advanced search option enables for students to quickly filter all of the jobs on BruinView based on their own
preferences. Students can select jobs which focus on specific majors. If you are looking for only part time jobs or
internships, you can filter the listings by selecting the corresponding option. Furthermore, you can search for jobs by
selecting specific functions such as administrative or engineering positions. The job listings can also be filtered by
specific industries and geographic locations. Once you found some jobs you like, you can put them in a “favorites” list
by clicking on the button “Add to Favorites”

Submitting the Resume

Once you have located the job for which you wish to apply, you will see the main listing for the job with the employer,
job title, job description, location, position type, compensation, and other details. When you are ready to apply for
the position, select the resume and documents that you wish to submit (as shown below) and click “Submit.”

20
 Keeping Track of Your Applications

Once you have submitted applications to the desired positions, you can keep track of your past submissions by
clicking on the “Applications” tab in the jobs and internships category. This section will display the positions that you
have applied for as well as the employer, documents submitted, and the date of submission.

Signing Up for Interviews

Once you have submitted your documents to your job, you must remember to constantly check back to see if you
have been approved for an on campus interview. Many employers will have you sign up for an interview on
Bruinview once they have approved you for one. To find out if you are granted an interviewing opportunity, go to the
“Interview” tab on the main page and look for the status for the job for which you have applied. If invited, you will
see the word “Invited” next to the job. If you are not invited, you will see a “Not invited.” Keep in mind that these
messages generally only appear shortly before the window to sign up for interview starts. You can find you when the
interview sign up window starts by going to your job page and under where you submitted your documents, you
should see a box that says “Sign up Start Date,” which is the first day you can sign up for an interview.

Please also note that sometimes firms do not make the selections for on campus interviews quickly enough and thus
would not have made a decision before the sign up start date occurs. You may even get a “Not invited” message
when the sign up start date begins, but later the status changes to “Invited.” Do not panic when this happens, just
keep checking back with Bruinview. You may also find that the sign up start date has been pushed back because of
this delay in firm’s decision making. Also, some companies may send you an email ahead of time telling you you have
been selected for an interview, but not all companies do this, so do not think you must receive such an email if you
are invited. Always check Bruinview.

Once you know you are invited for an interview, wait for the start date to come. At midnight, you should see an
“Alert” on the Bruinview homepage telling you to sign up for an interview. Simply click on the button and find an
interview slot. You can change this time while the sign up window is still open. It is a good idea to sign up as early as
possible to get the time slot of your choice. Staying up at midnight to do the sign up is not a bad idea especially if you
are not as flexible in your schedule. Once you complete your on campus interview, Bruinview is no longer used for
the rest of the process. You should be contacted by the firm about any further interview and generally that process
does not involve Bruinview.

21
 Recruiting 101: When Do I Recruit for Jobs?

By Joanne Hou
Senior Staff Writer

For students who are just thinking about getting a job after graduation, you may be overwhelmed by the process. For
some industries, the process of landing that great internship or job offer is indeed a long one, perhaps one that spans
over two to three years. But, you may be asking, how and when do I start this process?

FALL RECRUITING
Many full time job offers, especially in the business services industries of investment banking, consulting, and
accounting, are made during the fall quarter. This means that all the recruiting events in which recruitees interact
with recruiters and professionals from those firms occur within the first three weeks or so of fall quarter. Multi-firm
recruiting events such as Interviewing 101 (the first public accounting recruiting events) and Consulting Expo (for
those interested in consulting careers) occurred during Weeks 1 and 2, respectively.

So if you are a graduating senior looking for a job after graduation in these business fields, you need to get out to
recruiting events right when school starts. It is often a good idea to bring along copies of your resume to these events,
so make sure your resume is polished and ready to go at the beginning of the school year.

Once the flurry of company presentation and organized recruiting fairs are over, which is by Week 3 or 4, resume
drops are just around the corner. Resume drop deadlines on Bruinview, UCLA’s online employment portal, starts
around that time. Many financial and professional services firms require that students drop their resume on
Bruinview by late October to early November. For some, especially in the investment banking industry, that deadline
is as early as late September to early October. Usually along with the resume submission, applicants also need to
have a cover letter and their unofficial transcript (DPR).

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO START RECRUITING!

For juniors and sophomores not looking for full time jobs, this is still the time to hit the recruiting scene. For juniors
who want to land an internship in these financial and professional services firms, they will get a better start by going
to these events in the fall and networking with professionals. The relationships you build in the fall will serve you well
when you officially apply for the internship opportunities in the winter quarter. Keep in mind that many of these
internships lead to full time offers so having an internship the summer before you graduate usually saves you from
having to recruit again in next fall for full time.

For sophomores who are not looking to get hired in these firms this year, you should also start recruiting. By starting
this early in your college career, you increase the chance that you will be remembered by recruiters and professionals,
which helps you get an interview opportunity the next year. Some firms, such as public accounting firms, offer
summer leadership conferences for sophomores and going to recruiting events allows you to learn about these
opportunities. It is never too early to start recruiting!

22
WINTER RECRUITING
Internships that lead to full time offers usually have their interview process during winter quarters. Thus for juniors,
this is your recruiting season! Again, recruiting events start early in the quarter with company presentations and social
events in which students and professionals interact in a more fun and relaxed setting. Attend these! These events lead
to connections and relationships that not only help you land an interview slot but also starts your network if you decide
to work in this industry later.

INTERVIEWING TIMETABLE
Interviews on campus occur generally within a week or two weeks after the resume drop deadline. For some, especially
in investment and finance, the interview dates are a mere two to three days after the resume deadline.

Generally speaking, analyst positions at banks and investment and financial services-related firms have the earliest
interviews. Consulting firms generally start interviewing not long after the financial firms start. Public accounting firms
generally interview around week 5 or 6 on campus.

For all these industries, the interview dates refer just to the on campus or first round interview. There is usually a
second round of multiple interviews that occurs shortly after the first round. All in all, you should hear back about
offers before the quarter ends or shortly thereafter. Decisions take days or a week or two to make, not a month, so
expect to hear from your firms sooner rather than later.

OTHER INDUSTRIES
For other business-related jobs not in these main fields of investment banking, consulting, and public accounting, the
full time and internship timetables are not the same. Some firms have these application processes at a later time. It is
possible to land jobs and internships in the business and economics fields during the spring quarter. These industries
may offer nice opportunities for freshmen and sophomores to build their work experience.

Bruinview Recruiting Deadlines Fall Quarter (all full time positions)

23
 Investment Banking, Public Accounting, & Consulting

By Sonia Bhasin
Staff Writer

For students looking to get into the business world upon graduation, three particular industries sit at
the forefront of their minds. These are investment banking, public accounting, and consulting. But do
students really know what each of these industries entails? It is vital to have a thorough
understanding of each field before sitting for an interview for one.

Investment Banking
Investment banking is one of the most exciting career options for undergraduates in the business field but it is also
one of the most challenging and misunderstood. Investment banks act as financial intermediaries, meaning that they
serve as bridges between two parties to assist companies and governments in raising capital. They also provide
advisory services to companies on mergers and acquisitions, as well as on trading different financial instruments such
as commodities and equity securities. Investment banks are generally divided into three departments: corporate
finance (typically referred to as the investment banking division), sales and trading, and research.

The hierarchical structure of investment banks generally has the managing director at the top, followed by vice
presidents, associates, and analysts. Analysts are typically hired out of undergraduate programs, and associates
typically come out of MBA programs. The monetary compensation for a job in investment banking can be among the
highest of any industry but this does not come without its fair share of sacrifices. Bankers frequently work up to 100
hours per week, and face constant high pressure, but are often rewarded with huge bonuses at the end. This field,
which has been very lucrative in the past, has been hit hard due to the recent financial crisis, increasing competition
this year for the limited slots available due to the collapse of bulge bracket investment banks. In addition, the usually
outstanding bonuses will be in question this year.

Public Accounting

The industry of public accounting provides its clients with some basic services: audit and review of yearly and
quarterly financial statements, audit and review of internal system controls, complete federal and local tax returns,

24
tax planning and strategy, advisory services such as business risk analysis and planning, valuation, and fraud
investigation, among many others. However, the main line of service for these firms is external audit, which is also
the greatest area of employment opportunity.

For students looking to being a career in public accounting, they are most commonly entering in either the audit or
tax business line. Audit, or more specifically external audit, looks at the financial data provided by the client firm to
see whether the information reasonably reflects the true economic situation of the firm. In other words, auditors
essentially need to certify that the financial reports released by the company to the SEC and the public are accurate.
Most public accounting firms have the same hierarchy for employee advancement, starting at the associate level,
working up to the manager level, and ending at the partner level. Professionals in public accounting often work long
hours during the busy season, but work more regular hours during the rest of the year.

Consulting

Consulting is one of the high-profile industries in business that offers students from a variety of majors the chance to
fully immerse themselves in the business world shortly upon graduation. To effectively explain what consulting is, it
is helpful to use an analogy about a hospital. A person goes to hospital for several reasons: he can be sick and
requires diagnosis and treatment or he simply wants to do a checkup. Consulting firms and consultants are hospitals
and doctors, respectively, in the business world. Governments and companies from all industries hire consultants to
advise them on how to solve different problems and make improvements that these institutions cannot do by
themselves. Generally, consultants work with three categories of issues: strategy, operations, and information
technology.

Consulting firms tend to differ on the hierarchy of their employees. Some tend to have a strict hierarchy, while
others have a more flat organizational structure. Consulting is not a career for everyone. It entails extensive travel,
long hours, exposure to a wide range of fields and industries, requirement of strong analytical and problem solving
skills, and knowledge and training in many business fields and areas.

25
 Other Industry Highlights
By Christine Liu
Staff Writer

Accounting. Investment banking. Consulting. Okay, but what else is out there?

These are the first jobs that come to mind when we think about possible careers in business or economics. While we all
know that there is a plethora of jobs related to the business and economics field, we might still be a little fuzzy about
what those jobs entail. Here are some facts about other business and economics related careers.

Actuary
An actuary usually works in the insurance, pension plan, or social welfare programs sector and requires specialized
knowledge in mathematics. Actuaries evaluate the monetary impact of risks and uncertainties in order to minimize
both financial and emotional losses. Actuarial jobs are in high demand and in 2002, the Wall Street Journal named it
the second best job in the U.S.

Financial Analyst
A financial analyst works for companies, banks, and other businesses to help them make investment decisions by
analyzing financial statements or an entire industry in order to assess lending risks, a company’s value and future
earnings. Analysts usually meet with company officials to gain insight into the company’s prospects and managerial
effectiveness.

Market Research Analyst

A market research analyst study statistics to predict potential sales on a product or service, gather data on competitors
and other information necessary to decide how to promote, distribute, price, and design products/services. In addition,
market research analysts conduct research on public attitudes and consumer preferences on various issues.

Healthcare Administrator
There are two types of healthcare administrators—generalists and specialists. General administrators oversee the
management of the entire facility while specialists are responsible for the operations of specific departments such as
finance, accounting, marketing, or human resources. Also, healthcare administrators develop/expand programs in
research, rehabilitation, community health and welfare.

Public Administration
Public administration involves the development and implementation of government as well as non-profit organization
policies. This career emphasizes ethical and sociological aspects and is linked to helping the public good by improving
civil society and social justice.

Statistician
Statisticians measure, interpret and describe social and economic patterns. They usually combine their knowledge with
another specialized area and apply it to research, finance, government, medicine, the environment, and insurance. In
production and manufacturing, statisticians support managerial decisions or quality control supervision.

26
 Featured Employer:

By Sunny Wong
Staff Writer

Ameriprise Financial is a Fortune 500 (#296) company that offers its clients a variety of financial products and advice
such as investment funds and retirement planning. It is the fourth largest financial advisory firm in the United States
with over 2.5 million individual and institutional clients around the world, as well as 11,800 financial advisors.
Currently, it employs the more Certified Financial Planners (CFP) than any other company in the United States.
Originally a subsidiary of American Express, it became its own independent company in 2005. Ameriprise is
comprised of the following five businesses:

The Advice and Wealth Management division offers financial planning and advice targeted primarily to retail clients
such as individuals and families, as well as full brokerage and banking services. Ameriprise financial advisors help
their clients meet their financial goals by choosing from a diversified selection of products such as mutual funds,
annuities, and insurance. This segment brings in approximately one-third of the Company’s revenues. Ameriprise also
has a diversified list of mutual funds, with over 2,700 different ones to choose from.

Its Asset Management division provides investment products and advice to both retail and institutional clients. The
division consists of two subsidiary companies known as RiverSource and Threadneedle. RiverSource offers primarily
domestic financial products and services such as mutual funds and annuities, while Threadneedle concentrates
mostly on international investment products. For retail clients, some products might include mutual funds and
collective funds while institutional clients might have access
to hedge funds and property funds. Together, these two
divisions bring about fifty percent of the company’s annual
revenues.

The Annuities division offers RiverSource annuity products to

retail clients through their affiliated financial advisors. Their

27
 protection segment provides retail clients various protection products such
as life and disability insurance as well as personal auto, home and liability
Summer insurance. Like their Annuities, many of their products are offered through
Internships their affiliated financial advisors. Finally, their Corporate & Other segment
contains invested capital in various equities such as stocks and other
available in: entities including RiverSource Life, its life insurance segment.

For those currently on the hunt for jobs or internships, Ameriprise

 Accounting Financial offers a number of different job options. In fact, BusinessWeek
 Actuary ranked Ameriprise as the 19th best place to launch a career. A majority of
the opportunities fall under financial advising. Many recent college
 Business analysis graduates start off as an associate financial advisor where they work under
 Communications and an experienced advisor and learn more about the profession. Some duties
community relations might include researching client portfolios, making investment transactions
 Finance on their behalf and maintaining, and bringing in new clients. With the large
numbers of baby boomers retiring right now, there is certainly a high
 Human resources demand for this job. To learn more about their opportunities in financial
 Marketing planning visit: www.joinameriprise.com and look for the “New Financial
 Project Management Advisors” tab.
 Service delivery
Additionally, Ameriprise offers various summer internship opportunities to
 Technology current undergraduate students under areas such as marketing,
 Wholeselling accounting and technology. Students will be provided training and given
substantial responsibility to work on important projects. There will also be
opportunities to participate in social events and get involved in a variety of
community service related activities.

Finally, students who are uncertain about their future career plans should
consider Ameriprise’s Rotation Programs. These full-time programs
provide opportunities for students to explore various different job areas within a department. For instance, students
will rotate within a department for 18 to 24 months, obtaining valuable job experience as well as making meaningful
connections. To learn more, visit: www.joinameriprise.com and look for the “Students” tab.

Important Date:
On Campus Interviews:
October 30, 2008
Location: UCLA Career Center- Interview Room A

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