Energy Investment Banking in Houston? Anyone have rankings?

Hey everyone,

I'm a junior getting ready to recruit for energy banking in Houston. I've heard that things are changing alot with a lot of MDs moving to different banks in the last couple of years. Are Barclays and CS still the best? What banks have done the biggest deals in the space recently? How much does a bank's strength in a particular subsector (E&P, Midstream, OFS etc.) matter vs their overall rep?

 

I live in Houston so I could shed some light on this. I don't ever know of a time when Barclays was the best. That is news to me. CS is still decent. GS and MS are very good. JPM is running a ton of deals right now, more than other banks. Some of the boutiques like Greenhill are doing well. Greenhill just advised on a $5 billion deal for Devon. I also know Capital One is big up and comer and I think they poached several top bankers from GS/MS lately. Don't know about their dealflow though. So there def has been a shift in energy banking prior post-recession. The American banks have done a great job of monetizing on the energy growth story here.

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Never said they were good, dont know anything about them, just heard they were taking people. I would avoid them and look for a more established bank, but was just shedding color. I also know Jefferies isn't doing bad, but nowhere near the level of other banks.

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TeddyTheBear:

I live in Houston so I could shed some light on this. I don't ever know of a time when Barclays was the best. That is news to me. CS is still decent. GS and MS are very good. JPM is running a ton of deals right now, more than other banks. Some of the boutiques like Greenhill are doing well. Greenhill just advised on a $5 billion deal for Devon. I also know Capital One is big up and comer and I think they poached several top bankers from GS/MS lately. Don't know about their dealflow though. So there def has been a shift in energy banking prior post-recession. The American banks have done a great job of monetizing on the energy growth story here.

Not even sure where to begin with this one. Sigh. Barclays has been a top shop in energy for awhile. Capital One is a credit card clownshow trying to break into MM, think about that one, doesn't matter who you recruit they're a joke and are competing with the likes of brand new mediocre boutiques like KLR and Iberia even though they've been around awhile. Global Hunter is even well ahead of Capital One. Greenhill has been pretty quiet actually compared to the more elite boutiques (TPH, Evercore).

 
Best Response

It's tough to provide concrete rankings because there has been so much movement in the space, but I'll take a crack at it. I'll break them into tiers though

Tier 1

Barclays - Has historically been and still is tops in Houston. Lots of questions moving forward for these guys though and a lot of senior people are unhappy about their comp. Placement is great and they send a ton of people to places like NGP and First Reserve every year. Hours are pretty good too and the culture is known for being very fratty.

Credit Suisse - Like Barclays, lots of questions about this group's future. A ton of people have left from all levels (analyst - MD) and have really hurt them. They still have great deal flow and are among the best banks in Houston for getting you into energy PE. They place well outside of Houston as well, with analysts going to places like General Atlantic fairly often. They have also been known for having an absolutely brutal culture, but they've taken steps to try to alleviate that by giving analysts Saturdays off. We'll see how that works out for them. Also, they're we

Simmons & Co - These guys don't really have a brand name at all outside of energy, but they have been absolutely killing it recently and are very well respected in the industry. Historically they have been known for doing a lot of smaller OFS deals, but they've advised on some very big ones recently (See KKR/Gardner Denver and GE/Lufkin). Placement is lights out, with analysts regularly placing into the biggest energy PE shops. I've heard of analysts going to places like Citadel and KKR as well. Hours are much better than the other banks in Houston as well, with most analysts out of the office by 11ish (or earlier) and rarely working weekends. One thing to note is that they only gave 3/5 SA offers this year when historically they've had a 100% offer rate. Not sure if it's a fluke or there were other factors involved, but it's something to keep in mind.

Citi - By far the strongest deal flow in Houston and way up there on the league tables. Especially strong in midstream with the $5bn RGP/PVR deal among several others. The main problem with them is that they have a TON of analysts, twelve in each class as well as several third years. Their sheer size makes placement difficult just because there are so many people. The best analysts can get into KKR, TPG etc., but it's a lot harder for the other 9 people. I've heard sketchy things about the culture as well and the hours are brutal.

Tier 2

Goldman Sachs - They've been up there in the league tables this year and the analysts have had good exits despite their recruiting policy. An issue for them is the split of execution between NY and Houston (all the major BBs split it to an extent, but I've heard that GS does it the most) but that's something you'd want to ask when you're recruiting. Hours are on the rough side and the impression of their culture I got was "douchy", but that's based on limited interaction.

Morgan Stanley - Had a tough couple of years with the head of their group leaving for UBS, but seem to be doing better now with a couple of big deals recently. Like GS, they handle a lot of their energy work out of NY, but I think it's split more toward Houston in their case. Most of their work seems to be Midstream and MLP related. Have heard good things about the culture and bad things about the hours (not exactly sure how that makes sense).

JP Morgan - Have done well the past couple of years, but I haven't seen them do much of anything this year (at least in terms of M&A). Analysts over the last couple years have gone to places like Quantum and Limerock and apparently they’ve sent a couple over the years to TPG and KKR. Culture is warm, but I got the impression of them being kind of… “weird” for lack of a better word.

BAML - Doing well this year, especially on the capital markets side. Have heard mixed things about the culture from people working there, but my impression of them was that they were pretty fun and fratty, but bordered on kind of douchey. Not sure about analyst exits.

Tier 3

Deutsche Bank - Chill group of guys, but I haven’t seen them do anything in quite a while. Some of their senior guys appear to be well connected though and so their analysts have semi-decent placement.

RBC - The best of the Canadian banks in Houston, but don’t have the recognition that the BBs or elite boutiques do. Especially strong in E&P.

UBS - Lost pretty much every productive member of their office to Citi a couple of years ago and have been a ghost of their former selves since. Things have gotten better since the poached some bankers from MS and Barclays, but things are still quiet from them. Very swanky offices though.

Well Fargo - Like RBC, they’re strong in E&P, but just don’t have the name recognition to place their analysts well. Obviously, since it’s wells, focus more on capital markets than anything else.

BMO - Don’t know much about this group, but the people I’ve met there seem to be pretty cool. There was a thread on here earlier about them - I would check that out for more info.

Other

Evercore - Have absolutely killed it since they started their Houston office and are currently #1 on the energy M&A league tables. Like MS, have heard good things about the culture and bad things about the hours (go figure). The only reason I don’t have them ranked up in the top tier is that they haven’t been around long enough to get any idea for placement. I’ve only seen their analysts at a couple of smaller shops, but I’m guessing that will change soon.

Tudor Pickering Holt & Co - Known for paying way above street (I think 1st year bonuses were 80-90k last year), although that shouldn’t be your primary concern as analyst. They were killing it a few years ago, but they’ve slowed down somewhat recently. Apparently several of their analysts had megafund offers last year but chose to stay for third years.

Greenhill - Very small office (~10 people or fewer, total) with only one analyst per class. Only do a couple of big deals per year, but each analyst they have had has placed (Denham and First Reserve for the most recent two, not sure about anyone else). All of their analysts have come from the same fraternity at UT, so take that for what you will. Pretty good hours.

Jefferies - Absolutely brutal hours, probably the worst in Houston. They have historically been very strong, especially in E&P and have placed well (I believe they sent an analyst to KKR recently), but things have slowed down recently. Not sure about their future going forward.

Scotia Waterous - Used to be a top boutique, but lost quite a few people recently and haven’t done much since.

Moelis - Started a couple years ago by a former GS guy, but never really took off. I haven’t seen them do anything big and I haven’t seen any of their analysts place.

Rothschild - Very new office, started by a former DB guy I believe. Too new to say anything yet.

Obviously these are very rough rankings and you can make a legitimate cases for most of these guys to be in different tiers. I think this will give you a general idea of the pecking order though. Hopefully someone can provide more detail on places that I've missed.

 
Slash-Finance:

Goldman Sachs - They've been up there in the league tables this year and the analysts have had good exits despite their recruiting policy. An issue for them is the split of execution between NY and Houston (all the major BBs split it to an extent, but I've heard that GS does it the most) but that's something you'd want to ask when you're recruiting. Hours are on the rough side and the impression of their culture I got was "douchy", but that's based on limited interaction.

Overall, really solid post. The only thing I'd slightly correct is with regards to GS shipping their work to NY, which, according to a couple friends I have in the group is absolutely false. Their entire energy group save a portion of midstream (which they aren't even that strong in) is based in Houston and they execute fully.

Also, to further what you said about Greenhill; they're really nice guys, but don't bother recruiting with them unless you're an SAE from UT.

 
Slash-Finance:

Citi - By far the strongest deal flow in Houston and way up there on the league tables. Especially strong in midstream with the $5bn RGP/PVR deal among several others. The main problem with them is that they have a TON of analysts, twelve in each class as well as several third years. Their sheer size makes placement difficult just because there are so many people. The best analysts can get into KKR, TPG etc., but it's a lot harder for the other 9 people. I've heard sketchy things about the culture as well and the hours are brutal.

Can you expand on the "sketchy" parts of the culture? Citi is my top choice.

 

This is spot on. I work in Houston energy IBD and will add my perspective in a similar tier fashion, as well as add current large deals.

Tier 1

Barclays - Dealflow: Has historically had spectacular deal flow in Houston. I have heard they have been losing market share as of recent. Last year, they were second in fees on Dealogic league tables. This year, they are currently third with $76 million in fees year-to-date. Culture: Their culture is generally thought to be very fratty, and I think they have maybe 1 non-white guy. Something to consider if "fratty" isn't you. For their deal flow, they have great hours, definitely the best of the 'top 3' bulge brackets. Analysts get off fairly early. Interns had it really good during the summer, but the guys I knew who interned there had a few complaints about how much actual responsibility/work they got. Placement: Their placement has always been great, definitely have the best placement at Texas energy PE shops. They are a strong feeder to NGP and Encap. Outside of Texas though, I would say they are not as good in terms of placement as some of the other groups. Recent deals: Plains Holdings IPO, Valero Energy Partners IPO, Arc Logistics IPO

Credit Suisse - Dealflow: Also has always been a top notch bank in Houston. Last year they ranked first in fees and this year they are currently second with $78 million. Considered to be up there with Barclays in consistently bringing in steady deal flow Culture: Hours are iffy and hard to tell at the moment. Used to have absolutely brutal hours and was definitely thought to be a sweat shop. They enacted the same Friday night/Saturday blackout policy that GS just enacted. Heard it helped things quite a bit, but people I know there still work pretty hard. The people all seem really cool, less fratty and more diverse than Barclays for sure. Placement: Up there with Barclays. Barclays probably has more pipelines to Dallas/Houston shops but CS definitely places better in other geographies. As the above poster mentioned, people have gone to General Atlantic NY, Riverstone NY (multiple), First Reserve, had someone go to Apollo a few years back, etc. as well as the traditional TX places Recent deals: Diamondback Energy IPO, Berry/Linn acquisition, EP Energy IPO

Citi - Dealflow: Definitely the best right now in Houston, but has not historically been. Difficult to tell since UBS transition is still recent. #1 right now in Dealogic, with $90 million in fees. Culture: More diverse/less fratty than Barclays. I think it is similar to CS and likely as bad if not worse in terms of hours. Friend there claims its a sweatshop. People seem cool, I liked everyone I met. Very "work hard play hard". Analyst class is MASSIVE and probably the most important think to take into account if you are thinking of recruiting with them. No idea how this will play out, but agree that they will not place everyone. Likely only top 2 or 3. They also have a few third years which you don't see at Barc/CS. Placement: See above. Not sure what it has been recently. I assume it will remain under Barclays and CS because they haven't built out the alum platforms as well. But I wouldn't be surprised if Citi placed a few people at really great places in coming years. Recent deals: Antero IPO, Athlon IPO

Tier 2 JPM: Solid bank. Has fallen a bit in past few years, but definitely strong tier 2 in Houston. Exits are good, had someone go to TPG recently. People seem nice. Hours are probably average. Worse than Barclays not as bad as CS/Citi

GS: Agreed that people seemed douchy. I thought so too when I met a few of them. They hire a lot from out of state and those kids tend to think they are superior so that may be why. Strong dealflow, but they are notorious for being picky about the deals they get on. They'll be on a few massive things now and then, but they will never have the deal flow that the top groups have. They also are primarily OFS, which may not be great for exits. The execution split between NY/Houston is also very important to take into account. I'd discount them a bit because of this.

BAML: Has recently been killing it. Great midstream group. They were on the Regency/PVR acquisition recently. They do almost no upstream and placement is basically nonexistant. Might pick up with their recent deal flow however. Really cool people. Long hours, pretty bad. I'd call them a sweatshop for sure.

Simmons: I'd put them in tier 2, not 1. Great group, good hours, but their deal size is normally much smaller than the other groups and their placement is not as good. Lots of exits to b school though. Culture is weird in my opinion, some people seemed really cool and some are strange. Good name in energy but won't do much for you if you ever want to switch industries.

Jefferies: Don't know much about them but hours are long and brutal and dealflow is good. Good E&P practice, though the recently lost an MD to somewhere (either Citi or CS, don't remember).

Other -

Evercore: Good bank but bad exits. Most people stay on. People seem cool though. TPH: Know nothing about them to be honest. Well respected though. Morgan Stanley: I would not put them in second tier. Their hours are bad and their placement is bad. Dealflow is not great, mostly do lots of midstream. Greenhill: No idea what these guys do. Small office, really fratty and everyone knows each other. UBS/Deutsche: Places you don't want to be. Wells: Don't know anything. People seem cool, and I have heard they are picking it up. But not sure about their placement or dealflow.

All in all, I would make your decision based on people and then on placement because that is a good reflection of dealflow throughout time. Naturally no bank is going to be #1 every year, so don't base opinion on this year table's or who is top now. Can't go wrong with anyone in top tier group or mid tier.

 
Yankees993:
TabascoSalsa:

Anyone have info on Lazard?

I thought they've been placing pretty well on the buy side in the past few years. I don't know all of the firms but that is what I've heard.

The past few years they've sent analysts to limerock, encap, and first reserve.

 

@HoustonEnergyBanker and Slash-Finance:

  1. How does recruiting for Associates work? If you're doing your MBA at McCombs, you should have a decent shot at breaking in as an Associate right? (Without any IB experience though)

  2. I know this question has been asked too many times, but I am asking with regards to the Houston energy banking world. What exit ops do Associates have after a few years of doing energy IBD in Houston?

Thanks.

 

I don't know too much to be honest but I assume it would go through normal recruiting channels. McCombs has on campus recruiting for MBAs, and the houston banks do visits on campus as well. I don't see why you would not have a decent shot. Best bet would be to reach out to someone in banking who got their MBA from McCombs and ask them your questions. Unlike analysts, associates are expected to stay. I work at a bank that is VERY open to analyst PE recruiting, but even we expect associates to be in it for the long run. That's not to say that there are not any exits. I've seen PE but that's far and in between. Most often you see people going to industry/corp dev/etc. Again, not my area of expertise, just based on what I have seen in the past.

 

Most MBA recruiting looks like it is done out of M7 + McCombs, with a couple of Rice kids. I have met a ton of associates from Booth, Columbia and HBS especially, with a sizable number coming from McCombs. Most of the associates that have left have gone to work in corp dev for oil & gas companies, although PE and HFs aren't completely unheard of (very rare though). I agree that as an associate, you're expected to be in it for the long haul.

 
mongoose:

One more question. If you make the same dollar amount, you are likely to be much better off in Texas right? (Compared to SF, NYC, Chicago etc.)

I am thinking you save in terms of City+State taxes, and cheaper Real Estate prices.

Yes, you'll save more because there will be no state or city income tax and everything is just a lot cheaper.
 

I am a freshman bhp, geophysics, and finance major at UT. This summer i am going to be working at an energy company abroad, but next summer I want to try and get a ibd internship in houston. As everyone on this thread seems to rank Barclays over ms/GS in energy ibd. if i got both job offers in the future, would it be more beneficial to intern with Barclays over ms/GS due to the better dealflow and the possibility of me learning more, or should i always choose the better brand name(MS/GS/JPM).

 

It depends on what your end goals are. If you want to go to energy private equity, you should pick Barclays/CS over GS/MS every time. The former simply have better dealflow than the latter and already have pipelines to get you into First Reserve, Quantum, Denham etc. GS and MS may land a big deal every now and then, but the traditional big players will always have a steady stream of work.

If you don't want to stay in Houston or work in energy afterward, then it may be worth considering GS or MS over one of the big energy banks. Their names do carry weight if you're looking to go somewhere that isn't familiar with the traditional pecking order in Houston.

 

I'll preface this by saying my comments have nothing to do with exits but rather deal flow and current state of things - often I think this site has a 5 year prestige lag. So call this the associate or VP perspective.

Lazard is not relevant in this town and never has been (except in airline deals). It's just a fact. Only reason to go there is for exits at the analyst level.

CS is toast. Huge turnover. Terrible comp. Yes, they get on some M&A deals but most of the work is cap markets - just as it is at most of the large banks. They are a shadow of their former selves and I know a few more of their remaining mid-level guys are looking to bounce.

MS - see above but remove the M&A deals. I think there are just some people sleeping over there waiting for the lights to go off.

Barclays still has solid deal flow (but you will do a lot of MLP cap markets work as well) and there are some culture question marks. Still dont get paid at the mid and junior level despite killing the league tables. Large part of the reason the entire group almost bailed for BAML last year. Unless you're GP or LJ posted up at the ROCC, you are going to do a lot of work for mediocre comp.

Bottom line - any of the large banks, no matter what they say, are going to be cap mkts driven. It pays the bills. Barcap gets more M&A than the rest though. Regardless, everyone I know at bulges (with maybe exception of JPM) wants to bounce to a boutique model for comp reasons. Or leave banking entirely.

 

Bump - would like to hear some of your thoughts on Citi's current A&D team and situation. It's well known that most of the group left for DB a few months back and they are in rebuilding mode. Does anyone have any insight on the new people they've hired and what their plan is. Thanks

 

I'll shed some light on this:

The old team in fact left for DB back in June, and they have been rebuilding for the past 5 months. From my understanding, the reason for the move had several contributing factors. For one (and most importantly) the old co-head wanted to operate autonomously from the broader platform, and they were content to chase smaller deals, and do alot of volume. The senior guys at Citi had a different plan. They want their A&D team to be as integrated as possible with the broader platform and chase larger deals.

They retained one guy from the original group and made him the COO of the A&D group to build it out in way that will achieve the integration I mentioned above.. When the original group left, I believe there were only 8 or 9 people in the group. Since they've been rebuilding in June, they now have close to 20 folks. The two co-heads are ex-Scotia, and one of them was the former COO of EV Partners. Senior leadership is VERY strong, imo. Though, one of them is kind of a nightmare to work with, I've heard. The guys below them are a mix of reservoir engineers, geologists, RE techs, Geotechs, and finance people. Some coming from industry, and some coming from other banks. It's a pretty diverse group of folks. I hear they have a completions engineer and a petrophysicist as well. From what I've heard they want to have a 30 person team by the end of 2015. Dealflow has never been an issue at Citi, so I think it's a smart move to have a massive team that can execute on all the deals they have without crushing their junior staff.

Hope that insight helps.

 
IntrospectiveBanker:

I don't know what your sources are, but DB is garbage. As far as Citi being worst in terms of hours and working environment, I have friends at a lot of these places, and they say GS, CS, and C are all comparable in terms of hours. There's a lot worse shops in HTX in terms of hours (Jefferies comes to mind...).

Would not call DB garbage, but would agree with the latter half of what you said.

 

I think there is a lot of good information in this thread but its probably helpful to first start with some concrete data.

US Oil & Gas M&A League Tables ***US only to exclude international deals which are not done in Houston and Oil & Gas (vs. Energy) to exclude Power, Utilities, etc. deals which are done out of NYC.

  1. GS ------------- $31b
  2. Citi ------------- $30b
  3. Evercore ---- $27b
  4. Barclays ----- $26b
  5. JPM ----------- $26b
  6. TPH ----------- $22b
  7. Jefferies ------ $19b
  8. Scotiabank -- $18b
  9. RBC ----------- $15b
  10. CS ----------- $14b

I think a lot of good points have been made in this thread, but most the information is just dug up from past posts and repeated. Unfortunately, things change and a lot of the information is a bit dated. For what its worth, here's a fresh perspective of what I think Houston looks like today.

BB Rankings: 1. GS 2. Barclays 3. Credit Suisse 4. Citi

Boutique Rankings: 1. Evercore 2. TPH 3. Simmons

  1. Citi Strong deal flow, especially strong in Midstream, good leadership in Houston. The guys I met in the office were pretty cool and I felt like there was a good vibe between the team. I hear turnover and hours have been rough lately.

Biggest Concern: Size (12+ analysts in each class) If you want to be in Houston, be aware that oil & gas is a very cyclical industry. The past 5 years have been amazing, but you are already starting to see some downward pressure on oil prices and industry activity is starting to slow a bit.

I think Citi is an OK place to be at right now and Citi was a GREAT place to be at 3 years ago when Steve Trauber first took the reigns. But as a college Junior or Senior, you should be looking 2-3 years ahead. Citi is massively overbuilt and I guarantee that the first shop in Houston to get trimmed down as the market slows will be Citi. PE placement is also quite challenging just due to the sheer size of the analyst class.

  1. Credit Suisse Great deal flow with a really strong and consistent presence in the Houston energy scene. Great bank to work at if you are dead set on going into Energy PE. A lot of people have left in the past few years and there are many looming questions about the group’s future.

Biggest Concern: Culture CS is known for having an absolutely brutal culture, quite possibly the worst in Houston. They have been trying to take steps to alleviate it, but so far I think things appear to be getting worse. CS is where fun goes to die.

  1. Barclays No question, Barclays has historically been the top bank in Houston. Placement into Energy PE is great and a lot of analysts end up at some well-respected shops. Culture seems good, very fratty but a lot of cool analysts over there I think.

Concern: Leadership is on the way out Skip McGee single handedly built up Lehman’s Oil & Gas franchise in Houston over the past two decades and is a legend around town. When Barclays took over Lehman, Skip fought hard to keep the Houston group together and succeeded initially… things were great. As pressure and regulations started coming down on banks (particularly Barclays), its no secret that the Houston team got really pissed off…. to the point at which Greg Pipkin started shopping the team around to other banks in Houston. Luckily, Skip McGee kept an eye out for his old Houston crew and was able to save the day at the last minute and keep the team together. When Skip McGee left Barclays earlier this year (along with a bunch of other Barclays execs) the Houston team was left to fend for itself. A lot of Associates have been leaving lately and the future is very uncertain.

I’m not saying Greg Pipkin and Lee Jacobe are going to leave tomorrow, but you need to be thinking 2-3 years into the future and I definitely don’t see those guys sticking around for that long. I tend to think Barclays is a great place but it’s a ticking time bomb, can you get in and out before it explodes?

  1. Goldman Sachs I’m surprised GS hasn’t been discussed more as the Houston team has been quietly dominating the oil & gas scene over the last few years (look at the league tables). I met a few guys on the team and culture seems good, a little fratty, but mostly nice, down to earth and extremely sharp guys.

GS has some big name partners now sitting in the Houston office, which has brought a ton of support and resources into growing the Houston franchise, and there is a very deep bench of talent at the VP and junior MD level. The group consistently hires a few associates out of HBS and Wharton every year (vs. other banks hiring UT, Rice, etc.).

Exit opps are great, equal split between Megafunds and well-respected energy PE shops. In terms of pure optionality (who really knows at 21 yrs old if you want to stay in energy or prefer megafund vs. mid market), I tend to think GS offers the best options across the spectrum.

Rumor about the split of execution between NYC and Houston I heard is not true.

Biggest Concern: Analyst recruiting policy GS is the only one in town that makes this difficult, but if you are smart and professional about it, should be no problem.

 

For Jefferies, there are two different answers to the questions as their team is very divided between the Upstream / A&D team and the midstream / MLP team.

The upstream / A&D side is an absolute sweatshop, no doubt. The laid back side is the midstream / MLP side. A first year analyst or associate will get farmed out to either one, most likely starting primarily on upstream / A&D and moving over to midstream / MLP if they are a strong player and the (relatively small) midstream / MLP team likes them.

Hours are still strong, but the midstream guys work 80-90 while the upstream guys get crushed (think leaving after midnight regularly on Fridays). At the more senior analyst and associate levels, you will be 100% dedicated one way or the other. Jefferies is in the final stages of hiring a senior associate from one of the bulges for its midstream team and he has a guarantee that he will be midstream / MLP only. He comes from one of the Big 3 MLP shops (Barclays, BofAML, C). The recruiters went out and got this guy based on his midstream experience and had to give him this guarantee to keep him away from the hell that is Jefferies upstream.

On either side (upstream / midstream), you will get paid at a level that makes the bulges look like a joke. Many senior associates and VPs are jumping from bulge to smaller firms because of the strong energy (especially MLP) market and the ability to get away from the capital markets, low pay and too much red tape.

 
FrequentPoster:

For Jefferies, there are two different answers to the questions as their team is very divided between the Upstream / A&D team and the midstream / MLP team.

The upstream / A&D side is an absolute sweatshop, no doubt. The laid back side is the midstream / MLP side. A first year analyst or associate will get farmed out to either one, most likely starting primarily on upstream / A&D and moving over to midstream / MLP if they are a strong player and the (relatively small) midstream / MLP team likes them.

Hours are still strong, but the midstream guys work 80-90 while the upstream guys get crushed (think leaving after midnight regularly on Fridays). At the more senior analyst and associate levels, you will be 100% dedicated one way or the other. Jefferies is in the final stages of hiring a senior associate from one of the bulges for its midstream team and he has a guarantee that he will be midstream / MLP only. He comes from one of the Big 3 MLP shops (Barclays, BofAML, C). The recruiters went out and got this guy based on his midstream experience and had to give him this guarantee to keep him away from the hell that is Jefferies upstream.

On either side (upstream / midstream), you will get paid at a level that makes the bulges look like a joke. Many senior associates and VPs are jumping from bulge to smaller firms because of the strong energy (especially MLP) market and the ability to get away from the capital markets, low pay and too much red tape.

The hell that is Jefferies upstream is also where you get paid...if you are on team aubrey, at least. Otherwise not much different than the other boutiques. Midstream is a different animal.

 
houston87:

Can anyone speak to where Raymond James stacks up in Houston?

Towards the bottom of the list. They were ok a couple of years back, but ever since they acquired Morgan Keegan, and by extension Albrecht & Associates (A&D shop), they have imploded. Very few people from Albrecht are still there, and they have had really bad turnover the past year or so on the IB side as well as their equity research group. Don't see them being able to correct the tailspin any time soon. If you have options at other banks, I would run those to ground first. RJ could be a good entry into IB, with the intent of jumping ship after 1-2 years, but I wouldn't recommend trying to stay there long-term. Good news is that if you try to make a move to a better firm, they are still a decent (that might be an overstatement) bank that will provide enough training that someone will hire you.

Just my opinion, though, perhaps someone else has a different perspective.

 

Anyone have a recent update on UBS IB in Houston? Dealflow? Exit-ops? I know they lost a decent number of people a couple years back, but want to know if they've restaffed and are back in the mix of things.

 

New to PE / IB scene - two years left in ugrad engineering at A&M with an O&G svc internship under my belt at an INC 5000 company.

Grades aren't strong, but have great direct sales experience and ability to network. What advice would y'all give me?

 
Communist:

How is the comp for analysts/associates in Houston IBD versus NYC IBD?

Base is the same, and the cost of living is a hell of a lot better here. Bonus will depend on how the energy group does in your bank. This should be a good year for O&G groups.

 

CloserStepV I am trying to break into IB in Houston from the O&G industry and have been speaking to several banks and monitoring their deal flow. I can't speak as an expert so what I am saying is purely based on a non-IB point of view. In no particular order:

Simmons & Company - Solid deal flow with the strongest oilfield services offering vs the other IBs in Houston. They also do quite a few deals in E&P and a few in alternative energy. They have represented some of the biggest clients (e.g. GardnerDenver, ProServ, NOV) for OFS and continue to do well in this space.

They have very little to no turnover among IB staff and recruit primarily from their intern class. Several UT, A&M, and other Southern school grads in both analyst and associate roles. Culture is one of the best IMO and has placed IB analyst into some of the top energy PE firms and top business schools (i.e. Harvard).

Tudor, Pickering & Holt - Another major player in the IB energy space but primarily focused on E&P with very little in OFS. Based on my conversation with their analyst they have some of the most well-rounded, top-notch talent enter into their analyst class so I have to assume it is difficult to get into TPH vs others. If E&P is where you want to be then don't look beyond TPH as they are miles ahead of others IMO (could be wrong but that is the sense I get from the people in the industry I have spoken to).

Goldman Sachs - Big BB (obvious) that according to the past threads isn't doing much but they did represent Schlumberger (OFS) in there recent blockbuster acquisition of Cameron (OF equipment). I would have to assume they are doing well to be able to represent a heavyweight like SLB but then again this is only one deal. I wouldn't be surprised if they are tapped again as representatives for future M&A deals.

I don't have much to add on the others so I will let others chime in but these are the three I have followed and know about so take it for what its worth.

 
RedRage:

@CloserStepV I am trying to break into IB in Houston from the O&G industry and have been speaking to several banks and monitoring their deal flow. I can't speak as an expert so what I am saying is purely based on a non-IB point of view. In no particular order:

Simmons & Company - Solid deal flow with the strongest oilfield services offering vs the other IBs in Houston. They also do quite a few deals in E&P and a few in alternative energy. They have represented some of the biggest clients (e.g. GardnerDenver, ProServ, NOV) for OFS and continue to do well in this space.

They have very little to no turnover among IB staff and recruit primarily from their intern class. Several UT, A&M, and other Southern school grads in both analyst and associate roles. Culture is one of the best IMO and has placed IB analyst into some of the top energy PE firms and top business schools (i.e. Harvard).

Tudor, Pickering & Holt - Another major player in the IB energy space but primarily focused on E&P with very little in OFS. Based on my conversation with their analyst they have some of the most well-rounded, top-notch talent enter into their analyst class so I have to assume it is difficult to get into TPH vs others. If E&P is where you want to be then don't look beyond TPH as they are miles ahead of others IMO (could be wrong but that is the sense I get from the people in the industry I have spoken to).

Goldman Sachs - Big BB (obvious) that according to the past threads isn't doing much but they did represent Schlumberger (OFS) in there recent blockbuster acquisition of Cameron (OF equipment). I would have to assume they are doing well to be able to represent a heavyweight like SLB but then again this is only one deal. I wouldn't be surprised if they are tapped again as representatives for future M&A deals.

I don't have much to add on the others so I will let others chime in but these are the three I have followed and know about so take it for what its worth.

+1 for TPH. Those guys are awesome.

 
RedRage:

@CloserStepV I am trying to break into IB in Houston from the O&G industry and have been speaking to several banks and monitoring their deal flow. I can't speak as an expert so what I am saying is purely based on a non-IB point of view. In no particular order:

Simmons & Company - Solid deal flow with the strongest oilfield services offering vs the other IBs in Houston. They also do quite a few deals in E&P and a few in alternative energy. They have represented some of the biggest clients (e.g. GardnerDenver, ProServ, NOV) for OFS and continue to do well in this space.

They have very little to no turnover among IB staff and recruit primarily from their intern class. Several UT, A&M, and other Southern school grads in both analyst and associate roles. Culture is one of the best IMO and has placed IB analyst into some of the top energy PE firms and top business schools (i.e. Harvard).

Tudor, Pickering & Holt - Another major player in the IB energy space but primarily focused on E&P with very little in OFS. Based on my conversation with their analyst they have some of the most well-rounded, top-notch talent enter into their analyst class so I have to assume it is difficult to get into TPH vs others. If E&P is where you want to be then don't look beyond TPH as they are miles ahead of others IMO (could be wrong but that is the sense I get from the people in the industry I have spoken to).

Goldman Sachs - Big BB (obvious) that according to the past threads isn't doing much but they did represent Schlumberger (OFS) in there recent blockbuster acquisition of Cameron (OF equipment). I would have to assume they are doing well to be able to represent a heavyweight like SLB but then again this is only one deal. I wouldn't be surprised if they are tapped again as representatives for future M&A deals.

I don't have much to add on the others so I will let others chime in but these are the three I have followed and know about so take it for what its worth.

Wrong, so wrong

 

MS GS and JPM are excluded from this as I do not have direct experience. They likely rank among the top in all.

Best Culture:

BAML Citi Barclays TPH

*Culture is a tough issue, the guys at the EB's (Lazard, Evercore Jefferies) have been cool and smart but haven't placed a ton of importance on culture.I prefer this it feels like they aren't bullshitting me about the expectations.

Best Deal Flow:

EB's (Lazard, Evercore, Jefferies, TPH) Citi CS

Best Exit Opps:

All relatively similar. I'd say EB's give you the best exeperience therefore best exit opps.

Also just a note about Simmons. Simmons isg reat and they compete super effetively in their space, but keep in mind they focus 1st on middle market / small cap OFS which is getting beat to sh*t right now, and little bit E&P/ midstream. Not sure about culture but their work hours are a little bit less as their deal flow rarely needs to be pitched for. Citi and CS have good OFS teams - They are the advisors on the Halliburton deal.

 

realjackryan do you really feel that MM/Small Cap OFS is struggling? Personally I think this is exactly where the opportunities are and all the M&A opportunities I've sourced for my company, some of them have already been acquired with Simmons leading the charge.

They may not be your sexy $80 billion deals but those who know this space well are raking it in and will continue to do so. Given the ignorance in OFS by your big boys and the financial media, those who lead in these deals will outperform your BB (speaking strictly for OFS).

Just my .02

 
realjackryan:

MS GS and JPM are excluded from this as I do not have direct experience. They likely rank among the top in all.

Best Culture:

BAML
Citi
Barclays
TPH

*Culture is a tough issue, the guys at the EB's (Lazard, Evercore Jefferies) have been cool and smart but haven't placed a ton of importance on culture.I prefer this it feels like they aren't bullshitting me about the expectations.

Best Deal Flow:

EB's (Lazard, Evercore, Jefferies, TPH)
Citi
CS

Best Exit Opps:

All relatively similar. I'd say EB's give you the best exeperience therefore best exit opps.

Also just a note about Simmons. Simmons isg reat and they compete super effetively in their space, but keep in mind they focus 1st on middle market / small cap OFS which is getting beat to sh*t right now, and little bit E&P/ midstream. Not sure about culture but their work hours are a little bit less as their deal flow rarely needs to be pitched for. Citi and CS have good OFS teams - They are the advisors on the Halliburton deal.

You should probably make a disclaimer since you're going through SA recruitment and have zero direct experience.

 

The opportunities in a down-turned energy market lie in restructuring (see EB's & Lazard current dealflow) and distressed M&A. From what I understand some OFS companies are starting to default and perhaps you are catching that wave. I agree this is a pretty good space to be specialized in for M&A volume.

OFS M&A is characterized by small clients and small fees, and distressed OFS even moreso. It's not worth the big guys time to compete in ths space, which I agree is if you are dominant in this space like simons and an compete y cranking deals out.

The problem with OFS as an analyst is it is not "really" part of the energy value chain. What I mean by that if you go into OFS you won't learn a ton about the actual commodities, and can easily get pigeon-holed there.

 

...so much misinformation here.

Looking at LTM, most deals have been in midstream with a few in E&P and OFS. Jefferies is not an EB, although they have (were commonly advising CHK when Aubrey was there) a strong E&P team in Houston. Their midstream team was on MLPX/Markwest. UBS was on the other side. CS deal flow is mostly cap markets, last thing I've seen them work on was Forest/Sabine..wouldn't say they're doing well. Haven't seen Evercore on anything recent, either. Deal flow isn't great anywhere right now, you'd be lucky to be at any bank and some of these comments are ridiculous with "rankings". Hilarious comment firing shots at TPH analysts.

Hard to say who has the best/good culture since it's dependent on the candidate, but TPH and Simmons do have solid people.

 
high hopes:

...so much misinformation here.

Due to the MLP structure (which was invented by Ibanks) midstream requires constant investment banking service to acquire assets and issue new units. It is not that midstream has increased or is doing well, it is just that it has a lower beta. I won't argue with you about Jefferies being an EB, doesn't seem like a worthwhile argument. We can just agree to call them an extremely lean, industry expert, with high deal-flow, prestige and a reputation for highly-technical people that allows them to focus on M&A / Advisory. We don't have to all them EB. Evercore is crushing the MM space. Their clients are largely private so deals are not publicized but they are having a record year. the guys that offer restructuring are crushing it right now.

Although I do agree with you on one thing. The space is tough, and I (or anyone else on this forum) would be luck to have a seat at any of these guys's table.

 

@high hopes I wasn't taking shots at TPH analysts. My comment was based on my conversations with some of their newer analysts they have hired on...I wasn't as impressed with them as I was with the analyst at Simmons.

I don't think anyone was ranking (I wasn't) any of the banks, merely trying to stir up conversation on the current situations at the banks that are focused on the energy sector.

The Sabine/Forest transaction was back in May I think. Of late Credit Suisse represented Cameron which is being acquired by Schlumberger and undergoing the process to close out in Q1 2016. This is the 2nd biggest OFS transaction in recent memory so a big one for them.

 

Didn't throw any MS at you. Also can't give yourself bananas. And thanks for the well wishes. It is tough from UH but I have killer experience that I've worked hard for and have made it to two superdays thusfar this season. How is your OCR going?

And I was referring to the volatility of Midstream deal flow vs Energy deal flow; Not Equity Risk Premium. If you want to make it into IB you should understand the concepts behind the formulas.

 

I would have to disagree with the above tier list for the sole reason that we don't know what OP's priorities are. Exit ops, compensation, culture, hours, exposure, whether OP wants to stay on for associate, and area of focus for the group are all factors that could drastically change the above rankings.

 

Sounds like we have a good deal of oil and gas banking experience on this thread. Was hoping to get some advice from some of the bankers here. Just recently interviewed for SA with some of the best MM banks (Acquest Advisors, Jofferies, Simmons, Raymond James), and I was asked about using "Total Oil Flow to Reserves" as a comp. Haven't heard of this metric and was hoping someone could shine some light on it. Thanks in advance.

 

As far as I know, this is fucking nonsense. If I am understanding this correctly it means how much an Upstream operator is producing vs how much is left in the ground? I guess this could tell you how mature an asset it, but as a "comp" it doesn't really get you to an Enterprise Value or Price, does it. The response about LNG (midstream) makes sense because if this number is high it means you are stockpiling rather than exporting, but this is not a traditional metric I have ever seen in Equity Reserach, Investor Relations materials, or anywhere else in the industry.

All I can think of is it tells you how much life the company has, which can be used to verify the length of your NAv valuation, or again how mature an asset is... Although you could see similar ratios between Large Operators with stable production and small operators who have almost finished production.

 
Loki34:

Sounds like we have a good deal of oil and gas banking experience on this thread. Was hoping to get some advice from some of the bankers here. Just recently interviewed for SA with some of the best MM banks (Acquest Advisors, Jofferies, Simmons, Raymond James), and I was asked about using "Total Oil Flow to Reserves" as a comp. Haven't heard of this metric and was hoping someone could shine some light on it. Thanks in advance.

That should've been asked as PDP/Reserves and in that case it's a metric of how much of 1p reserves is comprised of PDP or flowing bbls. PDP is the most valuable of the 1p components

The metric Reserves/Production or R/P can help show reserve life.

 

I have written on houston banks in another thread and all of that remains accurate. This thread is absurd. CS Tier 1 (is this 2010)? Lazard has dealflow? That is comical. And don't give me Williams we all know that was Barcap with some assist from NY Laz.

I will grant that exit opportunities for analysts do not always correspond to best deal flow but if we're talking who is the best otherwise (comp, deal flow, culture) - Barclays, Jefferies (some cultural questions there) and TPH. Normally would include Simmons but some serious questions to be answered about them right now and i dont have much interest in doing middle market OFS deals. But culturally strong - though weak comp above analyst levels.

 

This is not in any order.

CS and Barclays are both strong, but not as strong as they used to be several years back. A portion of Barclay's senior guys left and CS is known to have a very tough culture. They used to have the best exit opps and they still place their analysts really well.

Citi does a lot of capital markets but they are also involved in some pretty big deals. Good dealflow there and they have a huge office. There's an army of analysts there so if you like that feel then Citi provides that. Just a warning though, the more analysts in your class the more competition there is for end of year bonuses as well as buy-side recruiting.

GS always does some big deals and they're involved in a lot of M&A activity, especially in oilfield services. Tough culture as well and their office has a outdated feel to it. Provides the Goldman brand name and buyside recruiting is good.

BAML has a good culture and they always seem to find themselves on some nice deals. They have quite a few associates and VPs that have transferred from other banks.

I don't have too much direct experience with MS, DB, and JPM. I know DB has been struggling recently and UBS has been struggling for a few years but I think they were on a big deal this summer.

TPH is probably the best M&A upstream boutique. Solid culture and solid exit opps.

Simmons is a great middle market OFS boutique and their midstream and E&P groups have been doing fairly well. Their OFS group is getting beaten down though.

Evercore is known for being a sweatshop but they have great dealflow. They focus primarily on midstream and E&P.

Lazard is on a random assortment of stuff. They cover airlines out of Houston and I think they've been on quite a few A&D projects. They're definitely more middle market in Houston.

Moelis just started in Houston several years back by ex-Goldman guys. They're on a few restructuring deals and they do a lot of sponsors work and they just poached the head OFS guy from TPH. The Moelis team in Houston is pretty small right now.

RBC's expertise is their high yield debt platform. They don't do that much M&A but then again that isn't their specialty. They are based out of the Galleria instead of downtown Houston which I'm not too fond of. They do have a very cool "bro-ish" culture and their guys hang out with each other a lot.

PPHB has been a good OFS boutique in the past but with the OFS sector right now being crushed they are not doing too well. I don't think they made any FT analyst hires this year.

I don't know too much about Raymond James in Houston other than the fact that a lot of their guys want to lateral somewhere else. Scotia used to be great until a lot of their guys lateraled to Evercore to start the upstream team. I think they've gotten back on track though.

I don't know anything about KeyBanc, BMO, FBR, Stifel and other small banks besides the fact that they're probably not doing so hot right now.

I think I hit on all of the main players in Houston.

 

TPH has lost its luster the past few years, seems to be on the decline. Haven't seen much top notch placement from them either, see folks going to other non elite boutiques on sell side from there or taking weak corp dev jobs. The few deals we have seen them run recently, they did a piss poor job ( from a buyside perspective).

I use to see Barclays on some deals , haven't seen much the past few years though.

Jefferies is actually doing a serious amount of deals and does a damn good job putting it together.

GS Houston is on some deals but honestly not much from what I see, not considered so elite in Houston.

I know people seem to like Moleis on here, we do not think highly of them.

CS was mostly debt deals. BMO does a lot of first liens

 

Banquero probably because of people posting comments which add no value to the overall thread. Stating that someone is wrong and adding hahaha at the end is childish and does nothing to add value to this thread.

If all of us knew about the Energy focused banks in Houston I doubt anyone would post this thread in the first place. In addition it was time to have this updated given the dramatic change of events in the Energy markets and its implications for IBs.

With this being said does anyone have experiences with A&D groups? Are the requirements for these groups different than M&A IBD groups with respect to the knowledge reacquired (i.e. Industry expertise vs financial modeling). Thanks in advance...

 

As a former A&D guy - speaking with my former colleagues leads me to believe that the A&D market is actually quite busy right now. Tons of companies are trying to shed off non-core assets in order to strengthen the balance sheet. Also lots of distressed M&A happening, which requires A&D input.

Many bullish energy cycles lead off with lots of A&D activity, so hopefully history will repeat itself in our case. WTI up 6% today LETS GOOOO

 

Don't think we're quite there yet on another A&D boom, although your rationale for why we would see an uptick in deal flow is correct. All the big funds earlier year thought the pure play guys were going to shedding tier 1 assets left and right to try to keep their RBL lenders off their backs, and geared up big time earlier this year w/ close to $100bn new distressed funds to swoop in with and wreak havoc.

This thesis has yet to really come to fruition, producers have been more resilient through most of 2015 than expected. This has led to a bid/ask spread that remains too wide for deals to get done. The two factors driving this gridlock from view is: 1) The big, chunky, contiguous assets that are in financial buyers buy-box are now different beasts vs. asset portfolios in years prior. The industry over last 2-3 yrs has moved away from the monopoly style acquisition strategy of picking up big blocks of leases in multiple basin's spread out all over NA and refocused efforts on centralizing portfolios in a single, low breakeven basin or at most 2 basins that are geographically close to one another. Most of the guys surviving right now have already shed most of their non-core assets, or have placed them on their bench if they've got flexibility on lease expiration's, so really there's not this big glut of high quality oil assets just sitting around out there like people. The only true, big non-core packages on the table now are gas weighted, and unless you've got a very competitive marketing strategy for new gas production (which we're still very much oversupplied with) the economics don't pen out. 2) When E&P's made big deals to acquire their existing assets over the last 2-3 years, they were underwriting theses transactions at $85 - $90 / bbl price decks on the equity side and $75 / bbl as their bank case deck. Point being, there's billions of $'s already tied up that are deep underwater and shedding assets at half their value or even less would torpedo a lot of funds, and the banks are stretching the flexibility of their covenant to their outer limits to avoid an onslaught of write-downs. So it's not surprising the asset holders and their money teams are remaining stubborn.

Ace all your PE interview questions with the WSO Private Equity Prep Pack: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/guide/private-equity-interview-prep-questions
 

@Eric Stratton" you seem knowledgeable about Energy Banks in Houston and I appreciate your insight. Do you have any suggestions on the best course of action for breaking into one of these banks in IB? Specifically for someone coming from within the Energy industry.

Thanks

 

I think those threads are fairly accurate. There is a weird dichotomy right now of where is good for exits, and where is good strictly as an investment bank (CS, for example - good exits because it used to be really good / now not a place anyone above analyst wants to work at). I was never an analyst so I dont really consider exit opps as a selling point.

Fact is, no one above analyst wants to be at a BB right now. The ones who have had good deal flow (Barclays, Citi) have had some combination of (1) terrible comp, (2) bad hours, and (3) unknown personnel situations at the senior level (all three in Citi's case). Add in the absurd amount of capital markets work (most BBs) and you have a sad situation.

Strictly speaking about what i know of the culture, deal flow, and comp I would lean heavily towards boutiques and Jefferies. Longer explanation warranted on the last one but suffice it to say they operate / pay basically independent from NY and do very well in upstream and pretty well in midstream (source: roommate / anecdotal). Don't know if they are a good spot for exits, though, and cultural is kind of weird.

But strong preference given to the boutiques: Evercore, TPH, Simmons. Evercore and TPH have pretty aggressive hours (esp. Evercore midstream) but comp and deal flow are strong. Someone posted the US M&A league tables (all industries) 2014YTD on here the other day and TPH was in the top 20, despite being strictly energy focused. That's pretty strong. Evercore certainly does very well also. Simmons really focuses on OFS and smaller deals but definitely wins the quality of life award. Hours there are legit. I know the comp has been lower at times relative to the other boutiques (associate and above) but not materially, esp given the hours.

The other thread went into detail on the other bulges but they are all kind of the same to me minus some cultural differences / what verticals they compete in / or how they split with New York (JPM / GS). Obviously some do better in M&A (Barc and C) than others but capital markets is going to be a big part of your life at any of the bulges.

Places with good names nationally that I would avoid in energy: Lazard (not relevant in oil and gas), Greenhill (just lost the two founding MDs), Moelis (havent been able to get it off the ground).

That advice is probably worth what you paid.

 
ThirdCoastBorn:

I think those threads are fairly accurate. There is a weird dichotomy right now of where is good for exits, and where is good strictly as an investment bank (CS, for example - good exits because it used to be really good / now not a place anyone above analyst wants to work at). I was never an analyst so I dont really consider exit opps as a selling point.

Fact is, no one above analyst wants to be at a BB right now. The ones who have had good deal flow (Barclays, Citi) have had some combination of (1) terrible comp, (2) bad hours, and (3) unknown personnel situations at the senior level (all three in Citi's case). Add in the absurd amount of capital markets work (most BBs) and you have a sad situation.

Strictly speaking about what i know of the culture, deal flow, and comp I would lean heavily towards boutiques and Jefferies. Longer explanation warranted on the last one but suffice it to say they operate / pay basically independent from NY and do very well in upstream and pretty well in midstream (source: roommate / anecdotal). Don't know if they are a good spot for exits, though, and cultural is kind of weird.

But strong preference given to the boutiques: Evercore, TPH, Simmons. Evercore and TPH have pretty aggressive hours (esp. Evercore midstream) but comp and deal flow are strong. Someone posted the US M&A league tables (all industries) 2014YTD on here the other day and TPH was in the top 20, despite being strictly energy focused. That's pretty strong. Evercore certainly does very well also. Simmons really focuses on OFS and smaller deals but definitely wins the quality of life award. Hours there are legit. I know the comp has been lower at times relative to the other boutiques (associate and above) but not materially, esp given the hours.

The other thread went into detail on the other bulges but they are all kind of the same to me minus some cultural differences / what verticals they compete in / or how they split with New York (JPM / GS). Obviously some do better in M&A (Barc and C) than others but capital markets is going to be a big part of your life at any of the bulges.

Places with good names nationally that I would avoid in energy: Lazard (not relevant in oil and gas), Greenhill (just lost the two founding MDs), Moelis (havent been able to get it off the ground).

That advice is probably worth what you paid.

You hit the nail on the head w/Citi

 
ThirdCoastBorn:

I think those threads are fairly accurate. There is a weird dichotomy right now of where is good for exits, and where is good strictly as an investment bank (CS, for example - good exits because it used to be really good / now not a place anyone above analyst wants to work at). I was never an analyst so I dont really consider exit opps as a selling point.

Fact is, no one above analyst wants to be at a BB right now. The ones who have had good deal flow (Barclays, Citi) have had some combination of (1) terrible comp, (2) bad hours, and (3) unknown personnel situations at the senior level (all three in Citi's case). Add in the absurd amount of capital markets work (most BBs) and you have a sad situation.

Strictly speaking about what i know of the culture, deal flow, and comp I would lean heavily towards boutiques and Jefferies. Longer explanation warranted on the last one but suffice it to say they operate / pay basically independent from NY and do very well in upstream and pretty well in midstream (source: roommate / anecdotal). Don't know if they are a good spot for exits, though, and cultural is kind of weird.

But strong preference given to the boutiques: Evercore, TPH, Simmons. Evercore and TPH have pretty aggressive hours (esp. Evercore midstream) but comp and deal flow are strong. Someone posted the US M&A league tables (all industries) 2014YTD on here the other day and TPH was in the top 20, despite being strictly energy focused. That's pretty strong. Evercore certainly does very well also. Simmons really focuses on OFS and smaller deals but definitely wins the quality of life award. Hours there are legit. I know the comp has been lower at times relative to the other boutiques (associate and above) but not materially, esp given the hours.

The other thread went into detail on the other bulges but they are all kind of the same to me minus some cultural differences / what verticals they compete in / or how they split with New York (JPM / GS). Obviously some do better in M&A (Barc and C) than others but capital markets is going to be a big part of your life at any of the bulges.

Places with good names nationally that I would avoid in energy: Lazard (not relevant in oil and gas), Greenhill (just lost the two founding MDs), Moelis (havent been able to get it off the ground).

That advice is probably worth what you paid.

You hit the nail on the head w/Citi

 

Boutique is a good path. Life is better at boutique than bulge. Friends who have worked at both say the difference in how you're treated is significant. Lazard has good exits. Evercore is now showing it will have good PE exits: Denham, EnCap (2 in the last couple years), Energy Capital Partners, Lime Rock. Jefferies owns the upstream m&a space, but a less than stellar name and an almost exclusively sell-side position on deals equates to less love in PE recruiting.

 

Boutiques in energy have a lot to offer, seeing as they'll deal less with the capital markets side that some of the larger banks will inherently have. I would include others in that category; Scotia and Lazard come to mind (Scotia is upstream focused, Laz not so sure).

Get to know the people in each group - this is what is ultimately most important (as you will find out). Best of luck in recruiting.

 

Goldman IBD in Houston Summer Analyst recruiting is already wrapped up (speaking from first hand knowledge). They had an accelerated process this year and just finished staffing up for positions in IBD for Summer 2015.

 

Helpful, but I'd keep a couple of things in mind looking at that. One is that "global" would mean some of that is not out of a particular Houston office at all. The other thing would be # of deals vs $ value of deals - neither is absolute, but BBs generally have an edge whenever looking at $ value.

 

That has to include power. Lazard hasn't done 32b of oil and gas in its history. Check those SIC codes.

That point aside, i would argue that global skews in the BB favor tremendously (for reason mentioned above -e.g. no way BAML has done that number domestically unless their power team is killing it) and north america is much more relevant for a junior guy in Houston. Also note the Kinder roll-up is giving C and Barc like 70b of credit for that deal alone (with Jeff and TPH getting probably ~55 and ~12, respectively for that deal). And leading MLP IPOs is not something to look forward to (nor are the 30 MLP overnights you'll do in a year) - but if that sounds fun then BB life (esp. Barc, C, or BAML) is definitely for you.

The dealogic run I was referencing from the other thread is here http://fn.dealogic.com/fn/MARank.htm

Regardless, from quality of work, comp, and culture reasons I stand by my boutique argument. Personally I think EVR/TPH are above Simmons (expertise in more verticals / comp) but you'll definitely trade some lifestyle points for the privilege. Wouldn't blame anyone for choosing any of those 3 over the others.

 

Comp? Heard that Houston analyst comp is best at TPH, Jefferies, Evercore. TPH and Jefferies have paid some seriously high bonuses in the past, relative to other banks (80k-ish first year?).

Highest base pay: Evercore; TPH and Jefferies equal in the past (has TPH increased analyst pay now?) Highest bonus: TPH, Jefferies, then in a more distant third place is EVR (20k less than TPH but still ~10-15 higher than Street?)

*? Limited data points that are slightly outdated

 
iblegend:

do any banks have policies against analysts going through PE recruiting? if so, which ones and how strictly are they enforced?

Don't know about GS but I think most banks have wised-up to the fact that having good exits gets you good analysts and thus it makes sense to help guys out who want to go to PE. The social contract being that in exchange for support you will not not bounce after 1 year or become a total jagoff in your 2nd year (once you have a job).

I would encourage all you hot shot monkeys to keep your options open. I've had more than one analyst who was "PE or bust!" until they either (a) got to PE or (b) interviewed for other jobs that ended up being way more interesting to them (and, in some cases, pay better) - hedge funds, corp dev, etc.

 

Any specifics on your exit opp preferences? Stay in Houston? Megafund or bust? Energy focused shops only? Any particular oil vertical you want to work in (upstream/midstream/OFS)...or it's all the same to you?

 
iblegend:

if you were going through summer analyst internship recruiting RIGHT NOW, and wanted to go to the bank with the best combination of compensation and exit opps, with hours being a small concern but not as big as comp or exits, how would you rank them?

BB: Barcap, CS / Citi / GS, MS / BoAML / JPM / , WF/DB/UBS.

Fairly large gulf between the CS/Citi/GS tier and MS/BoAML/JPM. Barclays wins over the guys right below it because their analysts are working 10-15 hours a week less (ballpark). Dealflow/exits are going to be about the same for a given analyst.

Boutique: Lazard, EVR / Jeff, TPH/Simmons

If energy focused, move TPH and Simmons up, Lazard down. BB stay about the same.

 

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