Raymond James Investment Banking Groups

cooldurg:

Boston office is Tech Services only. They love UMich kids, half the office went there. The former head of the office was from Mich, he left last year to head IB in NYC I think.

IB is expanding. Top groups would have to be RE, Energy, Tech Services and maybe Fin. Serv which is out of Chicago... Really awesome firm that is finally getting some street cred.

Still, obviously not a BB or elite MM.

Also interested as well

thecm:

where is their energy team out of? do they focus on a particular sub-sector?

The energy team is out of their Houston office and covers all energy vertices in the middle market space with an emphasis on midstream deals.

Solid middle market player especially in the SE, but more know for its huge wealth management business.

Solid middle market player especially in the SE, but more known for its huge wealth management business.

Top bank by a mile in the state of Florida.

It's a great bank in Florida, but the culture is so-so. Worked there. Very Florida-y. If you didn't go to school at UF or FSU or U of Tampa, you'll be an outcast in the office, making it hard to leave a mark

What other MM firms would you compare it to?

Ya the culture is very Florida. It's black and white. You either fit in or you don't.

i only know it's mostly middle market

They would be considered a middle-market firm, because that is the typical size of their clients. They would not be considered a boutique, because that refers to the size of the investment bank itself (and Ray Jay is a large organization).

I cannot comment on the NYC office. It's a recognizable name, so that in itself makes it a great launching pad in this market. The company is generally stronger in the Southeast, however.

Do you have any other offers to compare it to?

I've heard differing stories on hours.

A friend of mine is in the healthcare group in Nashville, TN and he typically works 60 - 80 hours per week. 60k base, not sure what the bonus looked like this year.

A guy that I know was an associate at RJF, and he told me that he worked some brutal hours, so it may depend on which office you work at (I'd imagine the New York office would have hours on par with the rest of the street). He had no problems moving to the buy side.

Definitely a solid name, especially in the South. From what I've seen, their investment banking division is a bit snootier / prestige obsessed than its peers.

If you can sell insurance, they will love you.

which location is this for?

which office

I am also looking for some information on other MM firms such as Lazard MM, Robert Baird and William Blair. Any and all personal experiences would be awesome. Feel free to PM me

No, you wouldn't be crazy, you'd just obviously be the type of person who is content to work at Raymond James. Which is also likely the type of person who finds the idea of working in Florida "very appealing."

Raymond James is a MM bank, and being in FL doesn't do a whole lot for your exit ops.

But if you can't stand cold weather, it may be one of your better bets.

Bro, I live in Florida. It's not all that great. The only thing we got going for us is football, bar-b-ques, the beach and tons of hot girls. On a side note, you have to deal with scorching hot weather, hurricanes, speeding tickets, and shark attacks (since we have the largest concentration of bull sharks and the most dangerous waters in the world). Also, Tampa kinda sucks as a city.... oh and I almost forgot, we have Disney World but that probably doesn't matter cause you're never gonna get a day off anyway.

this must be even more retarded than going to U of T instead of Columbia

....i don't know what everyone is talking about..

Raymond James kicks the shit out of all the BBs..

their financial advisors are da shizzz...i dont even think Goldman has FA's

Why are people digging up threads that are from like back in prehistoric kindergarten?

Regards

Prehistoric Kindergarten hahaha

I do not understand why everyone is so obsessed with prestige and unpleasant conditions in NY. Life is not all about work. To get ahead and enjoy life later I understand, but see that not everyone wants to commit virtual suicide for ~5 (?) years before even seeing daylight.

I live in Florida right now myself. It is great. The cost of living is lower than the north, so a smaller salary is equivalent.

bump.

DId you have the interview already ?

As a general rule of thumb, healthcare investment banking groups are sweatshops across the board. Yes, even the boutiques w/ non-existent deal flow.

Mostly it's because the space is extremely competitive and there are a few big players while the rest barely cough up any fees. So you'll be spending a huge amount of time pitching and doing useless amounts of irrelevant work to even get a glimpse of a fee, and this is at a mid-BB.

I feel bad for the mid market and boutique guys, as listed above even with 0 deals and nonexistent pipeline you will be pitching 24/7 and working your ass off with nothing to show for it.

One of the reasons :) A lot of the teams are understaffed, plus you typically bank both west and east coast firms - therefore, the timezone difference just wrecks you. My take on this is that healthcare is always around, in good times and bad, so you don't really see any ridiculous increase/decrease in deal flow (so marathon year round). Better hope you only bank pharma on the east coast :p

This past year, IBD has seen a lot of DCM activity due to one of the hottest debt markets in the past decade or so, as well as refinancings and other meaningful cap markets activity. This is more meaningful for healthcare firms since many tend to refi/prepay debt on a cyclical basis.

And of course, all the traditional ibanking rules apply.

I can also attest to SanityCheck's statement - you'll see cap markets and M&A fees only go to the top dogs, since you have to be able to hold a lot of balance sheet risk in order to see meaningful fees (traditional banking model).

Good luck. RJ is being very stingy this year even though they have done pretty well.

Banks pay bonuses that are dependent on your performance and not how you are hired.

My experience was 70+5 for campus hires.

MDs there are saying predicted bonus range is around 35k for first year analysts.

Just because Raymond James is in Florida, doesn't mean that it isn't a solid bank. Raymond James is solid and has been making efforts lately to become stronger/bigger (ex: possible MK acquisition). I wouldn't rule them out at all.

Bumping this to today. Anybody know what comp is like nowadays? analyst, associate, etc.? Any data points whatsoever would be helpful

First year analyst: 70k first year + 5k signing; 45-50k first year bonus. Same across all offices.

Don't make your future career decision based on salary. You will quickly realize money is not the most important thing.

Anybody can comment on what associate compensation is like in Florida?

how strong is Raymond James anyways? is the dealflow and opps good from the ny office? and anyone know the summer to FT conversion rate?

RJ is strong in Pub Fin, Retail Brokerage, and nothing else. For everything else, it is a lower tier MM bank with spotty dealflow.

I recently interned at RJF VC and worked with two associates that started in the IB sector. It's a highly respected IB firm that has plenty of future growth potential. I'm not sure what you are really looking for, but it would be a great place to begin an IB career...

In NY, I know that there main focus is FIG. I interviewed with them and remember being told this and that you'd get a pretty solid experience doing that.

Oh, and I heard their Florida office is amazing.

It's gaining respect in certain niches. It's middle market so you can''t expect anything fantastic