Macquarie Capital

Hello,
Could anyone offers some insights into Macquarie Capital, some pros about the company, some company specific things (i.e. corporate culture) that perhaps it does differently than its competitors. I know that Macquarie is a MM firm, and is big on restructuring. Tried doing some research, but can't really coming up with anything concrete.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks fellow monkeys!!

Working at Macquarie Capital

Macquire Capital is mostly considered a middle market. The banks reputation has shifted somewhat through the years. Here are some thoughts form some certified users on the firms reputation both locally in the US and abroad.

from certified user @snakeplissken"

in the US it's still a perfectly good name. i've never worked there, but i had a couple friends that have, and for some reason i kept hearing how "cheap" Macquarie is. i think they mean in relation to their bonuses vs. other bonuses on the street, as well as their budgets for taking clients out, but im not 100% sure. still a perfectly good name and you'll get good experience.

from certified user @kalga"

Great in Australia/Asia. Not bad in the USA. Terrible to work with/for in Canada. No clue about the other regions.

from certified user @RonaldBacon"

don't know much about them, but I would probably say on the lower end of the middle market firms in the US. but Macquarie is still a solid shop with a brand name that will open doors for you.

Looking to break into the industry? The WSO investment banking interview course is designed by countless professionals with real world experience, tailored to people aspiring to break into the industry. This guide will help you learn how to answer these questions and many, many more.

Investment Banking Interview Prep


Recommended Reading

 

Not "big" on restructuring; they do have a pretty decent Restructuring group, does some creditor-side work.

They are BIG in Infrastructure: they advise, they invest, they co-invest, etc. That is their bread-and-butter business, no matter how hard they're trying to branch out. Industrials has good deal flow too, with a lot of the companies they bank being infra-related and thus have prior dealings with/see future cross-selling potential.

I interned there this past summer. Culture was pretty good - no real douches, people didn't take themselves tooo toooo seriously, and bankers there were generally sociable and fun. That being said, morale was sort of low due to low bonuses the last couple of years, and many people are unhappy. However, if it can turn a new leaf, re-group, figure out some issues, it has all the resources to become a prime player in the ultra-competitive MM.

I know they are also huge in Asia (recently were on the AgBank IPO) and London. Australia they are BB-status, but have lost out on some big mandates recently.

 

Macquarie has had a hard time keeping good employees and an even harder time hiring qualified analysts and associates. Getting a job there shouldn't be a problem for anyone with average or above qualifications. Just don't expect pay at the same level of its competitors but you should expect to work the 70-100+ hour weeks.

“Whatever you do, don’t be a victim. If you’re in a bad situation, try to fix it. If you can’t fix it, move on. Don’t whine.” --Jack Welch
 

In Sydney they call Macquarie "Millionaire's Bank" because of the large bonuses they use to pay out (before the financial crisis) but i am sure that these numbers would be still be very mute compared to the bonuses that were paid out by wall street BB's.

If you want to work in Sydney, the Macquarie office in Martin Place is the place to be.

 
dec-jun-jun:
In Sydney they call Macquarie "Millionaire's Bank" because of the large bonuses they use to pay out (before the financial crisis) but i am sure that these numbers would be still be very mute compared to the bonuses that were paid out by wall street BB's.

If you want to work in Sydney, the Macquarie office in Martin Place is the place to be.

Maybe 5 years ago but definitely not today, and most of their cachet was underpinned by their infrastructure business which has become redundant following the demise of cheap debt and unfavourable press. They've also lost out on a string of high profile deals and are losing staff left, right and centre. I think it simply comes down to the fact that Nick Moore has nothing on his predecessor Allan Moss and the market is clearly factoring this into the share price. If you want the top dogs in APAC then it is GS and JPM. GS's defence mandate on the Healthscope bid has done wonders for their reputation with them securing similar defence roles on the BHP / Potash deal, and more recently, KKR's bid for Perpetual.

 

Did SA there and signed for FT. Not Infra. In NYC.

The last 2 years, bonuses have been low (think low teens for 1st year analysts) and thus many people have left. Was there this past summer when 5-7 people left the NY office alone. However, it was not a mass exodus, and they replaced those people almost immediately.

The culture is very flat and entrepreneurial, and depending on group, hours/people aren't too bad. Industrials and TMT probably worked the longest hours, ranging from 80-100. Also, Sponsors worked a ton because 3 people left the group and the others had to pick up the slack for ~ summertime as spots were filled. Word is have already re-hired. Product groups worked 65-80, depending on deal flow.

Also, analyst program isn't typical 2-year stint, and promotions can be pretty quick (analyst to assoc after 2-2.5 years on the regular). Only MD in my group had MBA; rest were there through analyst years.

Advisory has been a bumpy transition given the firm's quasi-PE roots, although deal flow - especially in infra and FIG - is pretty jammed. Hopefully fees will follow. Expansion of DCM/LevFin has been noteworthy over the last 6-12 mos. with addition of Steve Mehos from Lehman/BarCap and Kevin Smith from CS.

Bottom line, there have been growing pains for sure, but the mood is upbeat, and with the LevFin platform expanding pretty rapidly, it should be an interesting next few months/years. Agree that staff retention, and bonuses, will be key, so we will see what happens.

 

Have a friend who works there. Apparently numbers are pretty bad - enough so that they caused him to look and find a job elsewhere. How do they retain talent over there?

Regardless, to the OP's question. I've met some people there through my buddy. They all seemed pretty cool and down to earth. My friend did mention that there have been some "turf wars" that have spawned some internal politics/conflict, but that can be said for any place.

Also, from what I know, they're best known as infrastructure investors and everything else has grown out of that.

 

in the US it's still a perfectly good name. i've never worked there, but i had a couple friends that have, and for some reason i kept hearing how "cheap" Macquarie is. i think they mean in relation to their bonuses vs. other bonuses on the street, as well as their budgets for taking clients out, but im not 100% sure. still a perfectly good name and you'll get good experience.
off the top of my head, if you were to rank them, it'd be below JPM, probably below CS, and maybe on par with Deutsche Bank. i dont know - other people on WSO are much more invested in ranking banks.

Remember, once you're inside you're on your own. Oh, you mean I can't count on you? No. Good!
 

I had a buddy who worked there and left after his first year because he didn't like the culture and senior people there.If I remember pay for junior guys was below street, as well. Generally speaking, Macquarie has a good reputation in Australia and is trying to build out the US but would rank much lower than any of the bulge brackets in the US...Much more of a MM shop. There US operations are still not all that developed and could see them pulling out of the states all together if things got bad.

 

I was a summer intern at Maccap in IBD a few years ago. Generally seems like the culture is much less "toxic" than BBs in that you won't get printers thrown at you etc. However, there's still the same amount of work to be done (if not more at the lowest level because they didn't have a graphics team to format presentations) so analysts get worked just as hard. Analysts are definitely in late at night and at the weekend, but perhaps not as much as you'd expect at a BB.

The interesting thing about Macquarie is that in IBD, industry coverage groups do execution too. So there's no "M&A" group, but you could end up with some good deal experience within your industry sector.

Look at Macquarie's Funds business if you're interested in working for them. Good way to get into Infrastructure PE straight out of undergrad.

 

What is distinctive about Macquarie Investment Banking? I have an interview for NYC office in a week! Thank you so much for reading this.

 

Probably a late one on this but could some one give me some more insight on Mac Capital's London Infrastructure Team? I have a phone interview with them next week. I would be nice to get some info on the team's culture, work hours, pay, bonuses etc.

Are they as big in infra as they used to be? Also what are the exit prospect in trying to join a big infra PE from here?

Thanks

 

Macquarie Capital does pay a signing bonus. The bonuses don't really vary across the teams from what I know because you get bucketed according to your performance relative to other first years in your analyst class. According to previous analysts, Macquarie paid pro-rated street-level bonuses to analysts this past year.

 

Right now I'm thinking of either Infrastructure or TMET. The way it works is I indicate my preference at the end of training, and from what the people that interviewed me (plus a few other analysts) have told me, 90% of people get their first choice.

Any advice would be very appreciated, thanks.

 

Industrials is where you wanna be. Infrastructure is strong abroad but no longer in Sydney where not many more infrastructure deals are to be had.

All recent high profile deals - Qantas/Coles/Boart/Dyno - were run out of the industrial team. Head of industrials, Tim Bishop, is a rising star and seen by many as possibly the next head of IB

 
Funniest

Here's my $0.02:

REPUTATION: If you can get in at the infrastructure and energy group, it's best-in-class. Macquarie basically invented modern infrastructure investing and their models are beyond anything I've ever seen. They've done some super high-profile and innovative investments recently, especially in the clean energy and infrastructure technology spaces. Internal marketing makes it very clear they want to be top adviser / investor in the world for clean energy (and may already hold that spot).

GO BUYSIDE: As an additional plus, instead of doing grunt advisory work, about 75% of the work is principal investing. For a 22 year old to be able to go straight into buyside is reason enough to go. Comp is above street at the associate level; middle of the road of analysts.

IF I HAD TO NAME A DOWNSIDE: It seems basically impossible to rise above MD unless you spend time in Sydney HQ. Also, their vest-game is weak - some older guys have patagonia vests but all of the new vests are some offbrand crap that feels flimsy.

 
Most Helpful

Id enim consectetur tempore sint sint et nihil illum. Dolorem ut voluptas eligendi dolor explicabo non iste. Aliquid corrupti optio et quas.

 

Numquam et ipsa sapiente itaque quisquam corporis. Officiis et impedit odio iste. Rerum nostrum animi soluta est ut. Blanditiis consequatur itaque consequatur cupiditate aut. Voluptatem at quasi laboriosam incidunt corrupti tempore eum.

Qui eos ut eligendi. Quia velit itaque expedita id laboriosam odio.

Et assumenda molestias provident qui. Consequatur necessitatibus maxime laboriosam enim soluta vel.

Velit nihil inventore aut beatae sunt. Veritatis ut repudiandae harum officia. Consequatur ut soluta fugit deserunt maiores aliquam. Nulla eaque quia et dolore eos.

 

Excepturi voluptas atque quia assumenda. Id quidem dolore voluptas dolorem in. Consequatur aut sequi totam rerum in labore magni aut.

Voluptas similique repellat minus molestias tempora. Vero rerum dolores id sunt quasi qui iste. Impedit inventore maiores quia pariatur sed numquam. Omnis asperiores soluta aperiam delectus voluptates omnis.

Consectetur incidunt culpa ea ab possimus natus. Omnis ut sed quod libero nihil. Facere adipisci autem libero aliquam rerum tempora. Sit numquam quos dolore sint pariatur.

Repellat suscipit laboriosam quia. Molestiae doloremque id aliquid.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”