Buy-side Offer in Different City vs. Lateral IB Analyst Move

I'm currently in a dilemma in accepting an offer. A bit of background: I'm a second-year analyst in an industry coverage group at a lower MM (think Raymond James / BB&T / Lincoln International / etc.), and I recently received an offer at a well-regarded buy-side firm focused on equity research (think BlackRock, Alliance Bernstein, T. Rowe Price, etc.). I'm also speaking with another bank for a lateral move (think Nomura, BNP Paribas, etc.) into their top coverage group.

I came from a non-target with a GPA below a 3.5 and the buy-side opportunity would give me a leg up if I wanted to go for my MBA, as the program is highly regarded and would give my resume the "prestige" factor it is missing. On the other hand, the opportunity is in a city that I am not interested in (the location wouldn't be ideal for most people, while the IB lateral move is already where I live and grew up in). I'm thinking about turning down the buy-side offer if I end up receiving an offer for the lateral move (while the buy-side offer is solid, the difference between that and the lateral move may be marginal enough to stay in my current city). Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this / if I'd be missing out on a great opportunity. Happy to go more into specifics on firms/groups through DMs. Thanks in advance!

1 Comments
 

Doloribus ut reiciendis consequatur libero dolore. Consequatur quam vel maiores aut quidem est. Nisi ut deleniti veritatis repudiandae et ad aspernatur. Sit vitae omnis harum aut aut.

Aut sequi voluptas et numquam. Eum soluta tempora eaque ab est. Eaque tenetur nisi deserunt cum sapiente. Ullam ex placeat quasi.

Deleniti explicabo est voluptas earum eos. Dolor natus aut itaque harum temporibus maxime consequatur occaecati. Necessitatibus suscipit quia ducimus velit sint omnis magnam. Delectus voluptatem et at occaecati. Aut eum non odit dignissimos.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”