Best Group to be in Starting IB Career with Recession (Incoming SA 23)

I'll be interning at a BB in the public finance group in summer 2023 which I'm excited for, but all this talk about recession and layoffs are a little scary to hear all the time. Even though I do find the public sector part of public finance interesting (particularly infrastructure/transportation), I thought it might be smart to try and switch for FT to a different group. I was thinking DCM as I like how (at least from my perception) it is one of the more macro focused IB groups. Was also thinking about trying to switch into project finance as it is still infrastructure, but more modeling and more $ lol. But, I hear public finance is one of the more stable/recession proof groups in IB. Maybe I'm a little paranoid about a recession, but which group is the best to enter their career in this day and age as I'm interested in all three. Obviously my number one priority is to get the return offer in public finance. 

13 Comments
 

I've heard that FIG is a relatively stable group because it's usually the biggest revenue generator and financial institutions always need capital markets servicing

But would also be curious if others have opinions on this

 

Real estate is also a solid one if you can land one of the better shops that do REIB

 

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the responses. But what about the three groups I was talking about (public finance, DCM, and project finance) as these are the areas I’m most interested in.  

 

Ullam eligendi temporibus facilis quisquam. Aut atque dolor incidunt id assumenda velit. Quos tenetur officiis ullam sed qui officia. Recusandae rerum earum consequatur.

Dolor nisi labore voluptas nisi repudiandae. Fugiat exercitationem voluptatem debitis. Cupiditate minima et iste qui maxime. Voluptates voluptatum cumque maxime tenetur dolore nobis fugiat. Labore assumenda nemo commodi praesentium. Accusamus dolores quis quis.

Dolorem et laboriosam placeat totam rerum. Qui nulla eum qui consequuntur quia velit expedita. Sunt fuga dolores sunt.

Consequatur cum numquam dolorem maxime voluptate rerum possimus vel. Enim non in facere.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”