List of Investment Banks in Toronto, Canada

Anyone have a list of the major/medium and small investment banks in Toronto?

Investment Banks in Toronto

In Toronto, all the major bulge bracket banks are represented. This includes Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. See a list below for other major investment banks in Toronto. The list below shows a list of the big 5 investment banks in Canada. All the banks listed are North American banks with the exception of RBC Capital Markets and Scotiabank, which are considered global investment banks.

List Of Canadian Banks - Big 5

  • RBC Capital Markets
  • TD Securities
  • Scotiabank
  • BMO Capital Markets
  • CIBC World Markets

List of Boutique Banks in Toronto

  • Evercore
  • Greenhill

Valk – Investment Banking Analyst:
In Toronto, the global boutique landscape really comes down to Evercore and Greenhill. There are a few other one-offs, but they either have no presence or are very marginal players (e.g. Cantor Fitzgerald). Lazard used to have an presence in Canada, but they closed down their Canadian advisory business to focus on Asset Management.

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Banks: BMO CIBC NBF RBC Scotia TD

Boutiques: Byron Capital Markets Canaccord Genuity Cormark Dundee Fraser Mackenzie GMP Haywood Laurentian Securities Mackie Research Pope and Company Paradigm Salman Partners Stonecap

International Guys: BAML Cantor Fitzgerald CS GS Macquarie Well Fargo

Think that should about cover anyone of note. Don't know the HF space as well.

 
juniormistmaker:

Banks:
BMO
CIBC
NBF
RBC
Scotia
TD

Boutiques:
Byron Capital Markets
Canaccord Genuity
Cormark
Dundee
Fraser Mackenzie
GMP
Haywood
Laurentian Securities
Mackie Research
Pope and Company
Paradigm
Salman Partners
Stonecap

International Guys:
BAML
Cantor Fitzgerald
CS
GS
Macquarie
Well Fargo

Think that should about cover anyone of note. Don't know the HF space as well.

Thanks.

I never even saw that WSO had a company search option. Cool.

Once I did bad and that I heard ever. Twice I did good and that I heard never.
 
  • Fraser Mackenzie does not exist anymore
  • Desjardins is in Toronto
  • Clarus is a good boutique that was missed, Jennings is not
  • Raymond James is in Toronto
  • UBS is in Toronto but just slashed staff
  • Wells is just opening a 4 person office in the next few weeks
  • Rothschild has an office but not sure what they do in Toronto
  • Evercore, Jeffries and Greenhill are still in Toronto I think
  • Citi is in Toronto but not 100% sure that they have an IBD there
  • I think HSBC securities still exists in Toronto
BayStreetBoy
 
BayStreetBoy:

- Fraser Mackenzie does not exist anymore
- Desjardins is in Toronto
- Clarus is a good boutique that was missed, Jennings is not
- Raymond James is in Toronto
- UBS is in Toronto but just slashed staff
- Wells is just opening a 4 person office in the next few weeks
- Rothschild has an office but not sure what they do in Toronto
- Evercore, Jeffries and Greenhill are still in Toronto I think
- Citi is in Toronto but not 100% sure that they have an IBD there
- I think HSBC securities still exists in Toronto

Why is Wells opening a 4 person office? Sounds like a loophole they're trying to get by being in Canada than actually ding something worthwhile.

Once I did bad and that I heard ever. Twice I did good and that I heard never.
 
IBNazi:
BayStreetBoy:

- Fraser Mackenzie does not exist anymore
- Desjardins is in Toronto
- Clarus is a good boutique that was missed, Jennings is not
- Raymond James is in Toronto
- UBS is in Toronto but just slashed staff
- Wells is just opening a 4 person office in the next few weeks
- Rothschild has an office but not sure what they do in Toronto
- Evercore, Jeffries and Greenhill are still in Toronto I think
- Citi is in Toronto but not 100% sure that they have an IBD there
- I think HSBC securities still exists in Toronto

Why is Wells opening a 4 person office? Sounds like a loophole they're trying to get by being in Canada than actually ding something worthwhile.

Or maybe that's all you need to start a small satellite coverage office...

What an inane comment

 

I'm keen on continuing my path in consulting after my MBA. However, I'm trying to keep my options open as well, and thought that it's best to begin my research on different industries that I could work in that aren't consulting-oriented. I've not seen any (as far as I know) Canada-related posts on IB...so I decided to put one up.

 

That looks very competitive. So that essentially means there are typically 50-odd positions for IBD associates every year, across all of Canada!

I will go to a target school, yes, though I've not made my decision as to where exactly.

 

If you go to a target school(Ivey/Rotman) I am assuming you will be looking for positions in Toronto. Toronto has about 15 positions or so for IBD. Btw this year was absolutely brutal. I have access to UofT careers website and last year I saw Associate positions from all banks and a couple of top boutiques. This year only NBF posted. So better start networking if you have access to alumni database. If not, just reach out to people using linkedin.

 

Yes on both counts (Ivey/Rotman, and positions Toronto).

Few more questions if you don't mind (I'm assuming you go/went to Rotman?)!

  1. Is it common or acceptable to reach out to people via linkedin (don't have access to the alumni database) before I'm even a student?
  2. Also, would you have any idea about conversion for associates in management consulting, in Toronto? Or do the top firms take in grads from top US MBA programs instead of Canadian targets?
 

"Toronto has about 15 positions or so for IBD"

This is absolutely, categorically untrue. There are probably 10x this amount if not more in Toronto. Hell, Buffalo probably has more than 15 positions.

 
beautysuze:
"Toronto has about 15 positions or so for IBD"

This is absolutely, categorically untrue. There are probably 10x this amount if not more in Toronto. Hell, Buffalo probably has more than 15 positions.

Actually it's not...if the poster was refering to post-MBA IBD Associate hires in Toronto. Every year there are usually around ~15-20 new associates across ALL Toronto at the Canadian banks. Most of the Canadian banks will take 2-4 associates per class, and the hiring at the associate level for BB satellite offices is very limited. Obviously the analyst class numbers are larger but still tiny relative to the US (usually ~8-10 new analysts per Canadian bank and ~1-3 per global bank)

Analyst salaries in Canada vary, but it's generally around 65k-70k base with 5-10k signing bonus. The analysts bases are more at the global banks due to historical FX rates, and some first years make 85k+ base as a first-year. However, bonuses this year for the kids at global banks are going to be a lot lower than their Canadian bank peers.

 

As far as I know, RBC dominates M&A advisory in Canada, followed by BMO and TD. Not too sure in terms of strengths in specific industries, but if you want good M&A deal flow I would aim for those three. My understanding is that the boutique practices in Canada are fairly young.

 
Best Response

I'm assuming we're talking global/US-based boutiques, so I'll leave out the Canadian "boutiques" (GMP, Canaccord, Cormark etc).

In Toronto, the global boutique landscape really comes down to Evercore and Greenhill. There are a few other one-offs, but they either have no presence or are very marginal players (e.g. Cantor Fitzgerald). Lazard used to have an presence in Canada, but they closed down their Cdn advisory business to focus on Asset Management.

Greenhill started in Canada in 2006 following its acquisition of a high-profile Canadian M&A boutique called Beaufort Partners, which was founded by George Estey and Brad Crompton, the former Heads of GS and MS in Canada, respectively. For several years, these two Canadian partners ran Greenhill in Canada and were supported by a bunch of ex-MS junior/mid-level bankers. Given their collective pedigree and rolodexes, Greenhill has been not surprisingly able to land some high-profile mandates (e.g. the failed $49Bn LBO of Bell, Canadian Tire's acquisition of Sport Chek).

Things got interesting in 2012 when George Estey, one of the co-founders of Greenhill Canada, left Greenhill to start up Evercore Partners in Toronto. The firm was staffed up with a bunch of lateral hires from the Canadian banks (RBC M&A, BMO Mining etc), and I believe they currently have 6-7 bankers. Greenhill is a similar size.

Both firms focus on cross-border M&A to leverage their global platforms and tend to stick to differentiated situations and transactions (e.g. not plain vanilla M&A, which clients tend to throw to their capital providers (the cdn banks or the large BBs))

Deal flow at EVR/GHL is relatively lighter than the Canadian and BB banks since their small scale forces them to only selectively target clients/deals. They aren't' big on pitching or facetime and thus hours on average are really good. I believe any time a Canadian mandate is won, the majority of execution is handled in Canada with some industry or senior coverage support from NY office. Pay for Toronto analysts is the same as their counterparts in the US.

Both firms are very well respected in the finance community (especially in the US), so exit opps are good. Greenhill has sent its analysts to pension fund PE, Toronto hedge funds and their most recent analyst to SAC Capital in NY. Evercore is young, and I don't think a Toronto analyst has exited the firm yet.

Hope that helps.

 

ML I believe...though I have no doubt that UBS will work you hard no matter where you are. The US BB's in t.o. will all swear up and down that they are not doormats but you have to be very careful. At RBC and CIBC you will get many of the big name cdn deals so if you want to stay in canada for exit opps it's solid.

 

Looking at the completed deal league tables, the only Canadian banks that make it are RBC and CIBC. That being said, those who I know at the associate level say that TD is a good place to work, and that RBC will work you like a dog. US banks still dominate Canadian deal flow, but NY handles the deals, they have minor presence in Canada. It is mostly S&T... mostly sales and equities.

Metals & Mining I-Banker
 

US banks dominate Canadian deal flow? Where are you getting that from?!

US BB's in Canada are mostly involved in cross-border deals since RBC/CIBC and the like don't have the presence in Europe/Asia to close such transatlantic deals. US BB's in Toronto are pretty small too, MS has an odd 15 or so people, and the same goes for UBS. JPM I would say is relatively active, and ML Canada is probably the strongest out of the US BB's (particularly in Alberta energy). From what I understand, NY does do a lot of work for their Canadian offices. That said, lateralling between offices is not hard once you've completed your 2 year stint. London and NYC are very possible transfer opps.

Good thing about US BB's in Canada is that you get paid in USD (NYC Comp). You get more deal exposure and the open-door policy stemming from small size gives you access to some experienced bankers. Just the same, you're a pitch-bitch and will get worked like a donkey. You do get to train in NYC tho ;)

Boils down to this - if you want to stay in Canada go for RBC/CIBC/BMO. TD is good too, and their NYC shop has a strong TMT group. If you're thinking about broadening your scope/experience and are looking to get some IB work done in London/NY then the BB's in Canada will get you there.

 

If Morgan Stanley has 15 or so people, how many analyst openings would they most likely have per year? I know one 4th year student at my school who interned at MS Toronto and has gotten an offer to return. Same question for ML..

 

Well, seeing as how CIBC only made it to #1 in announced and completed M&A thanks to Xstrata/Falconbridge and JPM is #2 in Canada in announced, says something. For completed: 1)CIBC 2)RBC 3)Goldman 4)JPM 5)MS 6)ML 7)UBS 8)TD 9)DB 10)CS

So... in the top 10 completed, where did the other Canadian banks go (besides TD at 8)? Ok, your point is valid about cross-border deal flow influencing this, but it is a CB deal like X/F that propelled CIBC to 1 in completed and announced. These are from Thompson financial:

Metals & Mining I-Banker
 

There is a lot of crap being spewed on this thread.

CIBC/RBC - Clear leaders in the Canadian marketplace. If its M&A and it involves a Canadian target or involves a Canadian acquiror of a Canadian company, chances are they are on the deal. If you want to raise a significant amount of equity (IPO or follow-on), again RBC or CIBC. Lifestyle is better at CIBC.

BMO/Scotia - Clear No.2s in the market historically, although both have slipped.

TD - Up and coming but they still have a long way to go. Execution ability is sometimes shoddy. Lifestyle is pretty good. TMT group in NY is tier 3 after they blew their brains out lending in 2001/2002.

NBF - Everyones favorite co-manager.

Domestic boutiques (ex. pure energy focus) - Genuity (ex. CIBC): They work very hard for little revenue GMP - Energy/mining focus. Work very hard but the firm makes tons of money. Doesn't always trickkle down though Canaccord - Small-cap. Good lifestyle.

Canadian IB (domestic banks and boutiques) are not about all about exit opps. There are plenty of people promoted to Associate. People stay in banking longer because the lifestyle is better than the U.S. and the egos are smaller.

There are not a lot of jobs for incoming analysts (maybe 20 total incoming analysts in Toronto plus another 20 in Montreal/Vancouver/Calgary).

International comments to follow separately.

 

Take a look at the international banks in those rankings. Some of those deals include for example, Qantas sale to a private equity consortium that included Onex (counts as a Canadian deal) or acquisition of British Airports by a consortium that included OMERS (I think - also counts as a Canadian deal). I guarantee no one from Toronto/Canada worked on any of those deals.

Having said that.

Largest offices - ML (Canada coverage and full institutional desk). MS (15 bankers). GS (10 and growing). LEH (new office, targeting 12-15). CSFB (global mining team and canada coverage, probably 15). UBS (IB plus full institutional desk). JPM (not sure numbers).

Besides those guys, others with a presence, albeit puny. DB, Greenhill, Lazard, BNP, BofA, Rothschild.

 

If you want to raise equity, you need a Canadian dealer 95% of the time as the U.S./international banks have zero to almost zero retail distribution / domestic institutional coverage. This eliminates a lot of people.

I forgot Citi on the list above. They have a 15 person IB office plus other stuff.

 

Pulled back (but not completely) their Canadian presence in IB a couple of years ago. In the last 12-18 months, they have rebuilt the office.

I believe they have a PMD as well as three other MDs. They will rely on NY to lead execution but I think the Canadian jr. bankers stay involved, but, don't be fooled, it is a coverage office not an execution office.

Goldman, whether they have a big local presence or not, is always able to win mandates in Canada because of their name.

They also have a hedge fund mandate in Canada. That is probably the coolest job at GS in Canada.

 

The BB's with decent footprints (15-20+ people) in toronto will be involved in most of the deals they originate. Smaller deals may be handled entirely out of toronto with support from the appropriate product groups in NY, especially if the deal is in an industry that the office focuses on. Bigger deals may involve the Toronto analysts working alongside the appropriate industry group in NY. Deals that fall into really specialized industries (FIG, tech, etc) may be handled entirely out of NY/San Fran/wherever the industry group is.

YesCanada is right about the Canadian equity issues - the BB's leave that to the Canadian banks. Clients go to one of the BB's for M&A (if the deal is big enough), IPOs when they want to list in the US or UK, HY debt (there is basically no HY market in Canada) and other cross-border financing type stuff. All of these require heavy product group support from NY, though less so with M&A - the Toronto offices generally have enough M&A expertise to run deals independently.

The BB's pay their analysts a lot in Toronto and they wouldn't do it if all they needed were people to lay out pitch books. Sure you'll do a ton of pitching, but that's the same everywhere.

 

Canadian banks don't pitch that much and what pitching is done has a 50% success rate. At least at the good banks.

Canadian firms don't list in the UK unless it is the AIM, then they use Canaccord.

Don't discount the ability of the Canadian banks to compete and win against BBs for M&A mandates involving Canadian companies.

For example, how many $20 billion hostile defense mandates have one advisor on the sell-side. Its an exception rather than the rule. See Falconbridge.

 

No bank has a 50% pitch success rate. And the BB's were on every side of the mega canadian deals this year, along with the canadian banks (except BMO NBF and Scotia). RBC and CIBC (TD's getting close) are the only canadian banks with internationally credible M&A groups - BMO and Scotia blow ass.

 

RBC and CIBC are winning 40% to 50% of everything they pitch. I am counting mandates that go nowhere as success but they are "selected".

BBs - Sure, they are on nearly every "very" large M&A transaction but maybe 1 or 2 per year max each.

Also, their presence in the "large" category is more sparse.

 

go check out the 06 canadian involvement M&A tables on your bloomberg, and check out the deals each firm worked on - your argument that the international banks only get 1 or 2 big deals each and have a "sparse" presence in the "large" category is just stupid

 

That seems like a very small amount. Are you implying that each bank (say the Big 6) hire only 20 analysts on average? How many associates do they hire? And how much better is the lifestyle relative to US IBanks? From what I have heard from friends in the business, they actually tend to get weekends and some evenings off, can take vacations, is this what others have experienced as well?

 

If you look at the financial results of some of the larger boutiques like GMP and Cannacord things dont look very good. The major banks are taking smaller deals on and competing with boutiques for deals they would not have normally looked at because of the lack of transactions.

 

This is the question that I'd REALLY like to know the answer to.

Well, I know our Canadian banks (missing National Bank of Canada, but whatever, they are the smallest) are MM banks.

I would be guessing that if you go to one of our target schools (Richard Ivey - UWO, Schulich - York, or Queens Commerce - Queens U) and have a relatively high GPA, you'll definitely have a shot. I know that Richard Ivey (UWO) is the biggest school on Bay Street here in Canada.

I'd say that going to one of those schools, getting good marks, majoring in finance, and having some ECs/internships will definitely land you an interview.

 

I understand that the hiring season is over for full time sept 2007. Am I wrong?

Alayle: I have a math/stats degree from the university of waterloo; you think I have a shot at getting some interviews?

 

You can get an interview with a math degree from Waterloo if they have a need.

Hiring season is over but there is always a need for additional analysts. Best thing for you would be to get 9-12 months experience in a smaller shop and jump over.

 

thanks for the reply,

here's what I'm going to do: I'll start preparing applications/resume/package for the IBs in toronto (hopefully get at an interview).

And also apply to the smaller shops.

any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

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