I was contacted today by a company that would like me to come in for an interview (way to go LinkedIn). It's a financial services company, Knight Financial.
It's a Tech Writing position for one of their local subsidiaries (Urban Financial Group). As you can imagine in this market, having a steady job is not something you want to give up just all willy-nilly.
This would give me a great opportunity to increase my knowledge base (of course I want to be there and they want me there).
Any ideas?
Stock market price trends? Upper management stability?
SWOT analysis
If the company is publicly traded, Google Finance is probably the best place to go for a primer. A quick Google turned up the parent company's stock symbol - KCG. You can see financial statements, as well as a summary of what it is the company does. A Google of the subsidiary company's name also turns up references in Reverse Mortgage Daily, an applicable trade journal. From a quick scan, I see that Knight Capital's primary business is market-making and asset-based securitization - so it looks like they wanted Urban Capital to control the origination of the loans that eventually go into the security. I also see that the acquisition was only very recently completed, so it sounds like there may still be some integration efforts going on - maybe something to ask about in an interview. They appear to be a pretty sizable player in the industry, although a news article I turned up mentioned that they are still awaiting GNMA approval as a reverse mortgage servicer - so assuming that gets completed without issue, that points to continued growth opportunity in the future.
On the other hand, the reverse mortgage is never going to be something that is super-common, and is a relatively new development in the financial services industry. There's a whole generation of boomers retiring, many of whom don't have as much saved as they need to, so there may be a growing place for reverse mortgages as a way to unlock saved-up equity in real estate. However, if the risk climate changes for the worse in the real estate market, the reverse market may get hit harder than the traditional market.
I think you would also be well-advised to get to know their product as much as possible. Financial services are one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world...and possibly as a result there are some products out there that are very, very complex. I would read up on the dynamics of the real estate finance market as much as I could before that interview, were I you.
grab its balls, tell it to turn its head and cough?
AngryCorvair wrote: grab its balls, tell it to turn its head and cough?
It's a good thing that a iPhone doesn't have a keyboard to ruin by spitting out soda all over it. 
In reply to AngryCorvair:
szeis4cookie wrote: If the company is publicly traded, Google Finance is probably the best place to go for a primer. A quick Google turned up the parent company's stock symbol - KCG. You can see financial statements, as well as a summary of what it is the company does. A Google of the subsidiary company's name also turns up references in Reverse Mortgage Daily, an applicable trade journal. From a quick scan, I see that Knight Capital's primary business is market-making and asset-based securitization - so it looks like they wanted Urban Capital to control the origination of the loans that eventually go into the security. I also see that the acquisition was only very recently completed, so it sounds like there may still be some integration efforts going on - maybe something to ask about in an interview. They appear to be a pretty sizable player in the industry, although a news article I turned up mentioned that they are still awaiting GNMA approval as a reverse mortgage servicer - so assuming that gets completed without issue, that points to continued growth opportunity in the future. On the other hand, the reverse mortgage is never going to be something that is super-common, and is a relatively new development in the financial services industry. There's a whole generation of boomers retiring, many of whom don't have as much saved as they need to, so there may be a growing place for reverse mortgages as a way to unlock saved-up equity in real estate. However, if the risk climate changes for the worse in the real estate market, the reverse market may get hit harder than the traditional market. I think you would also be well-advised to get to know their product as much as possible. Financial services are one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world...and possibly as a result there are some products out there that are very, very complex. I would read up on the dynamics of the real estate finance market as much as I could before that interview, were I you.
You are exactly correct, the internal recruiter told me they aquired Urban back in June and for the express purpose you mentioned.
She did say, however, that due to the companies smaller size, I would end up with lots of face time with mid and upper level management with not only Urban but Knight Financial as well. And that there would be opportunities to grow the role and move up/around the company. Which is incredibly appealing.
My current position/company basically offers absolutely no opportunity for advancement/growth, which for someone of my ambition level is very disheartening.
From what it sounded like, whomever they hire, is going to have a long, steep learning curve due to the complexity of the industry. And the mortgage/finance industry is something I've wanted to learn about anyway.
Could you possibly point me toward some good links that would help me with my research?
I have a friend who is retired from one of the biggest banks in the world. He was the director of State and Federal Taxes within the company, and now that he's retired he is making a nice bit of money just playing the market. He judges a companies strength based on how much cash they have on hand. Seems to be working for him.
I started at my current employer as an intern, so I learned it all from the inside. I think I'd start from the mortgage loan article on wikipedia and click source links, and do the same for other similar articles on wikipedia (like mortgage risk). The Ginnie Mae site probably has the big book of regulations, but you'll probably need some foundational understanding before you tackle that.
Also, starting with above Wikipedia strategy, learn all you can about mortgage- and other asset-based securitization. This will help you move into other parts of the company as you desire.
^Thanks for the advice!
Dunn & Bradstreet analysis is also a good way to go
Another good question: If it's something that sells to consumers, would you shop there if you were in the market for what they're providing?
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