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Analyst > bank.
That said, some MMs have very good research. I'm consistently impressed by Raymond James research. It's more readable than a lot of the BB research, which sounds absurd 90% of the time e.g. "trendable event with catalysts to the upside".
Agreed. It's entirely based on the analysts at the firm and many firms will specialize on a sector based around their main analyst. Really depends on what space you're interested in. I'm in resources and I will say that the material released by the US bb's is generally garbage so you'd be much better positioned at a smaller firm that specializes in the space. I think it's a similiar situation in tech although someone more knowledgable in the space can chime in there.
thanks a lot. do you happen to know if Raymond James has a good summer internship programme?
KBW is pretty good too for FIG
RW Baird?
How's Stifel? Just going through associates' profiles on linkedin, I saw many went to semi/non targets.
thanks a lot to all, really helpful replies
Take a look at the link in the sell side ER thread (right under this one) - basically talks about how BB's are much more prone to the "everything's a buy" bias compared to independents. Something to consider.
I'm going to go against the grain here. If I was on the buyside (and not at a firm that needed analysts for mgmt access), I would use independents.
But for internships, I would look at BBs and solid MMs. Nobody knows "XYZ boutique" but everybody knows Credit Suisse ER. The analyst > bank rule still applies, but big-name firms help with branding. The analysts are also more well known, because they send out their research to almost everyone, not just subscribers. That said, if I wanted to stay in SS ER, I would go for Sanford Bernstein or something similar.
Just reread my post and wanted to clarify I mentioned semi/nontargets from a recruiting/networking perspective, not as an indication of quality.
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