2024 Prestige Ranking of All High Finance Seats (Based off selectivity/prestige/exclusivity, NOT compensation/league tables/exits/size)
Tier Heavens (Nothing beyond) - RenTech, Pershing, Tiger Global, Lone Pine, Viking
Tier Celestial (Above the stars) - Other Tiger Cubs, Bridgewater
Tier Utopia (Among the stars) - Jane Street, Two Sigma, HRT
Tier Moon (Beyond the skies) - Citadel, Point72, Millennium, DE Shaw
Tier Atmosphere (Above the peons) - BX, APO, KKR, Reputable HFs
Tier Skies (At the limit) - CVP, PJT, Other MFs
Tier Mount Olympus (The sky's the limit) - LAZ, JPM, PWP, Q, Top VC/Growth Equity/Private Credit
Tier Mount Kilimanjaro (Greater than most) - EVR, MS, GS, Citi, BofA, UMMs, MBB
Tier Empire (Untouchable by commoners) - Barclays, Moelis, UBS, Guggenheim, Greenhill, RBC, MMs, Average VC/Growth Equity/Private Credit, SWFs, Tier 2 Consulting
Tier Kingdom (The ruling class) - DB, HL, JEF, BMO, Macquarie, Cowen, Piper Sandler, Baird, William Blair, Allen & Co, Mizuho, Nomura S&T/ER, LMMs,
Tier Town (First among equals) - MM/LMM IBs, Below Average VC/Growth Equity/Private Credit, CRE, Anything Outside New York/London
Tier Village (Commoners) - Regional Boutiques, Barely High Finance (CorpDev/CorpFin/FP&A/TAS/Big 4/AM/Family Office/PWM)
Tier Farm (Untouchable Filth) - Big 4 Accounting, BigLaw, Medicine, Politics, Middle Office. etc
Tier Prison (Barely Human) - Normal Jobs (Teacher/Nurse/Back Office/Sales/Marketing/HR/IT/Software Engineering/Garbage Man/Janitor/Cashier)
I have not ranked certain jobs because I missed them but feel free to suggest their rankings
Seems like a fair list to be frank, should shed some valuable light on prospects deciding career choices.
Did you forget to post as anonymous?? You are the OP
Impossible for bro to go anon; he's got more MS than SB
Name checks out
I'd rank BX/KKR/APO higher IMO, some people prefer private markets over public markets, in that instance it would be Tier Heavens (nothing beyond) for them.
Agreed, I moved from public to private markets in my analyst years, and have no interest in returning. KKR / BX / APO easily sits at the top of the private investing world in terms of "prestige" and I know a few people at those shops who have turned down names like Lone Pine / Tiger because of their preference for private investing.
Why don’t you edit your post then? YOU made the list LOL
That guys account is pure AIDS like why is he replying to himself loool
Really interesting post, where's Big 4 Consulting though?
Why are you asking… you made the post
Bump
Phenomenal rankings, wholeheartedly agree with the other commenters. If I were a prospect I would print this list out and carry it with me everywhere just in case you’re ever in a situation where you need to quickly assess prestige.
You have Software Engineering in the same tier as janitor and back office. What's with the Software Engineer slander?
More like janitor slander. I know some janitors and they’re good people. Can’t say the same for the other two.
why is JPM so high?
Yeah think JPM should be grouped with or below MS and EVR, almost everyone I know turned down JPM for GS / MS, EVR, or UMM shops
Turning down JPM for GS and buy-side roles is reasonable, I don't think anyone has turned down JPM for EVR or MS (in recent years at least). In fact, the unofficial "holy three" is now GS/JPM + MS, it's been a few years since MS was a clear cut above JPM. EVR isn't even in contention, they're following the path Greenhill went down.
Where's Elliott
Why do you have Tier Heavens twice. Seems like you forgot GS as well. Pls fix.
Where is Goldman pls fix
I kind of love posts like this, because it's very easy to see how the 'brand name' financial firms are able to get young people to bend over backwards to work for them (independent of any money considerations). Prestige really is the easiest way to get smart people to put aside their dreams and work nonstop for you.
Is Tier 2 Consulting (RB, OW, Kearney) really more prestigious than reputable MMs (Jefferies, HL, Nomura etc)?
Specifically asking for London
What would top tier growth/Vc firms be considering there’s so many?
insight/sequoia/vista/thoma bravo etc
You know it's WSO when RBC is ranked too high. Overall dog shit rankings and please make career decisions on more than just prestige prospects.
They're #9 in US M&A league tables this year
Did you even read the title of your post?
Congrats on JPM! Also top AMs (Fido / Cap / PIMCO / Wellington) should up there with other MFs in prestige, not next to big4.
D&C slander
Why are Laz PWP and JPM above GS MS and EVR at least try
GS = fucked by DJ-Sol
MS = slipping atrociously in league tables recently
EVR = bloated horde of low quality juniors, overhired, going down the path Greenhill is
Congrats on Lazard!
Is OP that corporate banking retiree mentioned on here that has 20 burners and plays on WSO all day?
Guy is a certified schizo
Ok AN1
I know you’re joking but this guy truly has some major problems.
Feels like this is the same bottombuckethardo guy who has been posting the dumbest and weirdest shit for years. YEARS…
Sorry, the tier above heaven is FT Partner
At "tier moon" and above, are the vast majority of those roles at those funds quant? Or are there more fundamental / non-quant roles at that level.
Only JS, Two Sigma, RenTech and HRT are quant. Tiger Global, Lone Pine, Viking, Bridgewater, Tiger Cubs are fundy
You guys need to get a life outside of finance.. jeez some of you are really special cases
Quant hedge funds and market makers are not prestigious. They are a bunch of nerdy beta males who don't lift and can't dress. High comp sure, but low prestige.
Selectivity of candidates on par or even beyond the path of Eton/Exeter/Andover/Deerfield/Westminster -> WHYP -> CVP/PJT/GS/MS -> HSW -> APO/KKR/BX -> Tiger Cub (think Eton/Exeter/Andover/Deerfield/Westminster -> Oxbridge/MIT/Stanford/Caltech -> Oxbridge/MIT/Stanford/Caltech Masters -> Oxbridge/MIT/Stanford/Caltech PhD -> NASA/Lockheed Martin/Raytheon/Pentagon -> RenTech/Jane Street/Two Sigma/HFT)
Dont put rentech in the same sentence as the Market makers.... equivalent to comparing a MM bank to PJT RSSG
I’d rather have a life actually
Exactly. This is right.
Never change, bottom bucket hardo.
This is so funny as Tier Utopia is mostly hiring the people in Tier Prison.
So, where would a middle-office role at a firm like Bridgewater, Pershing, or Citadel land in these rankings? @LowCaliberTalent
To put anything on the same level as Rentech (or the other private quant funds) is almost laughable IF your giving equal weighting to selectivity/prestige/exclusivity. The selectivity and exclusivity of these funds are shoulders above any of the fundamental funds and the only reason they dont have the same prestige is because 99.99% of people in finance just dont even have the smallest opportunity in ever joining them because they arnt smart enough.
This clown needs to be banned ASAP
RBC and Gugg down one tier. Mizuho and Nomura down one tier. Allen & Co up, they don't fit with the rest of the shitty middle markets
LowCaliberTalent needs to be inducted into the shitposting Hall of Fame. This list is impeccable.
Medicine in tier farm? Dude definitely lost his gf to a gigachad vascular surgeon
Roths missing, pls fix
Touch grass bro 🙏
Where would you place top AM in the list?
Big 4 should be higher
This list is shit. MOE with the middle market banks??? PWP and PJT above Evercore??? MS, GS same level as a bunch of second tier BBs. Go touch grass bud.
Dude is posting and replying to himself with the same account 3-4 times as different personalities.
Is it schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder?
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