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Possible to go from Corp. Finance to Private Banking? (Originally Posted: 04/17/2012)
Right now I have a Corp. Finance type of role at a BB. PB remains an interest of mine so I am wondering if I could make a possible transition after this internship.
I don't see why not. I don't think PB is as selective about their candidates backgrounds as IB.
Sounds good. But it says its not that hard to get into. That can't be right? Good pay, good comp, good hours...
As far as I know, Private Banking is super heavy on networking even more so than IBD. Focus exclusively on relationship building. Most people who do well are already a part of high society that can bring in more clients and boost up assets under management.
A friend of mine has a friend who is Japanese and he got into one of the BB's Private Banking group because he went to the right schools and he is well connected. His job is mainly to bring in more clients to the firm and increase the group's asset base. To most people, it is hard to maintain relationship with a lot of rich demanding clients, not to mention bringing them in to your firm.
I don't think it is as competitive to get into. It may pay well, but I don't think its anywhere near the level of IB. Doubt you get much of a bonus, and is probably on par with first year pay at a decent F500. It may be harder to get into, because of the nature of its functions. There isn't much of a need for "teams" of analysts/ entry level kids in PB as opposed to other industries.
I am in the same boat as OP. I would like to make the leap into a PB because it is likely IB is out of my reach. What are the ways to break in without lateraling into? I am in my senior year and do not have the option of the summer programs to convert into FT offers. What are the entry roles called to ask for when networking?
So what I'm getting from this is, in relation to IB it's not hard to get into PB because you've already had some type of experience and it's a limited pay option. This is why people think it's not hard to get into? And it would be harder to be successful as an entry-level hire because unless you are extremely well connected it's not likely you'll bring real value to the company.
This doesn't sound like an ideal goal to transition to from a F500 corp finance role. What would be a preferrable step up instead?
Not too sure. You could try transitioning into Commercial banking first. Then go into PB from there. It pays alright but is a lot less competitive than IB/HF/PE/AM. You could also try PWM.
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