(Actual) 2024 Investment Bank Tier List
After James royally screwed the pooch with his Natixis propaganda, I thought it would be prudent to draw up an (actual) updated tier list for 2024. This is based on what offers undergrads are prioritizing / what banks are most "in-demand" (weighted mostly towards PE/HF placements, comp, overall analyst experience, and muh pReStiGe). Not group dependent (except PJT for obvious reasons). Within tiers, personal preference would be the main differentiator.
Tier 1A: Qatalyst, Centerview Partners, Goldman Sachs, PJT (RSSG), Evercore (could be 1B)
Tier 1B: Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Lazard
Tier 2A: Bank of America, Moelis, PJT (M&A)
Tier 2C: UBS, Guggenheim
Tier 3A: Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, RBC
Tier 3B: Top MMs (WB, HL, etc), Wells Fargo, Rothschild (US)
Tier 3C: Nomura (ex-Greentech), Solomon Partners (not the same thing as Natixis, James)
Tossup Tier: Other MMs (Lincoln, RJ, etc.), Foreign Balance Sheet Banks (Mizuho, HSBC, etc.), Regional MMs (Truist, KeyBanc, etc.)
LMAO Tier: FT Partners, Natixis, Tobin Co, Northwestern Mutual
If you think a bank is too high, comment which lower offer you would rather take and why, and vice versa.
wondering where GHL stands right now given the recent saga
Moe and PJT M&A should be in the tier above imo. Idk anyone taking Lazard over either
Very close between those three, could see Moelis moving up one or lazard moving down depending on personal preference for BB vs EB. Lazard kinda gives best of both worlds.
Get rid of 2A, MOE / PJT go tier above and BofA to the left of Citi
Who. Tf. Cares
Agree, these tier lists always have too many fucking tiers. Prospects need to stop creating these lists and touch some grass.
found the nomura analyst!
I care. Only EB/BB/Reputable MM Summer Analysts get laid
Natixis should be lower
Oh yeah? What’s the analyst 1 base?
Lol I can gaurentee you no one is picking Citi or Barclays over PWP lol. Again no one is taking of BofA vs MoE or PJT. Bump pjt moe PWP with LAZ I’ve seen many people decide between MoE vs laz or PWP vs laz or PWP vs MoE (PJT m&a is on a later timeline so no overlap between offers).
alsl Guggenheim seems a little low
PWP is a great place to go for your internship if you want to end up without a job after the summer - ~55% return rate (horrid for a bank that is not PJT, EVR, CVP, why would any student risk their career on that)
This is just false re: return offer. My friend interned in the NY office this summer and only 2 interns didn’t get a return offer… idk where you got your info from but that’s just blatantly false.
LAZ had a bad return rate for 2023 summer.. so did MS… based on your logic should one just take a DB or UBS?
Last cycle return rate was over 90% from what I heard.
lmao this comment shows why you're an investment banking associate haha.
Plenty of people would take solid name-brand BBs like BofA, Barclays and Citi over the EBs you mentioned. Not saying those offer a better analyst or deal experience, but there are perks of having that on your resume and working in larger BB groups.
Why are we still doing this….
Kids are driven almost exclusively by prestige and pay in this industry.
Here before the FTP analyst crying
Del
Genuinely curious what experience you have as a sophomore to be ranking any of these. You haven’t spent a day in the industry?
Del
This one may just be worse than James’ list to be completely honest
Isn't Natixis only based on France? Why are they on an IB ranking list for prospects in a country they don't have an office in?
They’re based in 30 countries not just France🤦♂️
bro are you trying to run a pump and dump or something why are you glazing natixis so hard
Delete
Lazard's deal pipeline has been significantly worse than any other bank in top 2 tiers. They just lost so many good seniors across the board to other banks.
I wonder where Nomura Greentech will be placed in that table then especially how it is ranked within that industry or vertical. Thanks a lot!
Bump
Same tier as DB/RBC/Jeff or maybe the tier right below it. Greentech no longer has multiple UMMMF exits but it's still a respectable spot. It's just hard to rank since it's just one group. On average, it exits worse than DB FSG, but better than a random DB coverage team like TMT for example, so was thinking putting it on that tier. On the other hand : it exits in line with groups at places like WF on average, so that determines how you rank it.
Very helpful. What are some recent exits from Nomura Greentech?
I'd put DB on the same level as UBS and Gugg
This is just false, look at the data: Gugg/UBS has better exits, and looking at last year's M&A league tables are stronger banks with more deal flow than DB.
None of this even matters once you are 5+ years in. Finance is all about building your personal franchise and setting up at a shop which will compensate you the best for your skillset. Tired of these prestige-whoring summer analyst candidates.
It's fun to be competitive chill out
I would move WF to tier 3A, although if we were analyzing US performance they should be in 2C
WF is roughly in line with RBC/Jeff in terms of exits in the US. I understand their team has grown, but it hasn't reflected in exits.
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