Best Consumer groups in NYC
Incoming MBA associate recruiting for consumer/retail coverage in NYC, hoping to get a sanity check from people who know these groups firsthand.
I've been building my own view of the landscape but want to pressure-test it. For consumer & retail specifically (not the firm overall), how would you rank the following on deal quality, junior experience, and culture? Where am I wrong?
My rough current read:
- Houlihan Lokey (CFR) — seems like the top shop on deal volume, strong mid-cap/sponsor work, restructuring DNA. Main question: how much of the consumer group actually sits in NY vs. Chicago?
- Jefferies — strong dealflow and resume, but I keep hearing the junior experience/hours are rough. True across the consumer group specifically?
- Piper Sandler — looks strong in food & bev / growth consumer. But I don't know if they have a consumer desk in NYC.
- Citi / BofA — bulge bracket consumer. Is the work more large-cap/financing-driven vs. lead M&A advisory?
Do you have any other bank recommendations?
A few specific questions:
- Which of these has the best junior experience (real modeling/deal exposure, not just process management)?
- For consumer specifically, is there a meaningful deal-quality gap between the top MM shops (HL, Piper, HW) and the EBs?
- Any groups I'm missing that punch above their weight in NYC consumer? (I know Harris Williams is strong but they don't have a NY office.)
Priorities are NYC location, deal quality, and a culture that isn't completely scorched-earth on hours. Appreciate any honest takes
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GS, Centerview, and BofA
No offense, this is a bad list. Curious how you came to these conclusions. Best groups are GS, JPM, Centerview and now Lazard in the Taetle era. Citi and BoFa are still fine as well, but below the prior.
HL CFR is best in MM space (competes with EBs on some engagements), Piper also good in F&B, generally good takes at that level.
Think your comment is generally accurate at the large / mega cap level.
Dude no way HL competes with Moelis on some engagements?? They must be number 1!
Pls look at their US deals in the past year and circle back. Thx. Same with Piper.
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