Banks with best cultures
anyone have any thoughts on what BB or MM banks have the best culture based on personal experience / direct sources?
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everyone that I know that works at William Blair loves it but everyone seems to come very similar backgrounds. also I heard a lot of satellite offices for the BBs are great but hours could be long
white
Yes, William Blair has the nicest people I’ve talked to out of all the banks
If this is NYC (in no particular order obviously, also can fluctuate greatly based on group):
BAML, RBC, JPM, Baird, Barclays, STRH, Blair, EVR
I'm definitely missing some others but those are the major one's most known for "culture"
It’s definitely gonna come down to Moelis or FT Partners
Of course he's not being sarcastic. Haven't you heard all the great things about Moelis?
FT Partners has best culture hands down. Nowhere else do you get to work 6-7 days a week on endless cap raises for cash-strapped fintech companies that are too small to be advised by the major banks.
I know you're joking, but Moelis actually does have an awesome culture if you are the right fit for it. Those dudes will work an all nighter then get a paid-for trip to Vegas.
Are hours tough at Moelis?
Work at RBC. Everyone is very civil to each other, oddly friendly almost. Being a d-bag or even raising your voice in anger would make you stick out negatively in most groups. Anecdotally, hear Barclays and JPM are similar in that sense.
Anyone can comment on Houston banks?
Barclays - genuine, extremely down to earth, nice people Goldman - nice, maybe kinda dorky/awkward JPM - Very mixed, a few ridiculous d bags sprinkled in, heard toxic stories (cussing out analysts) MS - Nicer, some fun and chill people but still several hardos, semi stuffy BofA - Solid, nice people Evercore - wide range, but had some terrible conversations, elitism Moelis - really nice group of guys without egos, gym rats
So you work at Barclays
Barclays - agree
GS - can be elitist, most people are from east coast schools rather than texas/southern schools, so a very different culture than other Houston banks, quite a bit more elitist than they deserve to be given their place on the energy league tables tbh
JPM - agree, seems like a weird place right now culturally
MS - agree
BofA - agree
EVR - disagree a bit, come off as more hyper type A than elitist
Moelis - agree
LAZ - really nice people, can be a bit stuffy, really sharp team
TPH - very chill, very passionate about energy, gives off Rice undergrad vibes if you're familiar with that
JEF - people who just love to work really really hard, very down to earth and kind
RBC - extremely chill, feels like a close-knit family a bit, Scott Richardson (founder of their very successful A&D shop) is always walking the halls
Citi - very fratty, wide range of people given how big their shop is
Simmons - extremely chill, bro city (but in a good way), fun people
Can't believe nobody mentioned Tobin and Co
Real answer: Rothschild WSO answer: FT Partners
Sophomore here, only going based off of people I've networked one (all NY)
BAML (by far one of the best cultures ever - have spoken with 10-12 people there, all VERY chill, down to Earth, willing to go out of their way)
RBC
MS
Low on culture would be Citi in my opinion. Felt the pressure and stress when networking with individuals there, very uptight, not a personal fit. Others might think otherwise which is totally fine
Barclays is the best for BB and Centerview for advisory based on people in my friend group, both do a great job in hiring the right people. Note: this is only NYC.
Funny how these incoming interns are the ones answering with their vast amount of knowledge
Tobin & Co.
Best culture on the street.
Baird seems to be pretty solid as well
Below is 100% factual:
Goldman kids tend to be culty hardos
MS is fratty af in a northeastern WASP-y kind of way (not an antebellum kind of way)
JPM is meh. Kind of "aw shucks" in terms of their bankers. shame really.
PJT RSSG is nerdy + nice, PJT M&A is fratty + chill
Evercore is fine. Lazard is all kinds of fucked up. Moelis is for hardos.
CS just seems kind of douche-y from my experience. Hard to explain why, just an overwhelming stench about the place.
Nobody knows or cares about Citi or BAML
I actually really like the guys at DB and Barclays
UBS is whatev
Wells Fargo = adorably out of the loop
Harris Williams analysts roam around the streets of Richmond in packs of no less than 8. They were all SAEs at various mid atlantic schools. Fratty in an antebellum kind of way.
Blair and Baird are cool.
EDIT: Cleaned up some stuff above and added ome more below. Probably says something that I forgot about these guys (not sure what though...)
RBC = your friendly neighborhood Canadians. Distinctly not douchey, which is honestly kind of boring
BMO is kids who browse WSO, personified
Jefferies as an institution has a massive chip on its shoulder is home to the worst kind of finance hardo (you all know the type)
I don't think Centerview actually exists.
Lincoln has a bunch of nice Big 10 dudes who have no qualms about working you to death
Really like the people at Normura
Piper Jaffray = absolute clown show
Houlihan has pretty nerdy junior and absolute degenerate senior people. Must be a weird coexistence.
Lmao eerily accurate
Could someone please clarify what this comment means in regards to JPM? As an undergrad, have generally heard good things about both the culture and performance of the firm as a whole
they're just average and don't really stand out much. reason why JP does well is because they have so much manpower but their employees weren't your standout candidates or the best and brightest.
edit: lol MS all you want, we know you're going to JP if you MS this
Agreed, JPM is all about the balance sheet. Have seen some surprising candidates from my uni and less than stellar analysts accepted into JPM.
Your JPM comment was far too on point
While I don’t doubt JPM may have been “meh” pre crisis, as a current IB analyst I can assure you these takes are sorely dated.
Like all banks, culture varies widely across groups, but I’ve found that there’s a distinct scrappiness at all levels in my own group and the groups I’ve worked alongside. Seniors are laser focused on continuing to win market share and expect juniors to make insightful contributions beyond just churning pages. The downside of this is of course some long weeks. In terms of talent, the league tables speak for our seniors, and I’m skeptical of the notion that there are any significant differences in analyst talent across top banks (high schoolers reading this - your world may be turned upside down to learn that I've seen UBS juniors regularly eviscerate their GS counterparts). JPM is littered with summa cum laude Ivy graduates and has crushed buyside recruiting for at least the past two years if you want to look at it based on WSO's usual proxies.
I won’t claim to have divined the firm of anyone on this thread, but I find seemingly insecure MS bankers often fixate on bashing JPM. This is likely driven by JPM’s continued dominance in the capital markets and passage into the #2 spot in M&A. Meanwhile, MS has found itself in the throes of an identity crisis with a feckless CEO at the helm in Gorman. Its juniors hide behind a thin veneer of bygone WASP culture as they scour WSO for opportunities to assert that “it’s really still MS/GS and not GS/MS/JPM”. Alas, at least MS has generated some nice fees for JPM as it plays catch-up in the retail arena (@ETrade sale).
GS / MS has always been in the #1 and #2 spot for M&A.
JPM just relies on its balance sheet and now you see insecure analysts coming here to rant about how they are better than GS and MS...
"I don't think Centerview actually exists."
Centerview is simply an idea, or dare I say, a manifestation of one's own mind.
Heard Lincoln actually had a really good culture...
Their culture is to DIE for
I think Baird and Blair have the best cultures through personal experience and friend's experiences. Sounds like they treat their analysts and interns as full-time employees who are allowed to ask questions. If entry-level people take advantage of it, it sounds like a great place to learn about the industry
Blair & Baird.
Barclays stood out among BBs.
Visited all BB's during recruiting, BAML/Barclays have the best culture and feeling by far.
Axe Cap
Barclays has the most cohesive and all around best culture out of the BBs in my experience. BAML, DB, JPM have many groups with great culture, but also many with poor culture.
not op but barclays is known for having the least facetime + best lifestyle from kids I know going there FT. still some groups with tough hours like industrials and tech but that's due to dealflow, not insane MDs afaik. i've heard of groups with good hours at MS and JPM but it seems to be the norm at Barclays.
can someone describe HW culture more?
think a fraternity except you're a pledge for 2 years instead of 1 semester
Best culture from networking is WF
PWP has an exceptional culture--group of really nice people across the board. Know an analyst who finished his two years and said he didn't get screamed at once. Firm policy of not hiring assholes
This is an unanswerable question.
Groups are kingdoms unto themselves. There is no "bank culture".
All of the below is for RX in NY, don't know enough to speak to other groups. Worked at one of these so only speaking 3rd person to keep anonymous.
PJT: Very good culture, everyone I know happy with the experience. Somewhat bookish / nerdy for lack of a better term. Some of the nicest people you'll come across. No real facetime.
Lazard: Reasonably sweaty compared to the others. Some senior people seem to be stuck in the old-school Lazard culture, which probably drives the sweatiness. All that being said, I have a high opinion of their analysts generally and they seem to like it.
HL: Similar to PJT though people are a little more on the fratty end of the spectrum. Sweaty at times but no real facetime. Have heard anecdotally that LA is worse than NY but somebody correct me if that's wrong.
Moelis: Improving slowly but surely. Still would not be my top choice but it's no longer a place that should hold the stigma it earned it the past.
Evercore: Like PJT but longer hours. Seems to be understaffed at the junior level. People are really smart.
Greenhill: Surprisingly good given that Augustine was known to crack the whip at Rothschild. I don't want to say no facetime but certainly less than most firms.
There was a post like last week explaining that banks don't really have cultures, groups do, and yet we still have this question every other day......that being said from personal experience and friends who work in these groups
MS, RBC, Moelis - what's been posted already is what I've heard also, unfortunately I don't have any first hand info.
At the end of the day go where you're wanted. If people at a bank like you and everyone seems to want to help you, go there.
Wrapping up my stint at Evercore. Definitely not “fratty” in any way (to the extent you care about that — word is thrown around a lot), but the place is a ghost town at 9PM, which, in my mind, is the most tangible sign of “good culture.”
Definitely didn’t mean to imply teams aren’t close — especially at the analyst level, people are legitimately friends with coworkers outside of work. Your average employee is a bit more bookish, there’s not a ‘junior hazing’ / (or as much of a) ‘earn your stripes’ culture, and people generally don’t come off as typical “finance bro” (relative to other banks' employees, at least) So yes, certainly less boisterous — probably less crazy stories per capita than most other banks — but at the end of the day, it’s still a bunch of well-paid, highly stressed younger people looking to blow off steam, so you can still get your share of antics if you wish.
Demographically, the firm is more female, Asian, and Canadian than most, which may play a role — though the three wildest, “frattiest” people I know at the firm each fit 1 or more of the above descriptors, so what do I know...
PWP = best culture and top pay