I know there is another thread on this but was wondering what group placement is like for full-time people who didn't intern the past summer. I just received an offer and was wondering if all the top groups (P&U, Nat Res, etc) were already taken by this past summers interns. Thanks in advance!
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Interned in a product group and am tryna move to coverage. It feels like its literally impossible cause no one responds. Good luck with getting P&U or NR to respond lol
What did you rank the product group on your list? Did you have it kinda high or was it dead last and they just gave it to you
SA group placement for the top groups was hard enough for my friends at Barc, I can only imagine what it's like full time. My $0.02:
The good news: Nearly all of coverage (sans maybe Real Estate) consistently send people to the buyside for those who want it and are great groups for those who want to stay, although there is variation in outcomes.
The bad news: Each coverage group is pretty small in its analyst class sizes and Barc is generally known for high return offer rates to SAs - furthermore, ECM and DCM are included in IB at Barc. Whether you can get a top group like Nat Res will largely be a factor of how many spots that group gets.
Advice: Barc's largest coverage groups by far are Industrials and FIG. Industrials gets shit on on this site because it's a sweatshop, but so are most other groups in banking with dealflow. They sent 2 kids to Apollo from the same analyst class a year or two ago and those weren't outliers. FIG also has great exists, granted not really generalist. Be smart, play the numbers game, and don't underestimate how much alumni will vouch for you just because you're from the same school.
Very good point. People generally write off industrials because it’s a sweatshop so I would guess it’s less competitive to get into, but if you’re willing to put in the work, they’ve got incredible deal flow.
Did your friends mention how people end up in DCM/ECM? If people want coverage do they end up in coverage? Or do a lot of people end up forced into DCM/ECM?
Per my last post, I think the people who want coverage and end up in ECM/DCM:
Hope that helps - my friends are all having great experiences there.
isn't NatRes in Houston?
The group is split ~ 2/3 in Houston and 1/3 in NY. The NY group is strong though, they crush it in midstream and downstream. Houston handles most of the upstream and a fair amount of midstream.
NY group is def strong and in addition to midstream and downstream, has been getting a ton of dealflow from renewable Nat Res players and SPACs in that space.
It might be. Are you able to speak to someone at the firm directly?
Anyone else having a hard time networking with different groups right now? Also when is placement day for SAs and why is it so late?
Why is it industrials gets dragged on so much on this site? Is it hours or the people? Being the biggest group I’d like to network with them to increase my chances of an offer
I think it’s just due to culture / work-life balance. I heard some horror stories about the group while recruiting and during group placement. Plenty of people told me to stay far away from industrials. Which is why I was shocked when I realized they actually do pretty well, their reputation isn’t because of bad deal flow - could argue that it’s the opposite, the good deal flow drives a rough culture. I know they absolutely own the airline sector. I don’t know what other verticals they’re strong at but I’ve seen league tables and they’re near the top most years. If you’re willing to put in the work, it’s probably a better spot than most make it out to be.
Culture in industrials is brutal in terms of treatment of analysts. They’re known to have the most difficult MDs to work with and a lot of the VPs and associates muddy up the waters as well, so the analysts end up working a lot more than necessary. Deal flow is strong though and people place well. I hear building products and EV have done well in addition to airlines.
Great people there
Wrong thread
Any other thoughts on this? Would it be smarter to take a coverage/m&a group at a bank that is generally worse? Instead of risking it and getting into a DCM/ECM role?
If you're not at an EB (where group matters less because it's all M&A/RX or group placement isn't a thing) or GS (where you get your offer into a group with your SA offer) every other bank will have a very similar process of accepting the offer and then figuring out placement afterward. Recent bad publicity about low bonuses aside, analysts seem to really like Barc and place well out of coverage. Read other threads about BofA/Citi/CS and "generally worse" banks and see just how few groups consistently place to MF/UMM/HF etc.
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