Am I living in la la Land

I am a second year equity research analyst at one of the smaller banks. I like and respect my team and feel a sense of loyalty towards them. I also get a lot of autonomy, which I like, and will get to cover much faster than I would if I were at a larger bank, which matters a lot to me. However, I'm starting to wonder if I am slipping into complacency. Is it a bad idea to not be thinking about or trying to move to one of the larger institutions? Beyond the signaling power of these bigger banks, what are the benefits of working for them in ER? What are the challenges a youngish analyst at a smaller shop would have when trying to build a franchise? 

More broadly, I wonder if I need to start being more competitive. I did a lot of gold-star chasing through high school and college and then got badly burned by my first job at a pod. Had to reset my expectations after that and a long stint of unemployment and haven't had the same desire to chase the gold stars since. It seems to me that focusing on the work in front of me and being good at what I do is probably better insurance than a brand name. But maybe this is a case of sour grapes. In any case, I wonder if you need to allow yourself to become highly sensitive to status/prestige to become good in this industry, i.e., if that is the skin in the game that makes you go the extra mile.