Day in the Life
In this section, we take a look at the typical day of a finance professional.
Meet Anh Le, Analyst on the Secondaries & Primaries team at Ardian in San Francisco, CA.
About yourself and role
I am an Analyst on the Secondaries & Primaries team at Ardian in San Francisco, CA. Prior to Ardian, I was an investment banking analyst at Houlihan Lokey in their Secondaries & GP stakes division. I graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Management Science & Engineering.
What does your morning routine look like?
Generally, I wake up at 6:20am and get ready for the gym (usually I set everything up the night before). I leave my apartment by 6:30am and workout from 6:45-7:40am. I leave the gym around 7:50 and am in the office by 8am.
What's the first thing you do?
First thing I do is check all my emails and messages. I will respond to everything that I can quickly first and then move the ones that require more thought to a "Request" folder in my inbox. Then, I will go through everything in my "Request" folder and make a plan for my full day with time budgets of how long each tasks should take, starting from 8am until usually around 8pm-12am.
What do meetings look like on your job? Who do you meet with? How do you prepare? Who leads the meeting?
Meetings can vary. Sometimes I play more of a supporting role, but sometimes I am given the chance to present and lead. In either case, I will come prepared as though I will be presenting. Based on the objective of the meeting, I will make a list of key points that I want to discuss or answers potential questions. Usually, I just draft it in my inbox and send myself an email, where I sort to a "Notes" folder in my inbox with all these summary points on different topics / GPs in the case I need to quickly refer to them in the future.
How late do you stay at the office? Do you take work home with you? How late do you stay up?
I usually stay at the office until 8-8:30pm. Usually by then, everything that is due that night has been completed (otherwise, I would stay in the office until those are done). For the remaining of the evening, I am generally trying to get a head start on tasks that are due later in the week, but I expect will take some time to finish.
Advice for fellows wanting to go into Secondaries or Private Equity generally?
I would recommend trying to talk to and build relationships with as many people in the industry as possible. Try to learn about their different experiences to determine if this is the right career path for yourself and to get their advice. Join a finance-related club and attend the networking events available at your school.
