Banks with best cultures
anyone have any thoughts on what BB or MM banks have the best culture based on personal experience / direct sources?
anyone have any thoughts on what BB or MM banks have the best culture based on personal experience / direct sources?
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Career Resources
everyone that I know that works at William Blair loves it but everyone seems to come very similar backgrounds. also I heard a lot of satellite offices for the BBs are great but hours could be long
Could you clarify what that similar background is? Another thing I have to add from my networking calls with analysts there is they all are quite intense - not in a bad way though
white
Yes, William Blair has the nicest people I’ve talked to out of all the banks
agree with that. heard good things about wells fargo and bofa in charlotte
Not true, it's group dependent
bofa levfin charlotte is a nightmare, way more hours, insane staffin, brutal seniors without the prestige and buyside recruiting of nyc levfin
Well that just sounds false, WB is sweaty af
If this is NYC (in no particular order obviously, also can fluctuate greatly based on group):
BAML, RBC, JPM, Baird, Barclays, STRH, Blair, EVR
I'm definitely missing some others but those are the major one's most known for "culture"
I echo the sentiment that it really varies by group. I found that there is an overarching culture at a bank but then the per group culture can be quite different.
For example: The overarching culture of BAML is thought to be a bit nicer, a bit fratty than average. However, the M&A team at BofA has a vastly different culture than the E&P team or the GIG team.
What is the M&A team culture?
PLS FIX.
Lehman's culture is known to Exceed Expectations.
RBC is very group dependent. M&A has a terrible culture. LevFin is decent. PU&I has some good and some really insufferable folks.
.
Second this. RBC culture depends on which group you are in. For instance, certain coverage groups like Real Estate and Industrials are not known for culture from top down. Although the juniors have a good comradery.
It’s definitely gonna come down to Moelis or FT Partners
Are you being sarcastic lol
Of course he's not being sarcastic. Haven't you heard all the great things about Moelis?
FT Partners has best culture hands down. Nowhere else do you get to work 6-7 days a week on endless cap raises for cash-strapped fintech companies that are too small to be advised by the major banks.
It would be hilarious if there were that one analyst (flyby21) who previously posted such an ingratiating post about the firm six months ago.
I know you're joking, but Moelis actually does have an awesome culture if you are the right fit for it. Those dudes will work an all nighter then get a paid-for trip to Vegas.
Are hours tough at Moelis?
The culture rep there wasn't due to toxic seniors, it was just brutal hours. Pretty sure that's improved post-leaked email, but hours still aren't great.
Work at RBC. Everyone is very civil to each other, oddly friendly almost. Being a d-bag or even raising your voice in anger would make you stick out negatively in most groups. Anecdotally, hear Barclays and JPM are similar in that sense.
I'd love to learn more about RBC's culture and how you got there in general. Know this isn't the best networking site, but would I be able to PM you?
it’s known for being “Canadian nice”
What do you think are the best teams to try to network into for a sa (for experience and culture)?
M&A and Industrials - LevFin was the bread and butter but not a great environment for that. That's what I'd stick to as an analyst. There are other coverage groups that I would consider at a more senior level but they have a massive disparity between the competence of the seniors, who were largely poached from BBs, and the analysts who essentially didn't make it to the upper-tier BBs and elite boutiques.
i Actually heard RBC was not laid back at all. Even heard that some MDs would rip analysts on the spot in front of anyone. Could be group dependent of course.
You clearly are not in M&A or Energy...
You're right - M&A and energy are not pleasant at RBC.
Can confirm Barclays has similar culture. Not a ton of sharp elbows, people encourage development and involvement.
Anyone can comment on Houston banks?
Barclays - genuine, extremely down to earth, nice people Goldman - nice, maybe kinda dorky/awkward JPM - Very mixed, a few ridiculous d bags sprinkled in, heard toxic stories (cussing out analysts) MS - Nicer, some fun and chill people but still several hardos, semi stuffy BofA - Solid, nice people Evercore - wide range, but had some terrible conversations, elitism Moelis - really nice group of guys without egos, gym rats
So you work at Barclays
haha idk why this got so much ms! seemed mostly right to me
From recruiting at Houston banks, all seem to be pretty good on culture (ignoring differing workloads, I’m don’t know much about how works at most). Compared to NYC, they tend to have more of a southern and more collegial culture. I also know many of the analysts and interns were in the same fraternities at their respective schools.
Houston banks for the most part are all pretty laid back with similar cultures. MS and Barclays in my opinion were the most laid back and chill people wise. However, each bank had their distinct culture but no Houston bank in my opinion were full of hard asses.
Barclays - agree
GS - can be elitist, most people are from east coast schools rather than texas/southern schools, so a very different culture than other Houston banks, quite a bit more elitist than they deserve to be given their place on the energy league tables tbh
JPM - agree, seems like a weird place right now culturally
MS - agree
BofA - agree
EVR - disagree a bit, come off as more hyper type A than elitist
Moelis - agree
LAZ - really nice people, can be a bit stuffy, really sharp team
TPH - very chill, very passionate about energy, gives off Rice undergrad vibes if you're familiar with that
JEF - people who just love to work really really hard, very down to earth and kind
RBC - extremely chill, feels like a close-knit family a bit, Scott Richardson (founder of their very successful A&D shop) is always walking the halls
Citi - very fratty, wide range of people given how big their shop is
Simmons - extremely chill, bro city (but in a good way), fun people
Can't believe nobody mentioned Tobin and Co
Real answer: Rothschild WSO answer: FT Partners
Heard that the RX group at Rothschild used to have poor culture. Was that never the case or has it just changed after Augustine went to GHL?
Was the case and is no longer
Old RX MD notorious for being an "analyst killer" left for another firm, as did another MD. Not as busy as they used to be but still very.
I signed with the "real answer" for that reason. MDs took me under their wing and cared about me as a person. I am hoping to get the same vibes when I start.
Sophomore here, only going based off of people I've networked one (all NY)
BAML (by far one of the best cultures ever - have spoken with 10-12 people there, all VERY chill, down to Earth, willing to go out of their way)
RBC
MS
Low on culture would be Citi in my opinion. Felt the pressure and stress when networking with individuals there, very uptight, not a personal fit. Others might think otherwise which is totally fine
To comment on BofA - I'd say that BAML is a bit nicer, and more supportive when it comes to internal networking or recuriting for BofA. However, the various groups varry quite a bit culture wise with some being rather agressive / hostile or unnecessarily intense.
Barclays is the best for BB and Centerview for advisory based on people in my friend group, both do a great job in hiring the right people. Note: this is only NYC.
Funny how these incoming interns are the ones answering with their vast amount of knowledge
Tobin & Co.
Best culture on the street.
Baird seems to be pretty solid as well
HW
Below is 100% factual:
Goldman kids tend to be culty hardos
MS is fratty af in a northeastern WASP-y kind of way (not an antebellum kind of way)
JPM is meh. Kind of "aw shucks" in terms of their bankers. shame really.
PJT RSSG is nerdy + nice, PJT M&A is fratty + chill
Evercore is fine. Lazard is all kinds of fucked up. Moelis is for hardos.
CS just seems kind of douche-y from my experience. Hard to explain why, just an overwhelming stench about the place.
Nobody knows or cares about Citi or BAML
I actually really like the guys at DB and Barclays
UBS is whatev
Wells Fargo = adorably out of the loop
Harris Williams analysts roam around the streets of Richmond in packs of no less than 8. They were all SAEs at various mid atlantic schools. Fratty in an antebellum kind of way.
Blair and Baird are cool.
EDIT: Cleaned up some stuff above and added ome more below. Probably says something that I forgot about these guys (not sure what though...)
RBC = your friendly neighborhood Canadians. Distinctly not douchey, which is honestly kind of boring
BMO is kids who browse WSO, personified
Jefferies as an institution has a massive chip on its shoulder is home to the worst kind of finance hardo (you all know the type)
I don't think Centerview actually exists.
Lincoln has a bunch of nice Big 10 dudes who have no qualms about working you to death
Really like the people at Normura
Piper Jaffray = absolute clown show
Houlihan has pretty nerdy junior and absolute degenerate senior people. Must be a weird coexistence.
Lmao eerily accurate
lol extremely accurate
What does this mean? Preppy ?
Filled with rich white kids from Ivies. MS is also known for only taking for a select few schools with some diversity kids from random schools sprinkled in.
Could someone please clarify what this comment means in regards to JPM? As an undergrad, have generally heard good things about both the culture and performance of the firm as a whole
they're just average and don't really stand out much. reason why JP does well is because they have so much manpower but their employees weren't your standout candidates or the best and brightest.
edit: lol MS all you want, we know you're going to JP if you MS this
Agreed, JPM is all about the balance sheet. Have seen some surprising candidates from my uni and less than stellar analysts accepted into JPM.
Your JPM comment was far too on point
While I don’t doubt JPM may have been “meh” pre crisis, as a current IB analyst I can assure you these takes are sorely dated.
Like all banks, culture varies widely across groups, but I’ve found that there’s a distinct scrappiness at all levels in my own group and the groups I’ve worked alongside. Seniors are laser focused on continuing to win market share and expect juniors to make insightful contributions beyond just churning pages. The downside of this is of course some long weeks. In terms of talent, the league tables speak for our seniors, and I’m skeptical of the notion that there are any significant differences in analyst talent across top banks (high schoolers reading this - your world may be turned upside down to learn that I've seen UBS juniors regularly eviscerate their GS counterparts). JPM is littered with summa cum laude Ivy graduates and has crushed buyside recruiting for at least the past two years if you want to look at it based on WSO's usual proxies.
I won’t claim to have divined the firm of anyone on this thread, but I find seemingly insecure MS bankers often fixate on bashing JPM. This is likely driven by JPM’s continued dominance in the capital markets and passage into the #2 spot in M&A. Meanwhile, MS has found itself in the throes of an identity crisis with a feckless CEO at the helm in Gorman. Its juniors hide behind a thin veneer of bygone WASP culture as they scour WSO for opportunities to assert that “it’s really still MS/GS and not GS/MS/JPM”. Alas, at least MS has generated some nice fees for JPM as it plays catch-up in the retail arena (@ETrade sale).
GS / MS has always been in the #1 and #2 spot for M&A.
JPM just relies on its balance sheet and now you see insecure analysts coming here to rant about how they are better than GS and MS...
Bang on for RBC. As an aging associate, I am perfectly fine with the politeness even if it isn't particularly exciting. I will give up some razzle dazzle for not being yelled at by 27 year old VP because he/she's having a bad day.
Lol what do you mean by fratty in an "antebellum" way
No minorities on their composites.
Heard good things for CVP from both seniors and juniors. The juniors all seem to get along as they know most of them are in it for the long-haul. Friendly, reasonably chatty and smart without being cocky or arrogant from what I've heard.
"I don't think Centerview actually exists."
Centerview is simply an idea, or dare I say, a manifestation of one's own mind.
Absoltutely nailed it - LOL
piper is accurate to a t
Heard Lincoln actually had a really good culture...
Their culture is to DIE for
how's JP Morgan?
I think Baird and Blair have the best cultures through personal experience and friend's experiences. Sounds like they treat their analysts and interns as full-time employees who are allowed to ask questions. If entry-level people take advantage of it, it sounds like a great place to learn about the industry
If you are super fratty, then you will LOVE PJSC or Jefferies New York office!
Based on people I've interviewed with, I'd say Macquarie - friendly Aussie culture influencing US offices
+1 Macquarie has a good culture and it's improving
Source: Aussie and a lot of my mates are there
+1 to Macquarie. The people I've met there as a market counterparty seem to be quite down to earth, and it seems the people really like their colleagues. +1 to William Blair. The people there all seem quite nice as well. Down to earth, hard working, but with rounded elbows.
I have found MS, GS and BAML to be far more sharp elbowed. It's not every person, mind you, but enough sharks swimming around those ponds that it would give me pause from a cultural perspective. UBS and CS seem to be lacking a cohesive culture altogether,so each team is more likely to have a sub-culture that would dictate your experience much more than some overarching firm culture.
Blair & Baird.
Barclays stood out among BBs.
Agree. Have a friend at Barclays in London and he says his team are super friendly people. Many Italians and French.
Personally thought people at Barclays were the most fun/chill. PJT also but just m&a.
.
NYC, no idea on london sorry.
Does anyone have a take on the culutre at Citi? What goups have the best/worst culture?
Visited all BB's during recruiting, BAML/Barclays have the best culture and feeling by far.
agree with this, out of the 2 I would say both are friendly/welcoming but Barclays seems a little more chill whereas there is a kind of cutthroat vibe at BAML
how can you draw conclusions like this having just met a bunch of people at a recruiting event?
culture is completely team specific anyways so this is non sense
Axe Cap
Barclays has the most cohesive and all around best culture out of the BBs in my experience. BAML, DB, JPM have many groups with great culture, but also many with poor culture.
Does Barclays having good culture also mean better lifestyle?
not op but barclays is known for having the least facetime + best lifestyle from kids I know going there FT. still some groups with tough hours like industrials and tech but that's due to dealflow, not insane MDs afaik. i've heard of groups with good hours at MS and JPM but it seems to be the norm at Barclays.
Yes but you won't find a "good" lifestyle at any firm. And at the senior level, hours don't really differ by firm.
can someone describe HW culture more?
think a fraternity except you're a pledge for 2 years instead of 1 semester
are you speaking from experience
Best culture from networking is WF
PWP has an exceptional culture--group of really nice people across the board. Know an analyst who finished his two years and said he didn't get screamed at once. Firm policy of not hiring assholes
This is an unanswerable question.
Groups are kingdoms unto themselves. There is no "bank culture".
Biggest misunderstanding that uni students have on this forum
What about firms like Greenhill, Guggenheim and Houlihan?
Those are all pretty sweaty shops.
Guggenheim is group dependent but generally fratty
Would never consider Guggenheim fratty.
How would you describe it then?
HL = Disneyland of banking (M&A LA) GS = 9;45am - 3:00am insane batshit hell (NYC coverage)
Wait, which group is RELG?
So Guggenheim is sweat shop? And Houlihan in L.A. good people?
What makes you think this? GS NYC coverage that crazy?
Pretty accurate - used to work in GS coverage and across the board hours were pretty brutal. Only CRG was decent work life balance.
Lmao HL M&A LA is no Disneyland by any means
Houlihan has pretty nerdy junior and absolute degenerate senior people. Must be a weird coexistence.
Nm see above
All of the below is for RX in NY, don't know enough to speak to other groups. Worked at one of these so only speaking 3rd person to keep anonymous.
PJT: Very good culture, everyone I know happy with the experience. Somewhat bookish / nerdy for lack of a better term. Some of the nicest people you'll come across. No real facetime.
Lazard: Reasonably sweaty compared to the others. Some senior people seem to be stuck in the old-school Lazard culture, which probably drives the sweatiness. All that being said, I have a high opinion of their analysts generally and they seem to like it.
HL: Similar to PJT though people are a little more on the fratty end of the spectrum. Sweaty at times but no real facetime. Have heard anecdotally that LA is worse than NY but somebody correct me if that's wrong.
Moelis: Improving slowly but surely. Still would not be my top choice but it's no longer a place that should hold the stigma it earned it the past.
Evercore: Like PJT but longer hours. Seems to be understaffed at the junior level. People are really smart.
Greenhill: Surprisingly good given that Augustine was known to crack the whip at Rothschild. I don't want to say no facetime but certainly less than most firms.
Any idea what Roth Rx is like?
Good friend was an SA there last year. Did not report back a positive experience and is going to another bank for FT
I've heard very mixed things so not much help, sorry. I think general consensus is that it's gotten better in the past 2 years but seems like the old culture is still around to some extent.
Worlds apart from what half the group was like under Augustine (the other half was always fine). He fortunately took the craziness with him.
I got an offer from HL RX but felt like the junior culture was a bit...bland/boring? Definitely some weird vibes too. Ended up going with a mid BB over it because I liked the people a lot more – obviously hard to tell only over interviews though.
What's the interview like?
Any thoughts on PWP?
Could anyone offer some insight into Chicago offices?
Bump
Baird and Blair are awesome--simply nice, good people.
Moelis is a great group as well, very down to earth, no egos.
Citi is a little more fratty, they hang out together. Fun group.
Lincoln has nice folks, lots of midwesterners, churning deals. Obviously from a work standpoint they don't have the same reputation for time off and stuff as some of the others.
BMO has become sort of a mess. There was a thread on here not long ago detailing some issues.
Many of the other BBs are too small and spotty to assign cultures to, or I don't have first-hand knowledge so will refrain.
Can you elaborate on Lincoln and BMO please? Interviewing for both (NY)
Can add some more Chicago names to the above.
Goldman - has FIG, Industrials and Tech Business Services (newly formed) groups. Sounds like tough hours, and some of the senior bankers have offices in NYC as well (aka very little senior banker exposure for Chicago juniors). Don't have very recent info, but does not sound like an easy culture. Friend of mine left from there ~1.5-2 years ago
Barclays - has a generalist analyst program across Tech, Sponsors and Industrials. Have a few friends who work/used to work there and say that culture is top notch. Strong senior banker representation and tremendous deal flow. Not sure of hours/facetime though
HL - has several groups, including food & bev and healthcare. Culture seems to be very group-dependent. Have anecdotally heard that some groups are okay, while others are absolutely brutal. I unfortunately do not have insight into which groups are the luckier ones
Evercore - very small office (I believe around 10-15 bankers) and solid deal deal flow. Sounds like a pretty vanilla culture, but others may be better informed. They mainly do industrials deals
MS - office is basically done. VPs and up only beginning this summer. I believe there are still some juniors left there, but are slowly being phased out to NYC.
insight into tech groups in the bay?
Also wondering
There was a post like last week explaining that banks don't really have cultures, groups do, and yet we still have this question every other day......that being said from personal experience and friends who work in these groups
MS, RBC, Moelis - what's been posted already is what I've heard also, unfortunately I don't have any first hand info.
At the end of the day go where you're wanted. If people at a bank like you and everyone seems to want to help you, go there.
Have some friends applying this cycle; what do you mean by crazy seniors at bofa FIG?
Getting screamed at for minor mistakes. Yelled at for something big, sure, but screamed at for a minor infraction is pretty rediculous to me, it's not the military after all.....maybe I'm just soft
JPM SF has some of the worst VP's in banking
What have you heard about BAML E&P specifically?
A good bit, what do you want to know? Within reason...
yup
Can you speak more to BAML LevFin in terms of work experience / PE looks?
Wrapping up my stint at Evercore. Definitely not “fratty” in any way (to the extent you care about that — word is thrown around a lot), but the place is a ghost town at 9PM, which, in my mind, is the most tangible sign of “good culture.”
People say Evercore's culture is strong, and this seems to align with that - great to hear. Assuming this is for the NYC office? Can you elaborate a bit on "definitely not fratty;" does that mean juniors don't hang out after work, and/or aren't overly boisterous, etc?
Definitely didn’t mean to imply teams aren’t close — especially at the analyst level, people are legitimately friends with coworkers outside of work. Your average employee is a bit more bookish, there’s not a ‘junior hazing’ / (or as much of a) ‘earn your stripes’ culture, and people generally don’t come off as typical “finance bro” (relative to other banks' employees, at least) So yes, certainly less boisterous — probably less crazy stories per capita than most other banks — but at the end of the day, it’s still a bunch of well-paid, highly stressed younger people looking to blow off steam, so you can still get your share of antics if you wish.
Demographically, the firm is more female, Asian, and Canadian than most, which may play a role — though the three wildest, “frattiest” people I know at the firm each fit 1 or more of the above descriptors, so what do I know...
9PM on average? or on Fridays? Does this mean that you log back in at home to put in a couple more hours?
M-Th. Floors clear out at 6 or 7 on Fridays. Some people go home and finish up there, but I'd say by 9PM the vast majority of people are done working for the day. Saturdays are usually clear; Sundays a mixed bag but people generally don't go in (even if they have a few hours from home).
If you're on a a difficult / urgent assignment all bets are off, of course.
Insight into LA/SF firms/groups?
Looking for more detailed information on culture for the following LA groups:
banks that give summers ft offers have the best culture
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