The Training Program
While most training is provided on the job, Thomas Weisel Partners associates complete a three-week introductory program upon joining the Firm, which includes an intensive one-week course to ensure the completion of the appropriate securities licenses. The remaining two weeks of the training program is conducted alongside the incoming analyst class and focuses on building a strong working knowledge of the Firm’s products, services, analytical methodologies, business development and deal execution guidelines. The shared training format with analysts provides associates an opportunity to truly serve in a “real life” associate role, as they are expected to mentor and train analysts during the program.

This program takes place at the Firm’s headquarters in San Francisco and is designed to allow new employees to develop strong bonds with their classmates as well as with professionals across all areas of the Firm.

The training program sessions are taught by senior investment bankers in their respective areas of product expertise. These sessions are focused on research, valuation and other analytical methodologies used for structuring and executing the Firm’s core banking products: Initial Public Offerings, Follow-On and Convertible Offerings, PIPEs/Registered Direct Financings, Private Placements and Mergers & Acquisitions.

To complement the formal classroom presentations, new analysts and associates work in teams to respond to typical client requests, including a mock IPO pitch and a mock M&A fairness opinion. As part of the IPO pitch assignment, each team analyzes a company’s financial prospects for an IPO and presents their “pitch” and recommendation to a mock board of directors. For the M&A fairness opinion, trainees must provide a formal opinion to a mock board of directors that justifies the fairness of a proposed M&A transaction to shareholders. These exercises are highly effective in preparing the new class for future assignments.

The “Real” Training Program:
Thomas Weisel Partners’ associate training program truly begins once the introductory training program concludes. A large majority of Thomas Weisel Partners senior bankers started their careers as investment banking associates and believe that the “real” training occurs on the job over the three “apprentice years” as an associate. Senior bankers take pride in training and mentoring associates on a broad variety of skills including analytics, financial accounting, project management, team management, client management and career management. Associates are encouraged to use their three years to expand their skill base, work with a variety of professionals and clients and explore potential industry or product specialization.

Associates gain first-hand knowledge of deals from generation to execution. For each transaction successfully completed, a deal memento—known as a tombstone—is created and given to each member of the deal team. Most investment bankers might agree that quality and level of one’s training can be measured by the number of tombstones a banker has collected. In 2006, TWP’s 15 associates closed or announced an average of 6 transactions each, which we believe to be one of the highest ratios of closed transactions per analyst on Wall Street.

Periodically, bankers organize lunch time training sessions around a topic, such as a recent transaction, interesting structuring or accounting development. These discussions are focused on the analyst and associate ranks and are often led by their peers who worked on the transaction or developed an expertise on a subject. These “peer-to-peer” sessions provide junior professionals with opportunities to learn from their colleagues as well as a chance to develop critical client presentation skills in a low-risk environment.

Staffing:
New associates join the Investment Banking Department as generalists. As a result of this policy, associates can expect to gain extensive transaction experience and a broad knowledge of the Firm’s core industry coverage sectors and products. Associates work on multiple projects and transactions at any given time, with primary responsibilities including managing the analytical product created for clients as well as managing the deal process from origination to execution. The “generalist” period is also meant to provide associates with an opportunity to work with a variety of teams and become acquainted with the various work styles and personalities of teams.

From the “generalist” period, which usually lasts about 12 to 18 months, associates are asked to develop an industry and product specialty. Thomas Weisel Partners’ approach to staffing and team placement is not formulaic and is driven by matching associates’ preferences with the Firm’s needs. Associates are encouraged to focus on and pursue their specific interests. This approach to skill and career development is critical to the Firm’s ability to win banking business.