The mystery of the fake JPMorgan credit trader charging students for careers advice
Who is Amrit Singh? It is a mystery that may never be solved: he now has no LinkedIn profile and he isn't responding to calls. Until a few weeks ago, though, Singh was listed on LinkedIn as a 'Credit trader at JPMorgan in London.' Now, he's disappeared.
Speaking to us before his vanishing, Singh said he has no affiliation to JPMorgan. It's also understood that the bank has no record of him ever working there. This would be fine, but for the fact that Singh appeared recently at an event run by London University students, with JPMorgan next to his name. Students we've spoken to say Singh subsequently invited them to his intensive assessment centre group training classes, for which he charged them £95 an hour each.
"There were students from all kinds of target universities in the session," says one student who attended a class and recorded it. In an excerpt seen by eFinancialCareers, Singh said he wanted to "give back to emerging talent" and that everyone on the call had been screened and given access on the grounds of their potential. "The other folks that registered, I thought they weren't right," he added.
After the sessions, students say they were sent links to another website, seemingly run by Singh, and called ByBankersForBankers, which has since disappeared. This site sold an investment banking technical interview packs for £1k and private equity interview packs for £22k. Some students were also offered individual tuition for £500 an hour.
ByBankersForBankers claimed to be run by senior bankers. "In my capacity as Managing Director at a leading global financial institution, I have been extensively involved in graduate and internship recruitment programs," said text on the site's now defunct "About Us" section. "Through this experience, I observed significant disparities in interview methodologies and assessment criteria across the industry."
In the training session seen by eFinancialCareers, Singh promised student attendees that they would also receive tuition from his friend, a managing director in the TMT team at Goldman Sachs. Bankerish language abounded; "Good stuff," repeated Singh; "Sure, sure;" people were all "folks."
Is Singh for real? Junior markets analysts at JPMorgan don't think so. It's understood that they have reported Singh to the bank. Then does it even matter that Singh didn't work for JPMorgan? Yes, to the extent that students say he offered to fast track them into jobs with the bank if he deemed them worthy. However, prior to his sudden disappearance, Singh himself informed us that he wasn't offering an entry into JPMorgan, but that he simply had friends in the industry with whom he would share strong CVs.
"He was very credible," one student says of Singh. "He seemed to know all the technicals, and he carried himself in such a way that you wouldn't bat an eyelid and would think that he worked in banking. He was very articulate and eloquent."
Others are less forgiving. "People have been scammed," says one junior banker. "He's taken money from students on the grounds that he works for JPMorgan. He doesn't."
Singh told students he would donate the money they gave him to the charity Action for Disability. We emailed the charity to ask whether they'd received anything; they didn't respond.
The careers advice of Amrit Singh:
- You need a "tier one story" that explains why a banking career is for you. Singh gives an example of someone who wounded himself and so learned the importance of risk management.
- When you have a HireVue interview, make sure you have a plain background and that your face is very well lit, so the AI can analyse your facial expressions accurately. Use hand gestures. Memorize your answers and don't read from a screen - people can see you reading; it looks bad. Deliver your answers slowly, and with pauses.
When you encounter a senior banker who specializes in a particular sector, do some research on that sector yourself. Find an unusual company with a compelling offering. Do some analysis on this company and use it as a way to open further communication with the banker you're trying to impress.
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