West Coast Investment Banking
My goal is to land an IB job with a BB in either Los Angeles or San Francisco.
Assuming I maintain a gpa above 3.5 as a finance major, which of the following colleges would assist me the most with reaching my goal:
Arizona State University
University of Arizona
University of San Diego
Chapman University
Loyola Marymount University
Santa Clara University
University of San Francisco
For what it's worth, I am an Arizona resident.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and assistance.
please vote out John McCain or call for a recall and get him out of office.
UofA has a banking program that you have to apply & interview for. I think they take 5-10 kids each year, and most of them end up at big banks. If you're in that program, alumni give a few guaranteed interviews for you if you are one of the stronger candidates of the bunch.
None of those schools are top choices for IB, but if I had to chose I would probably pick LMU or USD. Don't go to any Arizona school if you want to be taken seriously.
College helps when you're going to a target/semi-target. Those are all non-targets. You make your own path and need to network a ton. IMO San Fran would be ideal since most banks are located in San Francisco and it would be easy to network.
Everyone I talked to in BB LA/SF went to Wharton/Yale/BYU/USC/Cal
Would performing well in the Barrett's Honor's Program at Arizona State University as a finance undergraduate major be better than any of the options I listed above?
I noticed no UC's or USC or even Claremont McKenna, any reason why?
Wherever you go you should probably try to transfer. If you're against / can't transfer, you really need to aim for higher than a 3.5 at any of those schools... like 3.9 high.
None, transfer.
WEST COAST IBANKING? (Originally Posted: 11/26/2006)
i have a question for all of you experincied ibanking savages. currently, i am 26 years old and a commercial estimator w/ a big constructon co for the last 4 years. i have about 2 years left until i recieve my mba from U of the Pacific( 2nd tier/ west coast). what are my chances of landing an associate level out here on the west caost w/ a boutiqe i-bank?
This is what you need to do to ascertain your chances. Go to Goldman Sach's website. Minimize the screen, and proceed to bring up another one. Go to any one porn site. Proceed to jack off on your computer monitor. Take the monitor to the garbage and throw it out. Now bring up Goldman's website. Oh, wait kiddo. You can't. You can't bring it up. You can't do it because you jizzed away all over your opportunity. Aww shit. Boom. Crabcakes and football, that's what Maryland does.
Was that your attempt to decimate the OP? Man, you're a real joker.
This has to be the wildest comment on WSO
Wow, kill yourself
that harsh reality is probably next to none; however give it a shot, can't hurt to try
CAn you try getting your MBA from Somewhere else?
Fuck yourself asshole.
Why don't you suck him off first, fag.
Only if you stick your fingers up his ass, dick munch fucker.
Maybe at a very small boutique, but even then it might be difficult b/c your of your lack of experience with corporate finance. You might want to try to get an internship at the analyst level first. Good luck, nonetheless.
I AM APPLYING TO UC BERKELEY, MAYBE THAT WILL OPEN THE DOOR A LIL BIT. IF ALL ELSE FAILS ESTIMATING PAYS BIG IF YOUR IN WITH A LARGE DEVELOPER.HOWEVER,IF YOUR RELENTLESS YOU CAN GO ANYWHERE. ANYWAYS GOODLUCK GUYS HOPE YOU GET THE BIG BONUSES AND FLY BITCHES! ( EXCEPT FOR DAN BUSH - HOPE YOU SEE D-BO IN THE PARKING LOT)
LOL
I agree with LB Banker. Internships are priceless on the resume. Do whatever you can to secure one if you still have time.
I-Banking in the West Coast (Originally Posted: 02/20/2012)
Hey guys,
I'm currently attending a top-tier university in Canada. I've had past finance experience, I'm involved in the finance-related clubs and have a pretty good GPA. I've secured an IBD SA position at a Big 5 Canadian bank for this upcoming summer. I've pretty much always dreamed of moving to California, be it LA or SF. I was wondering how exactly I could approach this goal? Do you think I should attempt to lateral a few years in (given I get full-time offer at the end of the summer) or should I risk it and go through recruitment in Sept?
Thanks for any input guys
There are a fair amount of Canadians in the West Coast finance community and from what I understand they're pretty good about helping out their Canadian compatriots. Used LinkedIn to get in touch with them prior to full time recruiting, and when interviews roll around ask them to throw you in the running. Assuming your resume is pretty tight, you should be able to at least get first rounds this way.
Are you at Ivey? I'm sure you know their track record of sending kids to the West Cost is pretty damn good and will make your goal a LOT easier.
If not, it's going to be pretty difficult, as no other Canadian school has the West coast network that Ivey does. However, laterals do happen from Canadian banks (unfortunately they were all Ivey grads anyways). I've seen a guy make the jump to CS LA from TD Securities and CS SF has actually taken two laterals in two years (one from CIBC Mining last year and the other from RBC Lev fin this year - both Ivey guys)
I know an Ivey kid from my class who worked at my BB bank's West Coast office, and is going to a MF this summer. I had no idea until he told me how strong the Ivey network was on the West Coast, but it definitely is. Leverage it if you go to Ivey. He summered at a different BB in New York before landing a FT position at my firm.
Damn wish I had gone to Ivey... What scares me the most though is the possibility of giving up a full-time offer and ending up empty handed at the end of the process...
Exit Ops for Top West Coast IB (Originally Posted: 12/16/2012)
Fellow Monkeys,
What are the opportunities/processes for buyside hopefuls out here on the west coast? I'm headed to a top west coast shop to start my analyst stint (GS/MS/Moelis) and I am wondering whats it like recruiting for the buy-side? I would ask my co-workers but after my SA, I realized that its pretty hush-hush at my office. The only time you hear PE being thrown around is by second year analysts who are already checked out, So I'm hoping someone on WSO can help me out.
Feel free to PM as well if you want to know my more detailed background.
if you're referring to GS TMT SF, MS Tech Menlo, or Moelis LA you will have incredible access to top megafunds and will likely end up at one of them or a very upper tier MM if you are interested in PE.
I'm also interested in this and specifically how difficult it is to transition back to nyc considering it may be nigh impossible to fly out for interviews
Not hard at all. Get a job at TPG/KKR/Silver Lake, go to HBS and then go work on the east coast.
right, easy peasy... i actually meant if one of these guys wanted to get back to the east coast right after their analyst stint. does anyone have insight to offer regarding that? it would be greatly appreciated
where do other top MM firms in LA place? ex- Jefferies M&A/Gaming, HLHZ M&A group, Guggenheim M&A/consumer, Imperial M&A Generalist etc...
Questions about West Coast IB (Originally Posted: 12/16/2008)
I have a few questions if anyone cares to humor me. I am prospectively looking at IB in the SF region. I really want to get into Tech M&A. Bare with me, IB just entered my scope a few weeks ago. I am a junior looking at summer 09 analyst positions. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Questions 1 2 & 3 are all the wrong questions to be asking if you want to get into banking
ur also kind of late to just start thinking about getting into IB, for internships anyway.
q1. long - in this market who knows q2. long - usually a slightly better lifestyle at smaller shops, since business comes from more referrals than aggressive 6-7 pitches a week q3. depends on a million factors. ive never been able to do so successfully. q4. depends
We're about to enter a Great Depression. Don't you want a president who's already dressed for it?
Thanks for the input. I figured that's the response I would get. Yea, the quality of life is important to me, which apparently is non-existent in the IB world. I guess I've heard that the west coast has more lax hours and that prompted my interest.
Do a search on the forums. Also why the hell are you asking about ML; when the summer starts they will no longer exist.
I have been and still am searching the forums. The hours question is still fuzzy, especially for the geo I'm looking at. My bad on the ML, I was simply listing for instances.
1) Hours are generally less brutal than in NYC, but not by much. I'd say 80 or so is the norm, but I've had plenty of 100+ hour weeks. I'd say UBS and JPM work their analysts hardest out here, with CS being relatively analyst-friendly.
2) Some boutiques are taking advantage of the situation (ie - smaller deals) like Savvian. Others like USA and FT Partners have been dead quiet, despite pretty big headcounts.
3) Define 'normal.' The majority of the analysts in my class have girlfriends, but almost all of them are long term that started well before banking. I'd say your chances of keeping a girlfriend are astronomically higher if you have a steady, healthy relationship going in. Don't even try finding a stable girlfriend once you start working.
4) Depends on what you want. Traditionally, GS/MS/CS have been tops. DB poached a ton of CS bankers after Quattrone left, and some more left to start up USA, so they have fallen back a bit from GS/MS this year. They also focus on more of the $500mm - $5bn companies, while GS/MS go for the large caps. CS just got rid of its M&A/Corp Fin split, so all analysts are tech generalists. GS is also this format- no M&A teams, just TMT. After the top 3 there's a pretty precipitous drop-off in terms of cred in the tech banking circles, but I'd say JPM and DB are doing a good job at trying to close the gap.
@gomes3pc:
Thanks a lot. Very helpful.
1) hours: depends on whether you're on a live deal, or just pitching; and in this market, depends on how aggressive your MDs are in trying to ramp up market share. there is virtually no real difference in a positive way, with hours out there compared to here in NYC
2) boutique hours are just as bad if not worse depending on the boutique; but again, and as someone pointed out, this question is fundamentally flawed. it's not about where you are, it's about what group, types of MDs, etc etc; it's just so hard to say
3) sure; it's tough, but definitely doable. it's up to you to figure out what sense this makes with respect to your situation; tough to give general advice about this, other than to make an active effort to keep in touch with others, via email, etc etc, any way you can
4) JPM, CS, MS, UBS was good for awhile, but now things are changing
Drop us a line if you'd like more info.
http://www.qonnect.me Qonnect.me - a simple resume consultation service for entry-level jobs in finance and technology
qonnect- how can you possibly miss GS? Their TMT group has been tops for years, including 2008 YTD.
GS TMT in nyc is far better regarded, and most deal work is executed out of nyc; but this may have changed
http://www.qonnect.me Qonnect.me - a simple resume consultation service for entry-level jobs in finance and technology
Pretty sure this is false, at least for the last few years. I'd also agree with gomes that GS/MS/CS are a cut above the rest
2 current GS TMT analysts out of nyc
http://www.qonnect.me Qonnect.me - a simple resume consultation service for entry-level jobs in finance and technology
Q.4 Thomas Weisel Partners
very much true
pm me for more details
The TMT office in SF runs any tech deal involving a company west of the Mississippi. Most M&T goes to the NYC office, but as far as tech goes, the SF office runs show. For example, the SF office ran advisory for BEA in the acquisition by Oracle. They also were on the SanDisk/Samsung deal that never came to fruition, as well as RiskMetric and Rackspace (the only two tech IPOs they were bookrunners on this year).
Interesting information
Just wondering how big is Citi's presence/cred/deal flow in tech M&A? I know they have an office in Palo Alto, but do they get exposure to any large caps at all?
Just wondering how big is Citi's presence/cred/deal flow in tech M&A? I know they have an office in Palo Alto, but do they get exposure to any large caps at all?
based on the info you've posted, i'd also make sure that you'd be ok w being a 24 year old first year analyst, and presumably 26 by the time you finish the stint.
West coast IB? (Originally Posted: 07/17/2012)
Hey, pretty new here and I didn't see this question asked before. So here goes.
I'm currently a sophomore at a semi-target on the east coast. (think Michigan-Ross, UVA-Mcintire, etc) interested in going into investment banking.
My gf is a film major so she pretty much has to go to LA if she wants to make it in the industry.
I can't predict the future and say that I will surely make the move but I love this girl so I was wondering how hard would it be for someone from an east coast school to land a west coast gig, especially given that there are fewer spots.
You gotta network for these spots. Too many stanford/berkeley/usc/ucla kids killing each other to get a banking analyst position that you're not going to get in without an inside man pushing for you.
yeah that's what i figured. i haven't heard of a single alumni in finance on the west coast from my school so i guess i better start cold calling
^ exactly. Don't forget the BYU kids are pushing hard now for those positions as well.
I did it... I got lucky though. West coast firms are willing to hire from the east coast because, according to them, west coast kids are too laid back and do not pay enough attention to detail.
How hard is it to transfer from a firms NYC office to the West Coast? I'd imagine it's a lot easier than vice versa
I have a buddy that is an Associate at GS in LA. He talks to his peers in NYC on a regular/daily basis. If you network within your own firm, have significant transaction and deal experience, you could get back east. The question is, why? Even LA cost of living is cheaper then NYC. :)
*EDIT: read above post wrong. Thought it said how hard is it to go west to east.
West Coast IB positions (updated) (Originally Posted: 07/13/2013)
Hey guys,
I am looking to work for an IB in Cali and I wanted to get input on places that you guys think would be good spots. I realize that most of the prestigious BB's are headquartered in NYC but I'm from LA and want to check out my options on this coast. And don't say Houlihan - I refuse to consider them.
Thanks!
As if HLHZ would even consider hiring you
California IBD (Originally Posted: 07/20/2014)
Hey guys - I realize this is mostly just a matter of opinion, but would love to hear from you all what you think the best groups in California are (other than GS/MS Tech).
MoCo and HLHZ Rx
Moelis, HLHZ, Qatalyst, CSLA
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