Work for a $h!tshow?

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

I am currently in commercial lending and for a couple of reasons am looking to move on. (1. Not interested in capping out at ~$250K when I am making all my clients rich 2. Feel the urge to be more aggressive/autonomous than a commercial banker).

I reached out to some people and one of them is at a boutique broker (mostly debt and placement but also equity placement and investment sales) I know really well. The broker is really excited to have me on board and is offering me a nice draw and a piece of his current book. He claims I will probably hit $200K Year 1 and within a few years be really killing it. (He claims to have made upper six figures this year. His shop does decent volume with my current company, so I believe his numbers (with a healthy grain of salt).

The problem is-and I've know this all along-is that his group is the most unprofessional place in the world. I have not seen a package sent over our way that has not had a basic math error and is not missing critical information. What they lack in brains they make up in volume, and they just hire a bunch of semi-graduates to work the phones all day. I would by far be the most professional person in the entire office, and that is one of the reasons they are desperate for me.

So should I go for a lucrative broker position with little downside (I have a piece of the existing book) where I can very likely be making $500K in a few years (my industry is super niche and has crazy money involved) or run away from a place that will most likely give me a give me a stress induced heart attack in six months?

 

Sounds like the money would be really good, but reputation is really important in this (and every other) industry.

Have you thought about what you would do after working there? It's one thing if you think you'd stay there forever and make good money, but if you plan on moving along after a 5 years you might want to think hard about joining. Your statement about them being unprofessional and making simple mistakes is most likely known by others, and that thought may become attached to you (being unprofessional, stupid errors).

Then again, perhaps you could go in and make the shop into a more professional place, and get rid of their current reputation.

 

Thanks.

You are absolutely correct that their reputation is known throughout the industry (it is very niche) and there have been lenders and borrowers that will no longer talk to these guys. On the other hand, they still have a pretty robust pipeline and many lenders do do business with them, warts and all (my current employer included).

I'm thinking that after a number of years I would be able to make my own relationships and use those to transfer out (maybe to the principal side).

I have no desire or the ability to change an entire environment, especially if the raw talent isn't even there. I could help implement systems, but I can't change an entire culture.

 
Best Response

My thoughts are similar to above via MtnRE:

It seems like an interesting opportunity in that you have a solid understanding going in of what they are doing wrong, have the skills to improve them (putting systems in place like adding another educated MBA type to screen all outgoing documents and ensure they fulfill the 45 punchlist items needed by the otherside and conform to a look and professionalism that the company will be known for) and rightfully would be credited on your CV for those turnaround improvements.

Also, if you are the most sophisticated guy there then you are a lion amongst cubs with a lot of meat on the horizon. You could capture more of the deal flow etc. That, and you could be known perhaps as a (very professional) shop within a shop by outside parties once your presence and modus operandi are known.

Just my .02.

 

Unless it is an institution deal packages don't matter. You know Eastern Union/Meridian only sends a really bad and painstakingly simple excel underwriting to banks for most of their deals under 50mm. Banks will underwrite their own proforma rent roll and take their own haircuts. As for transitioning, make sure you know or have access to a lot of capital sources.

For the most part people buy from salesmen not companies. Don't let the culture influence you too much, I'd rather a company be more laid back than too uptight.

Also take that 200k with a grain of salt.

 

The experience I've had with those types of brokerages has at least been neutral. These guys have sent "CIM"s which have $3MM in place NOI when it really is $700K and make us waste time and effort until we realize the whole deal is different.

I've been told they've lost a lot of Fannie/Freddie business because they send in incorrect applications (as an underwriter) as well. A bank will overlook that, but Fannie/Freddie will flat our reject the application.

 

Suscipit excepturi dolorem sunt in eum tempore vitae. Dicta veritatis qui repudiandae laborum similique porro veritatis et. Id qui eius aspernatur non ut voluptatem in. Eligendi consectetur officia maiores.

Officiis earum ad iste officia cumque. Ducimus laudantium quisquam deserunt fugit quisquam aspernatur ipsa. Vel rerum eos assumenda sint voluptatem. Sint maiores cum beatae est sit dolores totam. Eius et natus itaque qui voluptatum iste tempore.

Iusto voluptates reprehenderit iure libero officia dolor eum. Est qui qui consequatur accusamus rerum quidem aut. Vel eos illum quis et a placeat ipsum.

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
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”