If you could work for any of the top equity LO AMs, which would it be?

Benefits of each

* D&C - strong "team" decision dynamic, very much a partnership / collective decision making feel

* Capital - able to run your own sleeve and be more independent by shopping your ideas around to PMs, bigger

* T Rowe - seemed very academic and deeply value focused

* Fido - not sure

* Welly - not sure

Which would you pick? Which are the "top" of the top tier?

42 Comments
 

So how are BLK's active funds and products viewed within the industry, both from a returns and a careers perspective?

 
Most Helpful

Talked with all but Wellington about post-MBA roles recently, so can give my 2 cents. At this level most people are planning to build a long career at whichever firm they join, so top pick(s) are sometimes just driven by location. Wellington sounded the most attractive to me based on the limited info I heard (combo of culture, private partnership / comp upside, AUM, etc.) but that may be because I dug into Wellington the least since they didn't come to campus & had no formal recruitment this year. So I'll put Wellington the side.

West Coast:

  • Capital: Generally viewed as the best-in-class large LO firm (with Wellington). Level of autonomy / responsibility out of the gate is highest, LA is great for most, AUM/head is strong, and private partnership means LT comp upside is fantastic. Only people I've seen not put Capital as #1 this year are those who don't feel ready to manage a lot of money out of the gate or strong east coast preference. 
  • D&C: Incredible reputation / firm but lower on my list personally. AUM/head is #1 so LT economics must be great. Would be top of list for those looking for benefits of firm scale combined with small team culture/feel if there is a culture match. PE folks sometimes want to avoid the committee structure you mention, and SF is hit or miss as a LT home.

East Coast:

  • T Rowe vs. Fidelity largely comes down to culture vs. location in my opinion. Fidelity was my least favorite culture out of these 4, while T Rowe was on the high-end for culture. Boston > Baltimore though. How you weigh those is up to the individual. Wellington seems to be best of both worlds, so I'm not surprised many have highlighted it as their clear #1.
 

Talked with all but Wellington about post-MBA roles recently, so can give my 2 cents. At this level most people are planning to build a long career at whichever firm they join, so top pick(s) are sometimes just driven by location. Wellington sounded the most attractive to me based on the limited info I heard (combo of culture, private partnership / comp upside, AUM, etc.) but that may be because I dug into Wellington the least since they didn't come to campus & had no formal recruitment this year. So I'll put Wellington the side.

West Coast:

  • Capital: Generally viewed as the best-in-class large LO firm (with Wellington). Level of autonomy / responsibility out of the gate is highest, LA is great for most, AUM/head is strong, and private partnership means LT comp upside is fantastic. Only people I've seen not put Capital as #1 this year are those who don't feel ready to manage a lot of money out of the gate or strong east coast preference. 
  • D&C: Incredible reputation / firm but lower on my list personally. AUM/head is #1 so LT economics must be great. Would be top of list for those looking for benefits of firm scale combined with small team culture/feel if there is a culture match. PE folks sometimes want to avoid the committee structure you mention, and SF is hit or miss as a LT home.

East Coast:

  • T Rowe vs. Fidelity largely comes down to culture vs. location in my opinion. Fidelity was my least favorite culture out of these 4, while T Rowe was on the high-end for culture. Boston > Baltimore though. How you weigh those is up to the individual. Wellington seems to be best of both worlds, so I'm not surprised many have highlighted it as their clear #1.

Do you know the comp trajectory? Curious how it compares to other post-MBA buyside roles. 

 

A major factor that often gets overlooked when making comparisons of the mega LOs is ownership structure. Which has a MATERIAL impact on long-term comp, particularly in the second half of the career. One shouldn’t stop at AUM or AUM / investment professional.
 

For instance: Capital and D&C are privately held by the employees - effectively private partnerships. Fidelity is too, but half owned by the Johnson family. T. Rowe is publicly held. Wellington is privately held but I don’t know the particulars of their ownership and if they have an established succession process - if anyone knows and can shed some light. 

 

Believe the Johnson family still owns 51% of Fido with employees holding the other 49%. My understanding is comp at mid-/senior-level is heavily skewed towards shares that pay out over a few years, which means that you are leaving a lot of $ on the table by leaving. Would imagine the other privately held mega-LOs have a similar comp structure (designed to help retention)

 

Dolores provident et voluptas quam sed. Voluptatibus facere consequuntur architecto dolore. Nostrum ut non tempora doloremque maiores non. Perspiciatis quia esse iusto rerum.

Voluptas aperiam adipisci aut quo perspiciatis ipsum. Id est delectus qui deleniti reiciendis et. Quo voluptatem tenetur eos qui laborum. Voluptatem et corrupti est ut est unde nesciunt.

Possimus totam maiores quasi totam voluptatem. Voluptatem facere qui nihil ut et nobis. Aut expedita aliquam hic numquam.

Eveniet eos quidem eveniet aut illum voluptatem corrupti voluptas. Iste quo explicabo exercitationem veritatis at. Eveniet autem harum provident aut molestiae deleniti provident. Quia aut ex voluptate et rem.

 

Odio minus atque occaecati omnis sequi recusandae qui. Dicta vero autem voluptas quia molestiae ab asperiores eum. Maiores dolorum harum sit iste eveniet. Ipsa eligendi omnis magnam impedit est earum. Rem nihil sed nostrum eveniet modi. Et ea natus consequatur ab qui. Vel ullam quis quis sunt atque perferendis sunt.

Commodi porro assumenda dolor qui tempore. Accusamus eum in commodi dolorem ab consequatur aut. Repudiandae doloremque aliquam reprehenderit accusamus sed. Sed quasi aliquid dolor quis quia.

Est modi sequi et quisquam. Soluta et rerum vel tempore labore natus est quisquam. Id inventore vel maiores.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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

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...”