Barclays ECM vs Macquarie Infra Debt Fund London

Hi monkeys!

The agony of choice ... which one would you go for? Both are full time experienced Analyst positions in London.

Thanks!

 

Beware that infra debt can be a slow and boring monster, Mac is the best place for it but you’ll no longer be dealing with corporates. So make sure you’re “into” infra before getting involved, at least with ECM it keeps you open to tangential roles within “normal” corporate banking.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 
Best Response

Thank you guys! Appreciate every input. Agree that Barclays might be better off in overall reputation but when it comes to teams I see it the other way round. Macquarie has one of the strongest teams in the infra space, whereas Barclays ECM is ranked somewhere between 5 and 10 in league tables (but imo there is strong potential/motivation to improve and they als have the ex-Lehman franchise in the US). On the other hand, ECM could still give me some more flexibility in career progression, whereas Infra likely puts a significant stamp on my CV. I was involved in some transactions for infra corporates but I wouldn't say that I have a lot of insight and that I feel dedicated to this industry. However, I wouldn't rule that out going forward. Generally, I would prefer working on the buyside in the long term and HF/PE would be the goal. In addition, I also have some secondary thoughts on job security and employee rewards. Barclays was cutting back the IBD division in the past months and I think they will still go through some restructurings and face regulatory difficulties. Macquarie, I have to admit, wasn't on my radar for any bad press so far but I guess also infra debt funds will be challenged by regulations sooner or later.

 

I can't comment on Barclays, but there is a fair amount of internal mobility in Macquarie's IBD, whether geographically or between teams. I've known people who have moved between 2-3 various desks over the course of 5-6 year stints there. Also, there's a good degree of movement from their IBD into their infra funds PE GP business.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

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