I know there are a few bankers on here that have made the transition from MM to MM+ PE (Compbanker, Gametheory? I think..). Can you guys list the banks that you worked at? To preserve anonymity, maybe just give a range of comparable banks that you saw when competing on deals, etc.
I summered at a reputable MM bank (comparable Thomas Weisel, Cowen, etc) and received a full time offer. On this board I have heard about analysts successfully making the transition from MM boutique sell-side to buy-side, but from my personal experience, do not know any people who have. The analysts that I knew from my bank and from comparables, all seemed to have a difficult time making the transition, a few of which frankly told me that the "prestige" of their bank wasn't carrying them far enough. In the end, many of them either stayed on as an associate promote, or lateraled to a prestigious boutique / BB as an associate.
Can you guys please comment on your experiences and the experiences of people you know? Thanks
i worked at a tier 3 boutique investment bank my sophomore summer and that led to my past summer in IBD at a BB. that has led me to 2 interviews with top ranked hedge funds (by assets on institutional investor's alpha ranking) - i have second round with one of the funds over winter break. two people i worked for with my summer at the boutique did two years there, one in equity research and the other in IBD - the ER guy is at a small PE firm now and the IBD dude is an analyst at a nice sized hedge fund, so yeah it's definitely possible... just gotta prove you're the guy for the job, that you have significant experience, and are well qualified... but that of course depends on what you want to do. it'd obviously be easier if you went to a BB after a year or so at the MM, especially in this mkt.
It's definitely possible, though it may be harder in this market than a few years ago. I did my internship at a top MM bank and most of the analysts I worked with have since left the firm. They are all either at MM PE shops or smaller hedge fund (actually more at hf). They all made the transition pretty easily. One of the things that helps at a MM bank is that the senior people who analysts know can put in calls to the senior guys they know at PE shops you are applying to. This will at least set you up for an interview. I wouldn't worry too much. In this market, if you can get a few years of IB done, there will be demand for you once things turn around. Just get some experience.
Thanks. I guess my question is what constitutes a "top MM"...is that Jefferies/Houlihan?
i'd say houlihan, Jefferies, piper, Oppenheimer, Lazard, Evercore, and Greenhill
Lazard, Evercore, and Greenhill are boutiques, NOT MM.
MM (middle market) refers to deal size. lazard, Evercore, and Greenhill do multi-billion dollar deals...and they are all way more prestigious than any of the MM banks.
fair enough.
Lazard does not like to be referred to as a boutique.
Lazard does have a middle market sub., Lazard Middle Market, that would be considered a top MM bank.
I'm not in banking, but will be a first year next summer. I worked at a comparable to the ones you listed, Cowen/TWP, etc, and can confidently say that the analysts in my group had limited exit ops/opportunities.
I know that they had not even thought about their plans for after the 2nd year, and I'm not sure that they knew that recruiting is more than a year in advance. A large part of this is really the lack of experience vs someone from a BB, ie, crappy deals and generally low dealflow. This was pretty much my reason for not returning, and going to a much stronger boutique, but I know one guy when to VC shop in Boston, and the other few 2nd years had no idea. We had a guy come over from Lehman, and he was describing how awful one of the third year's analysts modeling skills was.
I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but the MDs were also not impressive, and at the shop I'm going to next year, everyone's interviews/offers at PE/HF shops were largely due to one of the MDs reaching out.
The MDs at my summer shop were not exactly big rainmakers, but I would assume at a MM shop these relationships are your best bet to getting into any decent ME PE shop (unless you're at a HW or similar bank, where you generally have an open door).
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