Breaking into US vs Canada IB
Curious what people think about this. I go to school in Canada and it often feels like breaking into investment banking here is extremely tight simply because the market is so small. There are only a handful of banks (Big 5 + a few boutiques) and each office is relatively small. For summer analyst recruiting, some groups seem to take only a few students per year, sometimes even fewer.
On the other hand, the U.S. obviously has many more banks, larger offices, and significantly more seats across BBs, EBs, and MMs. But at the same time the competition pool is so much larger as well (Ivy League, target schools, etc.).
So I’m curious how people who have gone through recruiting in both markets think about it. Is Canada actually harder just because of the limited number of seats, or does the U.S. end up being tougher due to the higher competition from target schools? Would be interesting to hear perspectives from people who recruited in Toronto vs. New York, or who tried both paths.
del
del
who the fuck ms'd me for deleting my comment
del
Getting into a big 5 in Canada is like factors more difficult than getting into a US BB. Now factor in the substantially lower pay (esp after analyst/associate) and it's a pretty tough proposition
Also factor in the increased hiring of women at B5 and its even more multiples harder
50% quota in hiring and promotions for women at Big 5. Besides, they are always sheltered from layoffs as long as they do bare minimum. Performative MDs and Beckies dominate Big 5.
Ran recruitment on both sides of the border. In Canada, the ratio of target undergrad per IB seat is much larger than the U.S.. Everyone went to the same schools and it is hard to differentiate from candidates other than nepo and DEIs. Each big 5 have approximately 10-20 seats each summer, and more than half are nepo + DEI.
Same observation. In case some dimwit wasn’t aware, Big 5 consider women (mostly), black / indigenous men, and LGBTQ as DEI. Asian / Brown / Arab men are not considered DEI.
Also the 10-20 seats include global markets, corporate banking etc, there's only like 4-6 IB roles per firm
Where are you getting 5-6 per firm some groups hire that many interns alone
Tenetur repellat sint quis a accusamus natus consequuntur. Cupiditate iusto quidem cum libero. Qui rem eligendi facilis facilis. Sunt alias earum fugit nostrum sit dolores natus. Est corporis necessitatibus autem perferendis ut ex quia.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...