Hey folks - so I've noticed there isn't much on the forum with respect to Front Office Investment Banking roles in India and I decided to take the initiative to have something on the web that'll be helpful to future aspiring excel monkeys.'
About myself - went to undergrad at one of the old 5 IITs and got an MBA from IIM A/B/C. Got some work experience as a Quant at a bulge bracket before BSchool and I'm now a first year analyst at a bulge bracket in the India Coverage team.
Feel free to shoot any questions you have about the finance industry in India and I'll be happy to answer them! Cheers!
Does having a CA,CFA with around 1 year of PE valuations (backend role assisting NY office at Blackstone), stand a chance to break into IB,PE roles which are mid-office?
As far as Middle Office goes, having a CA/CFA should suffice in obtaining a role - there are standard recruiting routes for CAs as far as I'm aware. Apply to anything which says CRG or DRG in Bulge Brackets - they are primarily mid office
Thank you so much for taking out time to elaborate on my question!
I wanted to know how recruiting works for front office roles (IB/PE/VC) for lateral hires. I am from India and I am currently working at a MM IB in the US (based out of a non NYC city). I studied in the states as well (top 15 stem school, non target for banking). I wanted to know how my background would be perceived for IB or Buyside recruiting in India.
I am also curious about the comp for front office finance roles in India. How much do IBs or PE firms pay all in. Thanks for your help, much appreciated!
Recruiting in IB:
Primarily happens through campus recruitments at IIM A/B/C and ISB (no other school as far as I'm aware). There are few lateral hires who move from domestic banks (Kotak/ICICI/SBI Cap) or other MNC banks (BofA -> GS or HSBC -> JPM for example).
For laterally moving from outside India into India front office, I'd suggest getting atleast some work experience in Banking in the US. If not, try applying to domestic banks in India and move up the ladder.
Recruiting in PE/VC:
PE/VC recruiting works a bit differently. Top tier funds like Sequoia/Accel hire out of Consulting/Banking backgrounds only with few exceptions like Matrix/Carlyle/BX which come to campus placements at IITs/IIMs (VC almost never hires CAs - PEs love them on the other hand).
I've spoken from a post-MBA role perspective. Pre-MBA for Front Office Bulge Bracket Banking directly almost doesn't exist (you can try and make the move from middle office to front office) and Pre-MBA for PE/VC is almost entirely out of Consulting/Domestic Banks backgrounds. Almost all Pre-MBA roles are contract roles for 2 years post which you're expected to go get an MBA.
Comp in IB/PE:
India Front Office pays pretty well if I'm being honest. Total comp for first year BB bankers out of campus can go anywhere from 75LPA to 1Cr (there was a recent increase in comps throughout - prior to which it ranged between 60-80LPA). PE comp might appear a bit lower to begin with ranging from 70LPA to 90LPA but a significant proportion of their comp is tied to Carry which is paid over 10 years (one fund offered 1MM USD as carry if the person stuck around for 10 years at my campus)
What’s the base vs. bonus split on that 1st year package? How does that differ from the domestic banks?
Also, what’s the reputation of Jefferies IB in India like and does it also pay in-line with the BBs?
On a side note, that 70+ LPA package must be going sooo far in Mumbai - even if a bank paid me 40-50 lacs I would move back to India at a moment’s notice - specially because I am from mumbai and honestly won’t even have to worry about rent as such. You can probably live like a king with that pay.
Having said that, is there a catch? Are the promotion timelines different in India? Limited space to move up? I just feel like this is too good to beat so wanted to hear what the downsides are.
Thank you so much for taking the time, would you say its impossibe to get a FO IB job in india without a top MBA?
Will networking help land any interviews?
Also finally could you talk about how recruiting works at IIMA/B/C? I mean how many roles are availaible on campus, how many people seriously apply for them etc?
How to handle first year of being an analyst at BB bank?
Quit the job. Much better things to do in life.
How good is Citi bank? to start a career as an IB analyst.
Citi has the best trading franchise in India amongst all the banks.
As far as India focused IB goes, they do a bunch of deals in ECM but I'd put them a notch below.
MNC Banks India IB rankings -> MS > JPM/GS > BofA > Citi/Barclays > HSBC
If I have top tier IB experience in the US can I lateral to a top shop in India with networking ? Or is getting an MBA from IIM a must.
I don't think you'd need an MBA from IIMs if you have top tier IB experience from one of the bulge brackets in the US. Ask your bank to move you to their India front office team, they're generally happy to oblige. If not, apply through your network.
Do you think they'll focus more on the brand name or the actual transactional experience?
How open would banks be to networking?
Equity Sales is a pretty good front office role in my opinion.
Ops on the other hand is a necessary back office role, I'll not go shitting on them. But if they do call themselves investment bankers, it doesn't really take away anything from me. I don't really think anything about them at all.
Do undergrads from top foreign unis have a shot at recruiting for any front office roles like IBD/ER?
Equity Research - yes, they hire from undergrad at IITs/SRCC/CA rankers. I don't see why they won't look at top foreign unis as well.
IBD - more or less No at BB banks in India. You can however try joining either domestic banks or middle office roles and try to transition into front office. Getting an MBA is by far the easiest route in.
So does that mean that unlike US it's possible to transition from MO to FO because I've seen a number of profiles which were promoted from EMEA Coverage to India Coverages / were transferred to US/London as analysts but they had a stint of 5 years as an analyst, are these those profiles which transition from MO to FO roles?
How does recruiting work at IIM A/B/C for IB and other FO finance roles? I mean how many roles are there and how many people actually want it, does having a weak profile limit you a lot or you can get interviews through networking?
Any questions you can answer will be helpful.
Currently an IBD intern at BB in US (Citi/BofA/Barc) in a non NY city. Do people get relocated by these banks if they don’t secure an H1B in the US. Have you seen such cases at your bank?
I have but it really depends on the needs of the India team in that year. Like a lot of things in life, there are huge factors like current headcount, expansion plans, etc that are outside your control too.
Nonetheless, if you do get transaction experience, one of the banks (either domestic/MNC) should be willing to hire you!
Best of luck!
How difficult is it to switch to a FO role from a BB MO at the undergrad level? Also, how does a FO role at a boutique firm in India compare to a MO role in a BB?
Thank you for this!
If I were to lateral from the US to India after 1-2 years of working in the states, what kind of position and comp should I expect. This is pre mba and undergrad is from the US.
If you have any idea about the Buyside for the same question, that'd be awesome as well
If I may ask, why did you move from Quant into IB? Aren’t Quants better paid?
Hey, I wanted to know that can students having engineering degrees from state colleges like VJTI/COEP with IIM A/B/C land up at some front office role? I am asking this as mostly IIT + IIM grads are high package grabbers
Hey, I am a bcom 3rd year student and am also pursuing CA.
What other things should I do to pave my way into ib ?
Does undergraduate degree really matter if you study at IIM A/B/C or ISB?
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