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Those are both good options. But as a sophomore IBD analyst at BofA, you are so ahead the game man. Just do what interests you the most.
I don't know about FS but I do know their lev fin group places fairly well into mega funds
Financial Sponsors should be better because you're working with PE firms directly. IMO though. I'm not an expert.
FS places well, know guys who ended up at megafunds and other great shops. M&A would be good too.
Honestly though, just pick the group you like the best.
I know a couple of guys from BAML Lev Fin who have ended up at good shops also. Can't really go wrong. Pick the team you feel would be the best fit. Best of luck.
They're known for FS, M&A, LevFin, and RE
M & A, FS, Lev Fin & HC are the best groups at Baml for PE.
Obviously those are the two groups that set you up best for PE, but at BofA I'm gonna say that you're better off in LevFin...they have a lot of deal flow coming through that group and it is very well regarded...unfortunately, I cannot speak specifically to their FS group, but that tells me something
Also, given that you're a sophomore, I would go for LevFin because of the respect it garners and try to leverage that into a sick junior internship. Good luck bud!
Sponsors places better on average than Lev Fin into PE. Lev Fin is a big group (more than 2x the size of Sponsors). The senior guys in Sponsors will go to bat for you (and it's within their best interests too) when recruiting comes along. That said, both groups are incredibly strong at BAML. I think the exits are a bit more varied when it comes to Lev Fin, where you have quite a few guys going to top HFs afterwards as well, whereas I'm not sure sponsors places all that well into HFs.
Recent exits out of sponsors: CD&R, LGP, Ares, Oaktree Recent exits out of lev fin: oak hill, KKR cap markets, point state, GTCR
Be careful about lev fin. I heard last summer they had a 50% return offer rate. Not sure how return offers work for sophomores though.
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