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Happy to shed some light--I picked a MM (one of Blair/Baird/HW/HL) over several BB offers.
Comp: Equivalent at worst, and often slightly higher. Blair and Baird are also private and pay out bonuses in all cash vs. ever increasing stock comp at BBs.
Culture: While not MM specific, I actually want to be in banking longer term, and the culture/location/outlook was critical to me.
Deal flow: I found value in executing deals more frequently (and a majority M&A), and getting the reps early.
Overall--coming in at the post-mba associate level, you have a different set of priorities than analysts, and given that I didn't want to be in NYC anyway, I don't think you really sacrifice anything by forgoing the BB. After talking with enough people who went from BB to this caliber of MM or vice versa, I became more confident in my decision.
Hope that helps!
Could you comment on how MM deal analysis and activities (serving smaller, private companies) differs from BB (serving larger, public companies)? Also, at a Blair/Baird/HL-type shop, how many live deals could one expect to be on at any given time (not busy vs busy)? In general, I'm trying to gauge how the actual work experience and quality-of-life might differ between MM and BB. Thanks in advance!
In terms of work, it will be more frequently sell side M&A (with some buyside mixed in). At the shops mentioned, it won't *exclusively* be that, because they do capital markets work as well. In that regard, you still get some variety, though it will still be M&A heavy for sure. You are often selling smaller/growing companies to PE or publics.
The pros of that is that you get to touch A LOT of companies that can help bolster a larger player or have decent independent growth potential and you can see repeat sales in the PE universe as the client grows. The cons are that there won't be an industry changing mega merger with all its complexity, and often fewer "strategic alternatives" presented to these private firms. That being said, these firms still mix it up with decent-sized deals that aren't always cookie cutter.
You can be on more active deals at one time (don't want to anchor a number here) and see things close in shorter time frames (generally speaking). How that translates to work-life is anybody's guess. My limited experience tells me that some of these MMs put a few more structural things in place that lead to longevity particularly beyond the junior ranks. Many factors (location, etc.) involved but the tenure at Blair/Baird is notably higher. Regardless, it's banking and the associate years will be rough timewise no matter where you are.
If you care about the prestige/exit perspective, just know that the associate lateral market is much more in your favor. While most people self-selected for these places intentionally, I have seen a few peers move to other banks (JPM, Citi, Moelis) without much effort. The truth is that most associates looking to leave are looking to exit banking to something where which bank you came from doesn't matter an awful lot, or are on the verge of a VP promote.
I don't want to say it's all rosy at MMs because they suffer from many of banking's work environment shortcomings, but I also don't think its a coincidence or irrational that every year, qualified people from top B-schools choose to go to these firms over BBs given the post-MBA outlook.
Super helpful - thanks so much for the insight!
Dont choose based on comp.
Yeah and a lot of other factors come into play as well. May not be worth it for an associate to work at a sweatshop given the lack of opportunity to go to PE. If an analyst has plans for 2 and out into PE then there are times where the sweatshop (provided the name is high caliber and places well) is worth it.
EB if you can, BB if you need broader exits, but never never MM.
(Feel free to ms, fragile boys)
You're literally an analyst lol
I am going to an EB this summer and didn’t pursue any MMs during recruiting but I think you’re dead wrong on this. Talked to multiple MBA associates during recruiting who choose MMs over BBs and are happy with their choice (and VPs who were previously MBA associates). Also met some who started in BB and moved to MM. It’s really such a different decision when you’re looking at it through the lens of an MBA associate (compared to analysts).
Personally know some fantastic candidates in my class who exclusively pursued top MMs.
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