Desks and Firms with the Best Culture
Here's a breather from the usual topics on this forum.
I've been trading on a tier one fixed income flow desk for a while now and I love my team. They're some of the best mentors, teammates, and - frankly - people that I know in the industry.
Are there banks or specific desks at banks that are known for their culture - desks where the traders or salespeople really feel that they can have a long term career there as a function of the people they work with? It seems like a facet of the industry that's altogether missed by some of the students and juniors that peruse through this forum. How did you weigh the people against the product or ranking when you chose your team?
I enjoy reading about good cultures because its usually easier to work harder in that environment. I think culture should be a second factor but for the first few years of your career I feel like brand name is much more important. It would suck but I sacrifice good culture for good brand name for two years to get a leg up.
Best groups for hours/culture in Chicago? (Originally Posted: 06/25/2016)
I'm currently summering at a reputable MM in NYC but for my own reasons I'm looking to move to Chicago for full time. If anyone could name some groups with the best work/life balance (read: least hours) and culture that would be great. I come from a school that is a weak semi-target for Chicago so my pull may be limited for some of the BBs. I hope to use this information to target my FT recruiting towards these banks. And full disclosure, I tried the search function but could not find any threads specifically asking this question. Thanks.
leverage your curent posistion into an in house m&a group at a tech company if u want dem good good hours. Or else prepare to get fukd my bro. My hours are so bad that i get hardly any free time, this has deteriorated my social life, and cuz my social life is bad, my free time sucks, and cuz my free time sucks i look forward and am actually happy to work.
Bad hours is a blessing
Wow this might be the saddest thing I've ever heard.
I'm making the NYC -> Chicago switch for the sake of my social life. I barely have one in New York because the vast majority of my friends are in the Midwest. I know my hours can't be "good" but I will try to make them better if possible. For instance, practically everyone I talk to in a sponsors group seems to have chill hours. In Chicago, I have heard good things about Baird and GS FIG as well.
Culture (and hours) is more so group, not bank, dependent. The best way to find groups that meet your desires is to network with bankers.
Bump
Who are the actual top guys in Chicago? I get that Blair and Baird are big given they are huge offices but how do Laz, JPM, and Citi do? Laz has their Midwest Advisory group as well as Laz MM and Laz Rx. JPM has a big industrials group. Citi has the North American Head of M&A as well as a bunch of industrials guys.
Frankly, I'm not too sure how the BBs and EBs stack up in Chicago, mostly because my school only sends a few to these each year. I know Blair, Baird and Houlihan all have a very strong presence in the MM though.
What about Stout Risius Ross? I don't hear too much about the firm on WSO, but the firm's HQ is in Chicago.
What groups in Houston have the best cultures? (Originally Posted: 12/06/2013)
I did some office visits in Houston a few weeks ago, and want to learn more about the cultures. I already have a good idea of what banks are the best, but don't know much else. I like Citi and CS best but heard that they both have brutal hours. Is this true? I've heard best cultures are Simmons, TPH, and Evercore but I don't know if I want a boutique. I'm not too concerned about hours but more so about where people seem to like it the most and where people are the most miserable.
Best hours are in oil trading. You make bank 8-5 then go home and live your life.
To answer your question, from my research and talking to some people, Simmons is pretty awesome. With that said, we just had a lady join our trading org from an ER position at Simmons, not sure if it was because of the hours but she seems pretty happy here considering she leaves work at 4:30pm every day.
Banking culture, which one? (Originally Posted: 11/22/2015)
English is not my first language, have pretty good grades, A student. Studying economics in Switzerland first year and planning on majoring in finance. I first got attracted to finance in 07/08 during the recession. After learning about finance and reading books as Liars Poker, Barbarians at the Gate etc. I really wanted to go in to the business, as I was attracted to both the field and culture. I have no problems in working long hours but I don't want to make useless pitch books for all of my career. I would like to be in a sector where the work hard play hard culture still excist. Making money is not my top priority but rather be in an exciting culture where I may have the possibility to travel. Which sector/ area would be beat to go into from here?
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Firm Culture & Other Specifics (Originally Posted: 09/02/2009)
What are the best places to get firm specific knowledge (i.e., culture, what makes for a good candidate "fit", etc.) OTHER THAN Vault's Top 50 guides? Is it only through networking and probing people you know in the industry, or are there other written guides floating around out there?
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