Artificial intelligence is raising the bar for entry-level employees on Wall Street.
As technology takes over more of the heavy lifting, early success becomes less dependent on how much time analysts spend meticulously formatting pitch decks or writing reports. Rather, it’s more about how well they communicate what’s in that deck or model, and how good they are at generating ideas or building relationships.
We asked Business Insider’s latest Wall Street Rising Stars what skills people on the financial path need to master in the age of artificial intelligence. Their responses suggest that the technology won’t necessarily change the skills needed to succeed on Wall Street. Instead, it makes these skills even more important earlier in their careers.
They say people new to Wall Street should start from scratch.
Don’t let artificial intelligence do the thinking for you
What Jim Tilson, A 35-year-old senior managing director at Evercore stresses to his junior team that they need to be active learners.
He believes the biggest risk for junior people using AI is their overreliance on the technology, which could prevent them from developing pattern recognition skills.
Jim Tilson, Evercore senior managing director. Contributed by Jim Tilson; Ray Dak Lam, BI
“The best-performing companies will use AI as a tool to become smarter, while the worst-performing companies will let AI do their jobs and be replaced,” the banker said.
Blue Owl Capital investor Diana Liu recently heard complaints that younger employees are increasingly asking artificial intelligence to solve problems instead of developing their own methods.
Her advice is to develop a framework for solving the problem and then use artificial intelligence to refine the solution.
“Let it be your helper, not a replacement,” said the 33-year-old leader and data center investor.
Asher Hecht, a principal at General Atlantic, said the analytical capabilities will be extremely valuable and echoed some of Tilson and Liu’s concerns.
“The ability to gain insight from what’s being told to you, to ask the right questions, and to see the shape of data and trends, I think people can lose sight of that.”
Have your own point of view
David Oppenheim, a 35-year-old banker at Evercore, said that in his experience, “some of the best-performing junior employees tend to be the ones who think about the big picture, rather than just performing the tasks they’re asked to perform.”
Daniel Borkenstein, the 31-year-old head of private equity at Apollo Global, said he has been using artificial intelligence as a thought partner to help him think through papers, their risks and the best ways to communicate delicate topics.
“There is no situation where artificial intelligence can tell me the answer,” he said. “I need to come up with my perspective and work with artificial intelligence to refine the answers and be prepared for any conversations I have with people about the deal.”
Judgment is your added value, Bokenstein said.
“No one would sell their business to Claude,” he said. “If you go to an investment committee and say ‘because Claude said so,’ that’s an unacceptable answer for obvious reasons.”
Make people want to work with you
Kate Casey, the 32-year-old head of KKR, told Business Insider that the ability to connect with people will become a bigger differentiator.
“What sets you apart and why management teams want to work with you is your ability to communicate as a person,” she says.
Fiona Ismail, global head of investment-grade private credit at J.P. Morgan, advises young professionals to listen more. This means focusing on your colleagues as they explain their work and understanding what the client ultimately wants to achieve.
“Artificial intelligence can answer what you tell it, but it can’t get to the crux of what someone really wants to say,” the 34-year-old executive director said.
Her colleague John Ballard, a 28-year-old executive director at JPMorgan, believes keeping pace with managers will also become increasingly important.
“Successful people are those who are highly aligned with their immediate superiors: What they need, what they like, how to respond to being asked to do something, maybe the timeline is not clear yet,” he said.
Ryan Febles is a $15 billion hedge fund manager at Capstone Investment Advisors. Courtesy of Ryan Febles; BI Dak Lam
Ryan Febles, global head of equity capital markets at hedge fund Capstone Investment Advisors, recommends exposing yourself to situations outside your comfort zone to improve your emotional IQ. Company leaders want to know that the people they hire can thrive in an environment outside of a cubicle.
The 31-year-old said leaders ask themselves: “Who do I have confidence in representing our business on the management team?”
Master the basics before automating
While artificial intelligence can speed up much of the work traditionally done by junior employees, some rising stars warn against neglecting the technical skills that are critical to their investing, trading or the financial solutions they build.
Jake Epstein, a 28-year-old investor at Blackstone, tells newly hired analysts that they have two jobs: to do the work assigned to them and, arguably more importantly, to learn.
“It’s always worth doing something yourself at least once to learn how to do it,” he said.
In real estate investing, this might mean learning how to conduct due diligence or ordering environmental reports and property condition assessments, then turning to artificial intelligence to help with subsequent tasks.
Epstein also sees artificial intelligence as an opportunity to learn about parts of the business that junior employees may not have time to explore.
For example, a first-year analyst might not be responsible for negotiating a purchase agreement, but could use AI to understand the back-and-forth between attorneys and learn more about the process.
Maya Venkatraman, 34, a managing director at Morgan Stanley, also stressed the importance of mastering the fundamentals.
“You still need technical understanding to know when assumptions don’t hold water and when answers don’t make sense,” said the U.S. transportation and infrastructure leveraged finance chief.
willing to try
For young professionals willing to take the time to master artificial intelligence, the technology can also provide an opportunity to stand out early.
Mike Washington, a 32-year-old managing director at Goldman Sachs, recommends learning how to use large language models and trying vibrational coding, or using artificial intelligence to write software and automate routine tasks. He said some of Goldman’s best young analysts are getting more exposure to senior team members because they are “fluent” in how artificial intelligence processes work.
Mike Washington is co-head of high-touch sales trading for Americas equities at Goldman Sachs. Contributed by Mike Washington; Ray Dak Lam, BI
“Taking some outside courses and adding an extra five or six hours a week to an already busy schedule will pay dividends and then some,” he said.
Bridget Chaudhry, managing director at Goldman Sachs, believes that the ability to teach yourself new skills has always been an important predictor of success for entry-level employees.
“One of the mindset changes when you start out junior on Wall Street is that you shouldn’t expect people to teach you, but you should expect to be in an environment where you can learn,” the investment banker said.
Easily solve unfamiliar problems
Cody Kiechle, a 33-year-old managing director at Bank of America, sees artificial intelligence as an opportunity for bankers to spend more time on creative work and develop better ideas, proposals and deal structures.
“It pushes us to be more creative as opposed to some of the rote tasks we’ve done in the past, which is really exciting,” he said.
For Matthew Caltabiano, 31, a portfolio manager at Millennium Management, problem solving is the most important skill a young professional can develop.
He suggested students post some of their work online to attract the attention of innovative investors and companies.
“Come up with a good idea and execute it really well,” he said.
Venkatraman, who is financing the unprecedented data center expansion, also stressed the importance of adapting to uncertainty. She often says that the most interesting work happens when there are no templates or precedents.
“Be comfortable with ambiguity, be comfortable with the unknown,” she said.
For Rex Johnson, head of equity volatility at Walleye Capital, succeeding in a market-oriented role requires learning how to operate without perfect information.
The 32-year-old advises being willing to make mistakes, learn from them and then move on.
“Be good at failing quickly and getting up when you get knocked down,” he said.