But Im not really sure what youre asking in the first part of the question. If you want to stay in banking, yes, an EB makes more sense than a lower-tier BB, especially once you factor in the cash compensation differences. While brand name does matter, what are your thoughts about doing merchant banking at one of the BBs like GS, BAML, Citi, etc. If you want to specialize in healthcare, yes. Elite boutiques are better if you want to stay in IB long term and about the same for exit opportunities like PE. would it make sense to transition to Rothschild M&A for better exit opportunities? How can I make the switch? Hi Brian, thanks for the informative article , Can I ask your opinion on Equity Research at Raymond James vs IB at Mizuho for an undergrad summer analyst? Sorry, you need to login or sign up in order to vote. Worked at a lower middle market boutique advisory firm last summer. However, since my deals are so slow and I dont have great deal experience after joining the same firm for full time, do you think I should reach out to my staffer and mention I will have capacity to help on other projects? 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). DCM Summer at IBAB or IB Summer at MM? What separates out an Elite Boutique like Rothschild (NMR) from a US MM like Baird/Blair/HL? A Masters in Finance at a top school with relevant experience before/during the program would help, but Im not sure if a second Masters degree is a great idea or even possible at this stage. how big are the analyst classes of In Betweens? We are deleting 80-90% of the content on the site (200 articles are already gone) because a lot of it is out of date or not that useful, and the UBS LA article fell into that category. Co-Head of Financing Advisory & Restructuring for North America New York T: +1 212 389 1539 E: neil.augustine@greenhill.com Mr. Augustine joined Greenhill in 2018. Rothschild's restructuring is known to be the strongest part of the US branch whereas Evercore has much more of an M&A history / pedigree. I was also wondering if I missed my window, since I am an older Undergraduate student. Would an Anaylst there have good exit opportunities? Deals are often comparable in size to the ones that MM banks work on, but that varies widely based on the reputation of the boutique. Does anyone know what exit ops are like at the top 2 debtor shops: Lazard and Blackstone? It seems possible to win traditional PE/HF roles, but the probability is lower. I had a rough life between the ages of 18-23. Most people change around the 1-year mark, but you can move whenever you want if you want to move, start now. I have an offer at Rothschild and was hoping to move to one of the other EBs. 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. They are significant vs. actual MM firms like Blair/Baird/HL. For the moment, there are other perks on offer: Lazard pays for IT equipment and remote meals for London juniors; Rothschild has given bankers 'homeworking kits.'. What about Harris Williams? The standard answer is "any megafund you please. Yes, GS FIG is in a bit of a different category than other FIG teams, but there is still a chance of getting stuck there and not being able to recruit that well outside FIG. Not everyone wants to do coverage work and work on hella balance sheet stuff at JPM while making $50k less than their counterpart at PWP that works on more M&A with a better culture, etc. You've probably thought about M&A, but have you thought about restructuring? My goal is to end up in MM PE (Bridgepoint, PAI, Equistone, Permira, etc.). It suggests a way of changing the repayment terms on the debt in a way that will keep the creditors happy and allow the company to keep trading. 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. 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. Would you say Wells Fargo has now reached the level of DB/UBS? Unlike true regional boutiques, the EBs have a presence in many regions, but often they are strongest in one place. Im not sure about merchant banking at the large banks as Ive never been able to find much information on it. As one specific example, SVB Leerink, a top healthcare boutique, has mostly worked on equity and M&A deals for less than $500 million USD, with a few larger M&A deals. Are they better than IBABs? However, Ive only started for 5 months and have limited deal experience. Im happy to take back that statement if you can show evidence of why Harris Williams should be the #1 middle-market bank, or how well its Analysts have placed (e.g., 5-10 Team pages of middle-market PE funds that have Analysts from Harris Williams). So its not necessarily a great idea unless you have a burning desire to work in a different country. Honestly no clue what I want to do after IB; I kind of just stumbled into my SA at the IBAB. Hi Brian, Have you ever heard of this/is this normal? In turn, this usually means one of two things. I would say to generalize the funds they end up at as smaller buyside shops is an incorrect statement. My staff hasnt responded it yetdo you think I should walk into his office tomorrow and ask for more work? The bottom line: Yes, Restructuring is the best group during a downturn, recession, or market crash, but it's not a panacea. So I think the biggest issue here is FT Partners reputation (Im sure you can Google them to find out more). Hey Brian. 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. Differing opinions here but would love to hear yours. Greenhill, Moelis type) vs staying in a non-US BB (eg. If a BB hires hundreds of new Analysts each year, an EB might hire only a few dozen. If you want to work at a large bank or win a traditional exit opportunity, youre better off going to a real investment bank than one of these firms. Moelis and Evercore are both elite boutiques, not bulge brackets, so options outside finance are about the same. If you want to move to a larger bank, and you do so relatively soon after you start (within 1-2 years), you can do so to give yourself more options. Where are they on those lists? It takes a lot of effort to switch to another bank (https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-accelerated-interviews/), and its not necessarily worth it unless youre laser-focused on mega-fund PE. But because this internship decision should be made quickly or I might miss it , I emailed you for an insight). JPM followed by BAML followed by Barclays and CS, then Jefferies but there may be exceptions for certain groups/regions. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value). Jamie Dimon's comments due tomorrow on this. Potentially, yes. Does networking help at all for PE recruiting, or PE recruiting is 100% based on head hunters? I really enjoyed reading your article. Hertz, JC Penny, Expedia PIPE). His response will probably be: Its slow / its the end of the year or something to that effect, so you may not be able to do much. Its mostly based on the average deal size. Thank you for answering to everyone. PE recruiting at mega-funds and most middle-market funds is based almost entirely on recruiters, at least in the New York market. But even without one, you have a decent shot. I dont really think there will be a huge difference between MS/GS LevFin and M&A at a top EB in terms of PE recruiting, but yes, M&A at the EB is still probably a safer bet just because you never know exactly what Leveraged Finance will entail. Although they have advised on some bigger deals, I dont think there is much data on exit opportunities there. ^^ Im a rising sophomore from a Canadian target with a 3.5 GPA. Evercore is the best, reputation-wise, with Centerview close behind (not enough to really make a difference, so go by the team/people). It might make sense it just depends on how certain you are that you want to do PE. But for growth equity it might work since the work you do is more qualitative in both. Raymond James is better if youre not sure what you want to specialize in yet and you want to keep your options open. What does a restructuring banker do exactly? If I do receive an offer from Evercore should I take that instead? Deutsche Bank vs RBC Capital Markets in London for SA IBD. So unless you have a very specific reason for wanting one of the others, such as a specific connection or group at one of them, DB seems like the clear winner here. Fuck it I'll bump them up, Technology boutiquerankings: not doing tiers but listing names, 2. No, I would not. Avoid FIG, real estate, and energy. Thanks in advance. I dont know much about it, but sure, you could potentially use IB experience at Macquarie to eventually transfer to the bulge bracket banks. I was looking at applying for some IB SA roles for 2020. I have an opportunity open to intern @BNP, but I can also stay @Rot&Co. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value). I think it depends on how much you want to stay in the U.S. Would you say any of the Up-and-Coming Elite Boutiques have become EBs in recent years since you first published this article? I would still say DB if you are deciding based on exit opportunities or post-banking career options. Quo dolor earum sint. Back then, restructuring was very active and I found it quite interesting and asked to be moved into the restructuring group full time.. (Note: Lazard & Blackstone are not options at this point and I'm more interested in debtor work so did not apply to HLHZ). Officia nam voluptas magnam et vel et occaecati. I would recommend reading our coverage of FSG here: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/financial-sponsors-group-fsg/. JT Marlin is about it for both, especially for BX. Undergraduate in Accounting & Finance (2:2) now Ive started Msc Corporate Finance from Russel group University. No, we do not. Its strong in debt and ranks among the top banks there, but doesnt do as much M&A advisory business. Hi Brian, This version of this article was published just under 2 years ago, so I dont think much has changed in that time. Culpa soluta facere voluptate magnam. FTP (Fintech, execution only, mix exit), 6. Great article and great site! Im applying to FT roles at BBs and EBs, but do you think I should consider MMs too? When you click on it under search it comes to this. I know a career change is never easy, especially into IB as a non-traditional candidate but still curious about your opinion on it thanks. 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. Or do I try to switch to IB internally at my bulge bracket?