Trojan Finance Academy
The Mentorship Program has transitioned to the Trojan Finance Academy (TFA), a new joint program in partnership with USC Marshall’s Financial Services Career Hub.
The TFA seeks to immerse USC’s highest-performing sophomores into financial services and prepare them to recruit for junior year investment banking internships.
Admitted TFA members will be selected during their fall semester of sophomore year and will have an abundance of professional development opportunities. These include being paired 1-on-1 with a mentor, attending a recruiting trek to San Francisco or New York, and specialized training with Training with the Street.
The TFA historically has placed students into traditional investment banking positions in mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and client-facing industry or coverage groups. Students applying for the workshop should demonstrate their knowledge and interest in these career options.
While students are not required to have any experience in the financial services industry, they should demonstrate a passion for finance.
Who can apply?
Sophomores in their fall semester, assuming students are spending four years at USC.
What makes a competitive applicant?
Admittance into the TFA will be based on the student's application, cumulative GPA of at least a 3.60, technical skills, and soft skills which will be evaluated during the application period and an interview.
When are applications due?
Applications and interviews for the TFA program will occur early-to-mid October.
When are admission decisions released?
Decisions will be released by the end of October.
After Graduation
Average annual salary for first-year analysts is $85,000 to $120,000
First-year analysts' bonuses ranged from $50,000 to $120,000 based on performance
High rate of conversion from analyst to associate, if one decides to stay in investment banking
Alumni who leave investment banking after two to three years find jobs at private equity firms and hedge funds such as KKR, TPG, Carlyle, GTCR, BDT Capital, Centerbridge, and many more.
TFA Placement
Los Angeles
Bank of America
Barclays
Citi
Goldman Sachs
Houlihan Lokey
JP Morgan
Lazard
Moelis
Morgan Stanley
Rothschild
UBS
San Francisco
Bank of America
Barclays
Centerview
Citi
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank
Evercore
Goldman Sachs
JP Morgan
Lazard
Liontree
Moelis
Morgan Stanley
Piper Sandler
PJT
RBC
Rothschild
Wells Fargo
New York
Bank of America
Barclays
Credit Suisse
Centerview
Deutsche Bank
Evercore
Goldman Sachs
JP Morgan
Lazard
Moelis
Morgan Stanley
Perella Weinberg
PJT (RSSG)
Rothschild
Solomon Partners
Chicago
JP Morgan
Livingstone Partners
Morgan Stanley
William Blair
Houston
Evercore
Houlihan Lokey
Hong Kong
JP Morgan
Morgan Stanley