Wells Fargo Securities - Prestige, pay, and hours?
Just curious how does WFS stack up against bulge bracket firms? In prestige, pay, hours, exit opportunities, easier to break in etc?
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they are moving up slowly but surely. using their balance sheet to win mandates. however in a relationship based game it will be a while before they can really earn that ultimate bb title.
Pay is higher than a lot of the other BBs and MMs right now surprisingly enough because they do a lot of balance sheet related work (not much M&A advisory work at all however), prestige is seen as WFC being a strong MM bank, exit ops exist but still elite boutiques and top BBs will have stronger ones and from the recruiting process i went through, it was not as difficult to get an offer- very less techincal and the ONLY BANK that gave out offers after a FIRST round through OCR, odd i've never seen another bank do this. oh and they give their SAs a signing bonus which is also rare/never occurs for an internship with other banks ($2k signing!)
overall- growing, not top though, id say on par with HL and behind the like of Jefferies, but they do have room to grow and are a full service bank
Considering you get your information from Dealbreaker and your name is "HelpwithSaOffer", I'm going to take your info with a grain of salt.
I don't know where you got your "pay is higher than BBs/MMs because they do a lot of BS work", but that can be said about every BB w/ a "fortress" BS; I would also think JPM and BofA would pay a lot more, given your reasoning.
Wells is growing and they do use their BS, but that's just the traditional banking model; a lot of my peers still view them more as a retail bank, but they're definitely growing and have done some big deals in the past year. I'm sure the general perception of Wells will change with time, but it'll take a few years.
When I was an SA, we received a $2K signing bonus as well, and this was at a BB. So no, it's not a rarity.
no
I thought most banks give their SAs a 2k signing bonus. You didn't get one at Guggenheim?
They do, this guy is just flat wrong.
I did a private banking SA gig with a BB in a brand new St. Louis regional office and I got a $1.5K signing bonus for a city that was absolutely dirt cheap. I would assume an IBD BB SA gig would get $2K across the board. How else can you expect a college junior to afford the upfront costs of moving to a new city (especially NYC) for a summer?
lol i stand corrected. looks like i got it but was sent to my home address in phili, didnt come to where i stay for college in NY...
pay reference is straight from deal breaker
I'd say WF, if not already, is a BB bank. They still have some lacky groups here and there, but seems like they did a good job of sifting the wheat from the schaf when they picked up Wachovia's IB arm. It seems as if kids with WF banking backgrounds are getting more serious buyside looks as of late. Solid bank, you'll get just as good experience as any other BB.
^ No.
and your name fits perfectly again :)
Thanks for the response guys
WF doesn't hire internationals, only 'BB' or like one of many 'MM's.
WF is growing and consistently taking away deals and has been hiring MDs from other BBs (Bofa and MS that I know of). Like every bank, WF has certain groups that are real strong (LevFin) and other groups that are pretty average. I personally know several guys who have gone to reputable PE firms. Long story short, it's definitely a good bank to be at right now
To be blunt, WF is trash. Only good group is Lev Fin, everything else is awful compared to other top firms. Only thing they offer is their balance sheet, which is why their Lev Fin group if good - anything else (i.e. M&A) loses to BBs/elite boutiques by a huge margin.
I have no dog is this fight, but this is a crap statement. Was already mentioned above some groups fall short. Just like every other stupid BB ibank.
WF's energy and power groups are both solid and are in the mix for most relevant deals in their respective spaces; cap markets and m+a.
And WTF is this "they're only sig. cause' they lev. their B/S," bullshit? You're out of your goddamn mind if you don't think every big bank doesn't do the same to coax future advisory mandates from their coverage comp.'s.
What, every time a company needs add. capital you think their go to move is call up a m+a banker and get the ball rolling on getting the board to vote to sell? Check yourself bro.
OP, WF is a fine place to do your analyst stint if you land an offer; don't listen to these retards. Sure, you may not be the top pick profile for HF/PE recruiting, but neither are most analysts at almost every other BB sans CS/MS/whoever you want rank 3rd. Get on some good deals, rank high in your class and you can get buyside interviews if that's your goal.
Seriously, did no one else catch that he ranked CS first???
Anyone have any thoughts about their corporate energy group in Houston and Dallas?
Corporate banking = revolvers and term loans. WF's energy practice is doing well especially in Houston, likely a good job, but corp. finance IB if that's what you're targeting.
Wells Fargo Energy is doing incredibly well given they have only been around for a few years. They have hired some top notch MD's from other banks and are quickly expanding their coverage universe. They do use their balance sheet but so does virtually every other bank in energy given the capital intensity of the clients. In the energy space, I would put WF very close to the Barcaps / CS / JPM's that do well in Energy.
This part is ridiculous.
Look, WF is a great place to be. Too many people on this site are obsessed with prestige. You'll get a great experience at WF in the MM space. If it's exits/prestige that you're looking for, you're best served with the BBs / elite boutiques. It all depends on what you're hoping to do.
Thank you guys once again for clearing up the misconception.
No problem Abhi7, I love you too (platonically of course).
trash? you think good pay (higher than most BBs) and landing a good PE shop is trash..you're an idiot and shouldn't be blogging
Haha wow. Look at your post history. You obviously work at WF and you are so insecure about the inferiority of your firm that you need to come here and post your biased bullshit. A good PE shop? Compared to who? Piper Jaffray? You're an idiot if you think WF gives you better exit opps to PE than a BB or elite boutique (GS/MS/JPM/EVR/BX/LAZ/CS...the list goes on and on). Do you really think headhunters are going to actively look for talent at WF? The guy above mentioned he received an offer after just one first-round interview on campus...now that's just embarrassing and should tell you about the talent they hire. The only good group at WF is Lev. Fin (solely because of their balance sheet) and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as BB's if you're talking about M&A, which is more important for PE. WF is a second-tier MM firm for M&A.
Choosing to go to WF over a BB or elite boutique will leave you disadvantaged on so many levels. I'm sorry for hurting your feelings by insulting the firm you work for but WF is, comparatively, trash.
I hear their s&t is pretty good. ibd seems hit or miss though
How does Wells compare to UBS? (they are seemingly going in opposite directions)
prtScn12 - hey you little shit, couple things wrong with your not-so informative blog.
I'm still in college - so you're wrong, my goal is to be at WF in couple years so cool of your jets because if you're posting a blog on this website at 1pm...please let me know where you work so I don't end up there.
Either way, I have more banana points than you so stfu
I suppose you will work at a place where you never have any free time at 1 PM?
LOLOLOLOLOL
I don't know why I found this comment to be so hilarious...
Who says M&A is better than LevFin for PE recruiting? If anything, all things equal I'd say LevFin is better. Then again, what do I know, it's like I'm like the college kid giving full-time IBD advice out aka HelpwithSAoffer
On the floor...
Wells is good, not great. The fact is, Wells Fargo Securities is a MM bank right now. However, the difference between Wells Fargo Securities and another middle market bank is that Wells has the potential to grow into a BB investment bank due to it's balance sheet. Other middle market banks simply don't have this potential.
Conclusion: Good middle market bank with limited downside and significant upside.
How would Wells Fargo compare with places like Guggenheim, Cohen, Oppenheimer?
It kneels. Lol jk, I'd say Guggenheim, Wells & then Oppenheimer...tht is unless you want to do Lev Fin and get into Wells Lev Fin.
Wells is a respected bank, but still has a long way to go. Obviously a nice place to start, and you'll save tons of money in Charlotte. However, it still doesn't have the reputation as others have mentioned. Maybe in 5-10 years.
In the municipal world, WF ended up at #8 in the league tables behind Goldman ($13.230 bn senior managed; 4.5% market share; 198 transactions). They are a pretty solid player in the space and have made major strides to fortify their position as a BB firm. I know they closed some regional offices, moved some bankers to major cities and are now going after large transactions only ($25mm+ roughly and definitely using that balance sheet as mentioned above)... strong groups are their general municipal, transportation, health care, environmental facilities, utilities and public power groups. I know 99% of the people on this site have their sights set on corporate finance, but just throwing this out there... (Source: Bond Buyer)
When you guys say WF / BB's use their balance sheet to win deals, are you saying they secure financing or offer loans at a low interest rate, as they have a commercial arm? Not entirely sure what the phrase means...
Balance sheet heavy deals are usually ones which you take on a lot of underwriting risk or hold and not selldown a RWA intensive product or have a huge commitment to an RC or TL. Generally speaking, relationship banking relies on holding the largest amount of corporate banking or underwriting risk in deals, thus giving you a higher chance of winning mandates/scoring new deals and better economics (aka above Co Mgr and Sr Co Mgrs).
can only speak to their energy and power ib and corp banking. 1) corporate banking is solid for both energy and power and utilities. they are competitive pricers and are usually lead left, arranger, or admin on syndicated facilities. ib they are very solid for oil and gas and just got an oilfield services banker from a BB. so when it comes to balance sheet, they are a good player and well respected in energy.
Great way to start a troll-fest, especially considering WF is the only bank who will hire most of the non-target kids who are reading this board.
He got me :(
Your bonus should've been stated in the offer letter which you signed.
I call dibs on the banana point argument quote for use in signature.
I'd rather have banana points than a signing bonus.
COL in Charlotte is pretty sweet
I work here. Made 70k+50k=120k last year. Imagine that is about average. Now I'm a second year at 90k base.
Experience, like anything, is what you make of it. Let me know of any questions.
Charlotte office?
NY
Wells Fargo Securities IBD Analyst (Originally Posted: 09/14/2014)
Does anyone know how good Wells Fargo Securities IBD analyst program is in terms of exit opps, deal flow, etc? Does it compare to a bulge bracket in terms of deal size?
what group?
Firm as a whole. I know lev fin has a better rep than most groups
M&A and Industrials are the best groups in NYC. Charlotte Lev fin is pretty strong as well.
Anybody hear back after 1st round interviews yet?? superday for this saturday
any idea on anything specific to expect for the superday?
When was your first round?
Had a first round but have not been contacted yet for the next round - any one else been contacted yet?
Last Thursday..Said I should hear back in 1-2 weeks. Doesn't seem like a good sign though
Yup same here. Mine was last thurs as well
I passed through to superday in Charlotte on Sept. 5th.
I just accepted full-time with WF's Energy group in Houston. There have been some good exits from that group. Deal flow is strong and they are expanding the team quite a bit.
Offers went out on Friday for this last superday round
Everyone I know from their NY coverage offices (Industrials, Consumer and Healthcare, TMT) either exited into respectable PE shops or got invited back as an associate. Still not on par with GS, MS, JPM in terms of dealflow, but they've been making massive gains in revenue each year, and from what I hear the culture is incredible and the guys I know who work there love it (hence why it's more common to see them stick around and become associates). Their comp also tends to be a little north of street. Warren Buffet is also crazy bullish on their IBD and sends them a ton of dealflow. I'd say go for it.
Anyone hear back after 9/19 CLT superday?
Received offer about an hour after leaving.
Wells Fargo Securities? - Insight to the strength of the S&T division (Originally Posted: 01/28/2011)
I know there have been a lot of bashing of Wells Fargo in the past and I fully expect this thread to be full of trolls soon enough. However, I was hoping to gain some insight to the strength of WF's S&T division as a summer analyst and whether it would be a good stepping stone for a potential top tier BB S&T division for full time.
Did u get a call for phone interviews yet?
btw WF guys are serious about growing...I've seen kids wanting to stay after the summer because of the culture/lifestyle.
I got an offer, but I don't know if I should take it or wait for some better opportunities/ small chance that I will get lucky late in the recruiting cycle when firms realize they have an open spot and open up recruiting later in march/april. I'm extremely worried because if most BBs only take ~40% of their SA class, that means that I will be competing with students with better banking experience for an even more limited number of spots come full time recruiting.
Most BBs do not take 40% of their SA class. Much, much higher than that.
So at this point it doesn't look like you have many options, as I think it would be pretty stupid to not accept the offer right now only to hope that something opens up later. If anything, if an opportunity does open up later on, just go with it and cross the reneging bridge if you reach it. That being said, Wells is a perfectly fine place to start out, so I would focus on getting a return offer first.
i agree with downtown.
damn u got an offer already? i applied for SA (online) and networking. just called HR ad they said im in the pool for phone interviews in early feb.
where did you apply? was with through ocr? what region?
Thoughts on Wells Fargo Securities? (Originally Posted: 06/08/2012)
Hey guys,
I'm a rising junior with a good connection to the firm. I hear the culture is moe laid back but that comes with costs as well...what are your thoughts? Specifically on exit ops and the growth rate of its banking business>
Thanks!
at Wells Fargo you pay tha co$t to be da bo$$
Well, I interviewed and got a FT associate offer from them and a few of my friends work there. Many other bankers warned me off about WFS because WF had never been a big fan of IB and there was a bit of a forced marriage between WF and Wachovia's IB.
One thing I can tell you is that it is not strong in NYC, but very good in the south and out west. They have a lot of Harvard/Wharton/Stanford MBAs working there but most of the heavy hitters work in Charlotte/Houston/Atlanta/San Fran.
Overall, I liked most of the people that I met there and it was a hard decision to turn down. I did turn down offers from MS and BARCAP (both in NYC) for another BB spot in NYC just because I do not want to work around people who enjoy the taste of their own dick way too much. The guys at WF did not give me that impression. They all seemed like a great bunch of dudes who I would definitely work with in the future.
i liked the junior guys there. def far ways to go in terms of deal flow, quality of deals and clients. They literally take what they can get. Personally, i liked Wachovia 10x better they killed it in the regional MM space. I think the merger lost a lot of that focus Wachovia had pm regional MM pre-crisis. They were a sweatshop in a badass type of way. Wells seemed to have made it through the financial crisis pretty well, but that doesn't mean shit in terms of winning clients. hard to way how they will be in the future.
MDs walk around the office like they are ambassadors. in it to pay for their costly lifestyle and shit. Few MDs i met had ego problems. Didn't seem like they were doing shit to bring in clients/deals. Lots of mid-senior level guys leaving (Associates to Directors) to start their own firms or join smaller regional banks.
On the plus side, decent comp, culture, low-cost living, decent brand name, good training. A quick lnkd search says a few analysts moving to buy-side, bschool, industry etc. A LOT switch internally, to more laid back groups like syndication, high grade dcm/ecm, etc after analyst stint.
While WFS offers a relatively laid back high finance lifestyle that strikes more of a work life balance, it's not the place to be for aspiring monkeys. They focus too much on their core commercial lending business and treat their capital market capabilities as more of a value added rather as a high margin elite division like other major banks.
Also, while managers are less likely to pretend to be BSDs, they are less ambitious and are typically WF lifers (read: not the cream of the crop).
Dumb question of the day: What is a securities analyst at Wells Fargo? (Originally Posted: 10/31/2014)
Is this a back office role?
-Thanks
What's the job description?
You might be getting confused with an analyst position at Wells Fargo Securities, WF's corporate finance divison. Otherwise, as noted above, just read the job description...
I'm pretty sure that's for investment banking. The title "securities analyst" or "securities summer analyst" was thrown around a lot in the descriptions for their investment banking summer analyst post.
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