Ive been working during 3 years at MM boutique (Clearwater International) and now I have received 2 offers and I dont know which one to choose: i) one as senior analyst at BB (UBS) or ii) as M&A Director at a portco of a mid market PE fund, where the salary and bonus is below BB but theyd give me sweet equity, and being part of the board. I have c.7 years of work exp starting in audit and doing a 2 year IR stint at a large bank prior to the big 4. I would like to know which one of these two will eventually bring me higher probabilities of landing at a MM PE after 2-3 years at IB? Do you think Asians can make it to the top of investment banking in the future? For something like Citi in London vs. MS in Paris, Id say Citi in London is still better for now. Atque officiis et quo quis tempora voluptates. Foros Ive never heard of (but looks like they have decent deals on their website?). Possimus adipisci rerum tenetur ipsum eius perferendis id eum. (Heard that SAI is the best way for FT conversion) Rothschild & Co Names Homer Parkhill and Stephen Antinelli as Co-Heads Theyre often founded by high-profile rainmakers at BBs or EBs, and they frequently work with their previous clients. Our job is to look at whats on offer and to decide whether its sufficient., Generally, I work on two or three deals at a time. All the BBs you rank below liontree gugg raine etc have groups that are just as good if not better and you get a BB brand name. My question is if it would be better to after this summer try and lateral to a different group for full time (which would be tricky because of the politics) or try to recruit during the summer to another BB HC team or an EB M&A team. Especially with the likes of Houlihan Lokey, Jefferies, William Blair. We spoke to Simon Lalande, an assistant director on Rothschild's debt advisory and restructuring team, about what his job involves. See you on the other side! And I have no interest or desire to track this information or to pay someone to do it. Different classes of bondholders often come together to hire an advisor. I have managed to however change my image and have been a model student for the past 2.5 years. My group had a lot of deal flows last summer and I was on two deals and they recently got closed. can you see my profile tag, no. You have to be careful with Up-and-Coming Elite Boutiques (UCEBs); Im not sure I would recommend them over the others unless youre certain you want to stay in IB long term. Im not sure I know enough about all of them to provide a real ranking. This website and our partners set cookies on your computer to improve our site and the ads you see. This site mostly focuses on deal/client-based advisory roles with only a few articles on quant careers. Restructuring transactions usually last around 12 months and move through different phases of negotiation and implementation., For me, its the fact that while corporate finance is usually about value maximizing, in restructuring its about loss minimization. I am currently a Junior at University of Michigan-Dearborn (non-target school), however University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is a target school (I am not sure if this helps my case since I attend the sister college). Hey Brian, I recently received offers from both Moelis Boston and Evercore Houston. Find thousands of job opportunities by signing up to eFinancialCareers today. My recommendation would be to find a related role at a Big 4 firm, an independent valuation firm, or something like that, and then try to make a lateral move into investment banking. Where does Union Square Advisors (tech) fall under the category? If I dont get a visa, I would need to return Hong Kong. I believe the biggest one Rothschild did was Chesapeake but other energy related mandates don't jump out at first glance. Great article, very helpful. I am an international student who started as an analyst 4 months ago. also curious your thoughts on some of the local (what I consider, EB), in UK / aus / CN / HK.. happy to provide a list. Thoughts on Guggenheim Tech (Chicago) vs PWP M&A (NYC)? Millstein started recently but are on very big deals, and Evercore while strong reputationally, are still establishing themselves. With specialist advisers all over the world, we have unrivalled reach and unique market knowledge. Does networking help at all for PE recruiting, or PE recruiting is 100% based on head hunters? Nicolas Parasie. Raine is well-known among merchant banks and has advised on some pretty large/high-profile deals. If you dont care, and you really just want to leave the firm, apply for roles at large banks in HK and move ASAP. I can only imagine how much Jefferiespaid/are going to pay to poach them but that is exciting to hear! Similar to the bulge bracket banks, middle market banks also offer a variety of services and have a wide geographical presence, but they work on smaller deals. Hey Brian. One huge caveat should be group placement. Does anyone know what exit ops are like at the top 2 debtor shops: Lazard and Blackstone? A top BB or EB is almost always a better bet. Hey Brian, Temporibus sit est et omnis alias in occaecati. Sorry, you need to login or sign up in order to vote. Thanks in advance. Just kidding its a massive waste of time. If you want to move to a different group and cannot reasonably transfer at your firm, then yes, you should interview around and try to join another team via accelerated recruiting. I think it also depends a bit on which specific IBAB and which MM bank. But youre not that limited because healthcare IB experience opens up pretty much all the normal exit opportunities: VC, PE, HF/AM, CF, CD, etc. Also as an older FT MBA the idea of some level of job security with a BB going into the program would seem to offer me the opportunity to learn and network more- but perhaps Im naive and it will lock me into something Ill have a hard time getting out of. You could potentially move to EB or BB banks, but your chances are probably better at smaller firms. The only thing is that I will have near 0% chances of being able to get a full time offer back form these EB/BB as their offices is very small and they are not looking for full time hires (maybe itll change tho). If I wait a year Ill be a third year analyst, after lateraling wont I eventually be promoted to associate and take myself out of recruiting? And like a lot of boutiques, they tend to encourage internal promotions. hey restbanker, i worked in nyc in rothschild restructuring from 2002-2004 so things might have changed and I might be a bit biased but here are my views: Again, I would take all of these with a grain of salt since it has been 5 years since I left. Thanks. To do this accurately, you need a perspective on both the debt and the equity sides of the business so that you can see how they work together., I joined Rothschild as an intern in M&A in 2009. A move to Lazard/Evercore/Moelis would make more sense, but Rothschild would probably give you a step up in exit opportunities, even if you still dont have access to the largest funds. Patrick Curtis - CEO and Founder - Wall Street Oasis | LinkedIn 2021 was a year of truth about working hours in the banking industry. The problem is that excpt for some Top Target Unis in Germany (e.g. Silicon Valley. If youre still thinking of options outside the banking/finance industry, then its better to stay at a bigger firm with a better-known brand name. Bro this is getting so out of hand. Fugiat maiores repudiandae recusandae illum. I also have an offer from B of A FIG, but would assume that B of A does not recruit as well. "We provide financial advice to companies in financial distress or to the creditors who've lent them money. It will be almost impossible at this stage because junior-year recruiting now starts BEFORE your junior year even begins. On the other hand, if the company has an operational issue if it owes money to the trade partners who supply it with raw materials, for example, then emergency funding might be required. We did an interview with someone in Sweden renewable energy a few years ago: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/nordic-renewable-investments/. and why? Otherwise, youll be up against people with more relevant work experience and even some who worked in IB before. Many thanks for all the topics you have covered so far! Brian would not a merchant bank role better prepare you for PE? Thank you! Anything that leads to less money in the consumers pocket results in a tightening of the belt that impacts the rest of the economy. I more mean to say even with your massive premium on a boutique experience those boutiques are at best similar to the BBs or even worse- considering some BB groups are very very small and selective. The Bottom Line: Even though elite boutiques do offer many advantages over bulge brackets, youre still better off going to a BB unless youre very, very certain of your long-term plans. I think It's slow in RX-land right now so I'm sure someone can help. DB is the best in terms of brand name/reputation/exit opportunities, even after those have fallen over the years vs. the other bulge brackets. I knew I forgot at least one theyre middle-market. Instead, you can use these four criteria: There are some other differences as well for example, you often earn more at elite boutiques than at bulge bracket banks. I dont know, maybe we need a special category here. 3.8 GPA. Does working directly in an FSG role with PE firms give good experience and chances for a PE exit after two years? You should be asking which banks you have a realistic chance of working at. Do you have any advice on which to pick? Because the recent one was terrible yet getting upvoted (not convinced it wasn't a troll), "Citi gets on a lot of M&A because they have the largestbalance sheet. The BBs are actually really, really good still and shouldn't be talked down so much (so I am somewhat being defensive) as they are on this site. Reputation, exit opportunities etc. So most people would tell you to pick Barclays in this case. The idea that EB and BB banks only recruit top college grads is completely ridiculous because what happens if someone, or several people, quit in the middle of the year, and new grads are not available to join? Is it possible to stay there for a year and go into PE or an EB? Im attending Booth at University of Chicago doing an MBA by night and working in operations during the day. GS is not ideal if you want to stay in finance. At BNP specifically, the groups most related to IB are the best for your goals. I would love to hear about your opinion. What are your thoughts? Of course you want to go to a good bank, but just know that people and culture is a huge factor in day to day life. And WF or RBC would beat something like Piper Sandler. I believe theyre strong in financial sponsors / healthcare / real estate, but theyre still squarely in the middle-market category. 2023 eFinancialCareers - All rights reserved. So, the most likely exit opportunities from here are: As the name suggests, these firms focus on one specific industry, such as healthcare or FIG, and often on M&A advisory deals within that industry. Would you say they are on the same playing field as the Raine Group or LionTree? What would you say your overall opinion/assessment is of RJ (IB) and its exit opps, and in relation to other MM banks? I think you should probably aim for something like business valuation or corporate banking or corporate finance, win a full-time offer there, and then move into IB from one of those roles. In the city where I am now, getting an internship at Lazard, Jefferies, BAML, and DB would not be hard at all after having the IBAB and MM IB internships. Dont try to time the market because the process always takes more time than you think. Does New York get to work on any sovereign deals? A debt restructuring proposal designed to prevent the collapse of construction giant Saudi Binladin Group may face more scrutiny from creditors. I also have some portfolio management experience managing 200k for my school and am curious as to what the realistic tier of banks should be that I try to get a job offer from post-grad. I would pick Lazard just because the overall name is better, and youll be working on similar deals anyway. Invite Friends: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/inviteWSO Guides: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/wsoguides, WSO Elite Modeling Package| PE Interview Course | IB Interview Course |All WSO Courses. Hi Brian, no idea who to ask since its such a niche question, hopefully youre still reading these and you dont mind answering. (Please note that after majoring both economics and finance I know I have an interest in this industry but I do not know specifically what I would like to do there. What banks do you think I would have the best success rate of landing an internship in Spring 2021; given my past and credentials. But I think you have to decide mostly based on what you want the next 2 years of your life to be like (moderately crazy vs. extremely crazy), and the location. rep: one of the best restructuring shops in terms of deal flow (top3-5 depending who you ask), size: when I was there it was small ~20-30 bankers. Thanks! Is it better to be and start in a MM IB or an MBB (like Bain)? Unlike true regional boutiques, the EBs have a presence in many regions, but often they are strongest in one place. Potentially, yes, but capital markets tends to be harder to recruit from than industry groups or M&A. Having said Roth RX could potentially be bumped up one level (to match Jef). All of this is useless if you have a psychopath MD/Director/VP that makes your life hell. Also, what are some roles I should consider applying and realistically have a chance of receiving offers? German guy here, simple question: does moving from Rothschild to BNP Paribas makes any sense? Which do you think recruits better into Private Equity Megafunds? I was just wondering how do you think about the rise of RBC in recent years? Its a massive amount of work to maintain and update ~700 articles, and its not something I am interested in doing anymore. Hertz, JC Penny, Expedia PIPE). Also, within a certain category, being a top bank doesnt make much of a difference its not as if exit opportunities become a lot more widely available just because a banks reputation within its category has improved. If you have a liquidity situation where you cant pay the interest on your outstanding debt, or you have a debt instrument coming to maturity and you cant afford to pay it back, then reaching a solution requires negotiating with the creditors who are owed the money. Lets just say its not for everyone. Sed cum voluptatem nisi modi. Just curious if not I will just try and recruit for any off cycle spots at BBs. First, this article is less of aranking and more of aclassification of the top investment banks. Our Global Financial Advisory business provides impartial, expert advisory services to corporations, governments . - Both Lazard and Rothschild have a reputation for paying less than larger rivals, and may need to offer sweeteners as big banks hike salaries. What do you think about Macquaries ECM (namely Equity Capital Solutions team)? Obviously, they will try to recruit other bankers or even people with deal experience at other firms. Everyone knows Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, etc., but no one outside the finance industry really knows Moelis, Lazard, and the other EBs. From what I understand, most sovereign deals are out of Paris? Find thousands of job opportunities by signing up to eFinancialCareers today. These firms are more common in emerging markets where people care less about conflicts of interest. We have engineered many landmark transactions with favorable outcomes for our clients. Any advice would be appreciated. as for the rx group as a whole, would say the type of caliber deals they do are similar (with evercore having a stronger tilt towards energy deals). Merchant banks are fine, but I think it would be tough to move into a larger PE fund from one. Your chances depend entirely on your deal experience and how much you network to make the move. Thoughts on M Klein? I noticed there is a gap between professionals that realize rankings are stupid as fuck (therefore don't entertain these threads)and prospects that give incomplete/uninformed opinions on this topic because it is relatively important to them and it fuels an ego that's coming off of a similar exercise for college rankings. The actual work (almost always debtor side) is interesting and even as an analyst you get good exposure to the client. The pioneers in innovative advice on equity markets transactions and effective investor engagement Our Equity Advisory services assist clients in raising capital through equity markets with the best possible results and to make sound strategic decisions based on investor intelligence and shareholder engagement. Avoid FIG, real estate, and energy. Thank you and I will be looking forward to your reply. The days of HSBC owning the largest balance sheet and running the levfin space are over but it's roughly in the broader Nomura/Mizuho/MUFG grouping, Liontree def tier 2 they've been killing it, Yeah man I saw them in that AT&T Discovery deal. Thanks for this article. Any thoughts on where Sandler O Neil would place? We covered elite boutiques in a recent article from a few months ago here (and tweaked this article slightly in response): https://mergersandinquisitions.com/elite-boutique-investment-banks/. Its a c.20 man team with mostly ex BB and EB MDs. Have a confidential story, tip, or comment youd like to share? Hence, if I stay with my current firm, I wont be able to change for another bank until October next yearIf I start looking for opportunities at other banks, I may join the firm right before the visa process and I am not even sure whether I will get the visa in April (its a lottery process). Legal knowledge is important if you work in restructuring. I know I want to do IB for 2-3 years and then hopefully pivot into PE or VC and it seems like too great an opportunity to sneeze at minus the commitment which I believe is a minimum of 2 years. Boutique Investment Banks | List of Firms - Wall Street Prep Are the differences marginal to a point where it could safely come down to an issue of where the better fit is? My bank is a boutique firm but I want to work in a bulge bank for better exit opportunities. I would go with Evercore. But if all your experience is tech-related, I dont think you have a great shot at IB roles since they want to see finance-related experience (Big 4, corporate finance, valuation, etc.) I dont think either one gives you much of an advantage for PE, but FTP is far better for anything in tech/fintech. However, Ive only started for 5 months and have limited deal experience. It would be almost impossible to get into mega-funds if youre coming from a MM bank. See: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-university-student-high-school-student/. WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through, +Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file, Care for eachother, Care for the Community, Look to Grow, Low Testosterone in IB (or high finance in general), 101 Investment Banking Interview Questions, Certified Investment Banking Professional - Business School, Financial Modeling & Valuation 2-Day Bootcamp OPEN NOW - Only 15 Seats, Venture Capital 4-Hour Bootcamp - Sat April 1st - Only 15 Seats, Excel Master 4-Hour Bootcamp OPEN NOW - Only 15 Seats, Venture Capital 4-Hour Bootcamp - Sat May 20th - Only 15 Seats. I would not recommend that approach if youre aiming for IB roles because you need time to complete internships. Also at a BB what does this title even mean /Vice Chairman, Head FIG Americas , Investment Banking/. Specifically in Houston, I dont know about Houston specifically, but based on recent league tables, I would say No at least for M&A deals when measured by value rather than # of deals https://www.mergermarket.com/pdf/MergermarketFinancialLeagueTableReport.Q12017.pdf. I dont think so, at least not if youre working in Europe, because Rothschild has the better reputation and higher market share in M&A deals. Sorry, you need to login or sign up in order to vote. Thanks Brian. The other option is to aim for Off Cycle roles in better places but that can be a risky bet plus it will delay my FT experience even more. I study in a target UK university and have borderline 1:1, but I have only done internship in a SEA regional investment bank. My boutique firms deal flows are not strong at all so I am really worried I wont get great experience listed on my resume. Its probably not worth it unless you have really good contacts at the top 3 BBs. Let me know your thoughts! If you can give some advice with your insight, it would help me out a lot. Elite Boutique Investment Banks Versus Bulge - Sell Side Handbook But since banks now recruit people on a faster timeline, I think it would be fairly easy to move up as long as you perform well. They were majority UCC (with one debtor advisory) but saw Jefferies in action on energy RX deals. Well, what do you want to do in the long term? But its easiest to start with the four criteria above. And how will your answer differ if I want to stay in Europe compared to if I want to move to the US, and/or Asia? Finally, these firms are very small and tend to operate in only one city, or perhaps a few cities outside of major financial centers. Also, some of these firms place a heavy emphasis on internal promotions and keeping bankers for life, which makes exit opportunities tougher. These firms, with a few exceptions, focus on M&A Advisory and Restructuring rather than debt and equity, and they often work on the same deals that the bulge brackets advise on. Binladin's Debt Restructuring Is About to Get More Scrutiny If yes, then what are my chances of actually doing so? So buyer beware. My goal is to recruit for Megafund Private Equity associate roles. The bottom line: Yes, Restructuring is the best group during a downturn, recession, or market crash, but it's not a panacea. BBs and Balance Sheet Banks (in order):Tier 1: GS, MS, JPMTier 2: Bofa, Barclays, Citi, CSTier 3: RBC, DB, UBSTier 4: Wells Fargo (maybe 3 they have solid outlook), Nomura, BMO, etc lol, (Citi gets on a lot of M&A because they have the largest balance sheet. Thanks in advance And specifically, does your description of typical exit opportunities for mm banks apply to HL restructuring? Have you ever heard of a firm called Lancaster Pollard? Brian Trying to decide between Guggenheim and Lazard MM for IB summer analyst position Any thoughts? A GPA in that range at a non-target school will make it very difficult to win IB roles. as commented below they killed it in energy and cross-border transactions this past cycle. If you have time for another internship at a larger bank, you have a good shot at any of those 3 categories. I am in the 4th year of studies at university of hong kong and I am about to get an internship offer at BNP paribus hong kong. 2005-2023 Wall Street Oasis. Gulfport (which was brought along with the ex PJT partner), Valaris (largest OFS rx) EP Energy (UCC) and Foresight ( financial advisory to company) come to mind. 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I was wondering how you would rank the following banks considering exit opps (I know it heavily varies by group within but in general): JPMorgan, Bank of America, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Jefferies. Moelis and Rothschild seems to be strong, and Jefferies Im not sure about How would you establish the tiers here? Whats their reputation and how do they fare in terms of exit opps? Land investment banking offers with 578+ pages of detailed tutorials, templates and sample answers, quizzes, and 17 Excel-based case studies.