Analyst Ranking and Exit options

Hi everyone,

As most people know that at all major BB IBs, analyst and associate are ranked between A to C each year, A being the best. The ranking you get will ultimately affects the bonus you get.

I am just wondering how important is such ranking in terms of getting interviews with PE and HF. Does all major PE (Blackstone, KKR etc) and HF only interview top ranked analysts from BB IBs?

Some of my friend say the ranking is very important, while others aruge that significant deal exposure will also get you interview with major PE and HF even if you are not top ranked, obviously too a great extend that ranking also depend very much on the politics of the firm, so even an excellent analyst might not get top rank because of politics etc.

so what's everyone's view on this? Thanks

33 Comments
 

I assume it might play a small part in getting interviews, but deal exposure is probably more important. Where it would hurt you is latter on in the PE recruiting process when MD's put in a good word for you at the PE firm you are interviewing with. It would be difficult to get a top PE firm offer without a MD/VP going to bat for you.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 
Gekko21I assume it might play a small part in getting interviews, but deal exposure is probably more important. Where it would hurt you is latter on in the PE recruiting process when MD's put in a good word for you at the PE firm you are interviewing with. It would be difficult to get a top PE firm offer without a MD/VP going to bat for you.

Harris Williams?

 
South Sea Tulip
Gekko21I assume it might play a small part in getting interviews, but deal exposure is probably more important. Where it would hurt you is latter on in the PE recruiting process when MD's put in a good word for you at the PE firm you are interviewing with. It would be difficult to get a top PE firm offer without a MD/VP going to bat for you.

Harris Williams?

//www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/mega-fund-recruiting

Look at bankbank's posts.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 
Summer InternThanks for the reply.

but usually, atleast where I work, my boss (MD and VP) are usually angry about their analyst leaving espeically when they have spent all those times train you. How coul you get them to write you a reference, if you are considering leaving the bank? thanks

My info is from other users on this site. Its not a reference letter. It's more of an informal call to the PE firm supporting your application. MD/VPs do it if they really like you and/or if they have a connection/friend at the PE firm.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

PE firms always say they want to interview the "top ranked analysts." In reality, it isn't just the top ranked analysts who get the jobs. A strong pre-IB resume, good deal experience, and references will be just as valuable. It is like anything else when interviewing, some interviewers place more weight on this element of your candidacy than others.

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I don't think ranking matters much at all. Mega-funds finished up recruiting already, a solid 2 months before "rankings" come out. It's likely that analysts who end up at those places are top analysts at their bank, but by no means is a necessity

 

Umm....i wouldnt say ranking doesnt matter at all, i think most PE still looking for good ranked analysts, may not necessarily be top ranked but i guess have to be atleast B ranked.

I know the top ranked analysts at my team gets called all the time from PE group, i.e blackstone, kkr etc etc, although my team isnt very strong and the top ranked analysts hasnt done too many deals....

In the of the day, ranking in a BB is a ver poltical issue....i have heard analysts worked hard all year and got a C rank, just because the MD missed the year end review session because he was ill.....

 

It can help your chances and look good on a resume, but not making the top tier doesn't preclude you from getting a good PE job. I know a couple places where 1st, 2nd and 3rd year analysts all compete in a single pool to be placed into buckets (so it's virtually impossible for a 1st year to make top bucket when 2nd and 3rd years almost always do better work).

The recruiters and PE people always say they want to interview top ranked analysts but I think that's done more to deter people who aren't confident enough that they are good candidates.

 
Banker88How important is pre-IB experience for buy-side recruiting? Assuming you have good grades from a target school, do they really give a crap what internships or leadership positions you had in college?

Based entirely on what I have heard from others, past IB stuff is often quite important since it is another differentiating factor in terms of work ethic (since some mokeys may get hired not 100% based on merit). I know that they look at undergrad grades, wrt leadership positions I'm not so sure.

 

I do have the feeling that ranking matters, the way I would look at it is the following:

investment banks mainly hires from target school the same way that PE hires mainly from BBs

Even if I got a 2.1 from cambridge i can still go and work for an investment bank because i come from a target school. however getting a 1st from cambridge will certainly help me more in terms of getting into an investment bank.

The PE equivalent story is that even if i am b ranked analyst from a BB, i can still go and work for a top PE, because in the end of the day it is still a BB. however being a ranked will help me more.

 
aquamarineeWhen you say undergrad grades, do you mean they actually want to see what classes you took and what you got in each of those courses or just your cumulative GPA?

I don't even think a BB cares about course specifics, it's all about the cum.

 

maybe a dumb question, but how the hell do the recruiters (or funds) even determine what your ranking was, beyond you telling them....? it's not as though you get a transcript that you can forward along to somebody...?

 
srr636maybe a dumb question, but how the hell do the recruiters (or funds) even determine what your ranking was, beyond you telling them....? it's not as though you get a transcript that you can forward along to somebody...?

They will talk to your staffer and they will ask you to provide other references. Some even ask for a hard copy of your performance review.

 
Juwanna Mann
srr636maybe a dumb question, but how the hell do the recruiters (or funds) even determine what your ranking was, beyond you telling them....? it's not as though you get a transcript that you can forward along to somebody...?

They will talk to your staffer and they will ask you to provide other references. Some even ask for a hard copy of your performance review.

Do most BBs give you a hard-copy performance report

 
Best Response

no

to go along with your example - do you think J.C. Flowers is going to throw more business a BB FIG group's way (often, in $Xmm dollar area) b/c the BB FIG group paid one of its jr employees $10k more before he/she joined?

I do think that if an analyst did get a top PE job, it could improve his/her perception in banking, thus potentially improving analyst ranking, but this is soft/anecdotal

 

You're dramatically overestimating the amount of scheming banks do with respect to analysts. Your pay will be based on feedback from your coworkers; perhaps you could argue that your coworkers' impression of you might changed based on your buyside recruiting success, but that's a stretch at best. In any case, why would you be worried about your analyst bonus after having locked up a buyside job along those lines?

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 

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