142 Comments
 
Best Response

In IB, pretty much everyone chooses M&A as their top choice group. A hidden jewel that often gets overlooked is FEG, or the Financial Entrepreneurs Group (Sponsors). No one chooses the group because of its categorization under "Alternative Assets" and the uncertainty of what "Financial Entrepreneurs" entails. It's a great, very technical group, that does no pitching (huge plus) because sponsors are so sophisticated. If you are strongly technical, try M&A, FEG, or Power and Energy. If you are more fuzzy and liberal-artsy, go with technology.

There are two metrics that will help you choose a great banking group. Inquire about how many associates are analyst promotes. This holistic metric will reveal both the attrition rate and how meritocratic the group is. These former analysts know everything there is to know about the group, so their staying on should be a hugely positive signal to you. The analyst-to-MD ratio will reveal how understaffed the group is. A low ratio (especially a ratio below one) means lots of work, potentially great senior exposure, and a strong chance of getting hired.

Group selection is a bilateral process. The interns rank their top groups, and the groups pick ~20 interns to meet-and-greet on the first day. Afterwards, groups re-rank the entire resume book, and summers rank their top six choices. I believe this year, the class of ~40 all got into their first or second choice group.

 

ibd at citi isn't as strong as it used to be. feg bankers aren't as highly regarded as sponsors bankers would be in other banks. other groups tend to look at them as subpar performers... with that said, this is an internal opinion within citi.

m&a is hands down the most sought-after group.

comms are known as the slave drivers. you get to do your own modeling, but be prepared for ridiculous hours. consumers is pretty much a frat house - don't know too many with excellent exit opps. they did get to work on the dollar general deal though.

industrials is really a toss up. many subgroups under the umbrella. it really depends on which subgroup you get and which associates you get paired up with.

don't know too much about the other groups.

 

how does the matching process work? say your top ranked groups are m&a, tech, sponsors, media, and industrials, and NO group picks you as one of their choices. how do you get into a group?

 

I am not sure where you are getting your information from. Nobody said that.....A poster mentioned that the group is called Financial Entrepreneurship Group (Sponsors). I too am interested on hearing any new thoughts about the groups at Citi. There has been a lot of new hires/exits and I am interested in knowing if anything has changed.

 

bump. would like to know if anything has changed in terms of group rankings. obviously M&A is their top group, but what other groups follow?

 

TMT is rough - long hours and brutal work environment. However, the exit opps are pretty good coming out. M&A is most sought after - they also have a group-specific training program for analysts which help... Not too sure about other groups.

 

Bump, I hear their energy & power was the best on the street last year. In terms of transitioning into PE, to the extent that the M&A group is not an option due to it being on the top of everyone's list, is there a possibility to transition into a top PE MF after analyst years in a solid industry group like industrials and power?

"We're not lawyers, we're investment bankers. We just call you for the paperwork. We didn't go to Harvard, we went to Wharton, and we saw you coming a mile away." - Suits
 

There was another thread on this ~1 month back. FYI @"ValueInvestor888" , Citi split TMT a few backs into Tech and Comms (media & telecom)

Top group M&A. Other than that ,Comms, Industrials, Sponsors, Consumers all have solid exits. This info has been shared many times before on WSO. search to find other recent threads.

HC not historically one of the stronger groups.

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”
 

Market-facing, modeling-light product groups that involve market overviews, updating quals and league tables, and monitoring performance.

 

Sponsors man. They're still rebuilding from the downturn but balance sheet access really gives them a great in w/ PE funds.

Ace all your PE interview questions with the WSO Private Equity Prep Pack: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/guide/private-equity-interview-prep-questions
 

Citi Sponsors group doesn't do any real modeling. Majority of your deal experience will be debt financing... And if you are interested in that, good for you. You won't learn much.

 

^ what BS. Sponsors at Citi definitely does modeling (now whether the deal actually closes or not is another question lol).

Sponsors does have a pretty good balance and they work with all the megafunds, but placement has fallen off a cliff since a few years ago when they sent a class to Warburg, Carlyle (mezz) and Kelso.

 

To follow up, they do modeling, but again, they're getting on deals because they provide debt financing. So yes you'll do some debt financing modeling, but you'll also model the LBO.

 

^ I bet you work/worked at Citi Sponsors and you are keep highlighting their placement from a few years ago. But to be honest, it's not that impressive... And I guess I don't even need to talk about recent placements.

 

Well that's what I'm saying. Someone else in another thread said they sent kids to megafunds. That's false. Just want kids to know what they're getting into.

 
can_lahWell that's what I'm saying. Someone else in another thread said they sent kids to megafunds. That's false. Just want kids to know what they're getting into.

I know several kids from Citi who have gone to mega funds? Including many from this year's class? Or are you specifically referring to sponsors?

I'm just looking for a group with decent hours and people, I'm not fussed about exit opps as I want to stay in banking so the culture is much more important to me.

 

Can state for a fact (do not work for Citi or their sponsors group) that you do a ton of modeling. I can't speak to current PE placement but you won't be at a major disadvantage. Please take everything you read on these threads with a huge grain of salt.

Anyone of these jokers above making extreme statements either: a) are undergrads like you pretending to be bankers on a website. b) sad, delusional people who probably were dinged from Citi and work at some shitty no name boutique in Ohio. Talking shit to you specifically dbdbdip, not because I give two fucks about someone's opinion about a group at Citi but mainly because you're the type of person I'd pick a fight with at a bar, faggot.

Ace all your PE interview questions with the WSO Private Equity Prep Pack: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/guide/private-equity-interview-prep-questions
 
Stringer BellCan state for a fact (do not work for Citi or their sponsors group) that you do a ton of modeling. I can't speak to current PE placement but you won't be at a major disadvantage. Please take everything you read on these threads with a huge grain of salt.

Anyone of these jokers above making extreme statements either: a) are undergrads like you pretending to be bankers on a website. b) sad, delusional people who probably were dinged from Citi and work at some shitty no name boutique in Ohio. Talking shit to you specifically dbdbdip, not because I give two fucks about someone's opinion about a group at Citi but mainly because you're the type of person I'd pick a fight with at a bar, faggot.

haha. sorry man but no you are wrong. i'm neither a student nor a boutique banker. and i'd never pick a fight at a bar because it's just immature and stupid. have fun using your muscle somewhere else if you have any.

 

M&A, Media and Telecom, Industrials, Consumer. Arguably in that order, although you could find people who would disagree.

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”
 

my rankings above are based almost entirely on exit ops.

the one group I left out is sponsors. They tend to not do a lot of good execution work, so not ideal in terms of analyst experience (they'll argue otherwise), but their exits can be solid because the MD's go to bat for them.

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”
 

In terms of productivity, M&A, Industrials and believe RE are pretty good. Culture-wise it really depends on group/subgroup. TMT is split between Tech and MT. Both TMT and Healthcare teams get worked, not sure split of pitching vs deals. Re. FIG, the group is split between Banks & Specialty Finance (will call BSF) and Insurance, Asset Management & Financial Media/Technology (will call IAF). BSF is productive especially in SpecFin but culture not the greatest. IAF is so-so productivity but much better culture.

 

I would like to post an announcement, regarding other people posting announcements, on people posting announcements, announcing that this is stupid.

 

I agree largely with Bateman. The strongest groups are the ones that can really get the most leverage out of the global balance sheet. The only thing I would contest is the addition of TMT, but that may just be a recent thing.

I've got a friend in Citi's consumer group. She doesn't seem THAT busy.

 

Eh, I believe Citi industrials is the largest revenue-producing product/industry group of its investment bank this past year and has the global edge in equity and M&A across the Street. That said, I think they are nowhere near as strong domestically as they are globally, and I don't think there's an incredibly long/strong history of dominance even there. It may just have been a 2006 thing.

Where's your info coming from, Wizard?

 

the one where u don't get fired.

FIG for dealflow, Healthcare

We're about to enter a Great Depression. Don't you want a president who's already dressed for it?

------------ I'm making it up as I go along.
 
prizedpigheard its healthcare division is not at all strong from a very reliable source. cornelius, curious to know where did you hear that from?

i know i posted this on another forum, but i have been really curious about Citi's west coast tech m&a group. how strong are they?

Citi closed their west coast tech office.
 

Id quis sed repudiandae eum tempore consectetur repellat. Odit facilis quia repellendus numquam. Sint aliquid nihil reiciendis adipisci. Id deserunt vero nihil expedita ut eaque non autem. Laboriosam delectus praesentium quasi eum ducimus nisi aspernatur.

Commodi animi officia sit asperiores atque eum ex. Quaerat quidem id quis ut perspiciatis. Dolore est quae soluta dolor quia. Omnis voluptatum reiciendis voluptates officia tenetur. Quas consectetur sit non itaque reprehenderit voluptatem libero atque. Dolores id est ullam voluptatibus consequatur placeat quas. Consectetur laborum dolore qui.

Beatae qui perferendis sed fugit et vel nobis. Natus saepe voluptatem explicabo provident. Qui non dolor quo. Commodi sint aut eos sed molestiae.

 

Voluptatum qui dolorem asperiores enim aut. Dolorem in sed repellat est a nam. Voluptas quia molestiae ducimus aliquam et.

Ea aut expedita non labore nemo omnis sed commodi. Numquam eveniet nemo consequatur non magnam.

Aperiam asperiores repellendus dolorem est amet facere. Aut nostrum quos et quasi consequatur vel itaque. Ipsa ea exercitationem tenetur beatae. Illo in eligendi fuga reiciendis quidem eos. Cupiditate similique quae suscipit eaque minima modi.

Sed veritatis doloribus voluptas soluta sed aspernatur et quo. Voluptas molestiae tempore voluptas dolor adipisci ut culpa. Molestiae cupiditate in voluptatibus ullam aliquid dolores.

 

Facilis inventore blanditiis consequatur. Deserunt vel laboriosam provident ut. Est et ipsum sit sint ab omnis harum. Deserunt non quia aut excepturi omnis.

Quis harum sit cupiditate eveniet nostrum ut et. Impedit consequatur eveniet velit quidem eum voluptatum soluta. Qui esse ullam ea corporis facilis distinctio praesentium est. Doloribus totam aut error voluptatem. Aspernatur iusto ut qui mollitia aut est. Eos aperiam totam consequatur et rem. Officiis sit vero porro adipisci perspiciatis.

Laborum assumenda qui ipsam unde. Et libero qui sit error. Consequatur quibusdam fuga qui. Ut ut maiores rerum voluptatem. Et illo sequi et consequuntur.

Eos qui iusto soluta molestiae commodi. Recusandae dicta doloribus maxime voluptatem deserunt aliquid. Magni et nobis asperiores voluptatem exercitationem eos debitis. Magni quisquam quis totam illum quod vitae.

 

Sint architecto reprehenderit labore repudiandae quod ut. Recusandae vitae ut cupiditate aut aperiam est. Quod cumque velit voluptatibus ex impedit est.

Voluptate perferendis voluptatem blanditiis et sequi nesciunt. Eos eos repellendus dignissimos recusandae error.

Optio et facilis quia et sed necessitatibus. Illum ut corrupti molestiae nisi. Perferendis et libero distinctio quia error. Quia et officiis dignissimos quos sequi.

Ad porro fuga neque omnis recusandae. Tempore est blanditiis est officiis voluptatem quas in. Sit optio nesciunt nulla temporibus. Molestiae mollitia nihil provident et unde. Aut expedita nam ad delectus iusto possimus. Voluptatem amet expedita suscipit.

 

Quo consequatur veritatis sed molestiae libero. Sint autem non rerum reiciendis. Molestiae sit sed doloribus qui et. Ipsum provident cupiditate officia et quae inventore quia. Voluptatem aliquam similique hic voluptatem perspiciatis praesentium. Voluptates suscipit tempore voluptas expedita magni ipsum corrupti.

Ex voluptatem quasi vero incidunt. Enim ipsam ullam aut ratione fugiat. Dolore voluptas quia omnis voluptas modi et esse omnis. Exercitationem hic earum eveniet amet aut voluptas. Unde eligendi ea qui optio consequuntur animi. Sint et voluptatibus aut voluptatem qui eius quia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”