Analyst vs Associate Lateral

Is it generally easier to lateral as an experienced Analyst or as an Associate? I know there are more Analyst positions; however, I also figure there may not be as much lateral competition for an Associate position given so many Analysts leave prior to A2A. Would appreciate any insight!

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I think your intuition is correct. Banks have a hard time finding experienced associates willing to move because they will likely fall into one of these camps:

-Still ramping up without a ton of deal experience yet (often post-MBA)

-Looking to leave banking to an exit that doesn't care as much about which bank you came from

-On the verge of making VP

Because there isn't that pressure to get the best bank brand to exit to PE or whatever it is going to be a harder sell to get some associate who likes his team and prospects of getting promoted to gamble that away just for some prestige.

 

Probably depends on the market. If it was a bad year last year and banks hired fewer analysts, but now business is booming, you might be in a great spot to lateral as an analyst.

Edit: Clarification, business is not booming right now, so analysts would not have an easy time at this moment, they should wait until there is more demand for analysts.

 

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