Just wondering how likely it is to get an offer from a MM/Boutique SA in IBD as a Canadian. I know some BBs recruit from places like Ivey/Queens/McGill (for the record, I go to one of those schools) but how willing are smaller firms to bring people over? Is the Visa process complex/expensive? Is it even worth trying to break into these firms for an SA? Or should I wait until FT?
| +261 | Earliest you can get fired | 56 | 5h |
| +248 | UBS’s M&A BANKERS ARE DOING TERRIBLY. $200M EXTRA IS BEING CUT | 45 | 34m |
| +224 | Investment Banking is Divine | 38 | 8h |
| +223 | Career Crossroads | 31 | 13h |
| +214 | US 2027 SA IB worried about background check | 52 | 19h |
| +206 | Analyst: Why is UBS IB doing worse than peers?, UBS CFO: No Comment | 41 | 7h |
| +203 | Another $115bn Mega deal for these banks. Congrats! | 43 | 13h |
| +63 | Is UBS really that bad? | 25 | 33s |
| +37 | Is Houston SA 28 recruiting already over? | 32 | 9h |
| +23 | Sweat Group 2026 Discussion | 24 | 9h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Unless you're talking about elite boutiques (Evercore, Moelis etc), then it's pretty rare for Canadians from Canadian schools to positions at NY MMs and boutiques. They don't do formal recruiting at the Canadian schools since these places are so small and there's really no justification for them to spend extra money and effort to come to Canada when their talent pipeline can be filled completely from US schools. It's not unheard of, however, for kids to land SA positions at MM/boutiques, but it's completely up to you and your networking efforts.
It's the same story for FT recruiting, but it's slightly easier to get a MM/boutique to take a gamble on you, especially if you have a banking summer under your belt (i.e summer at Canadian bank in Toronto --> MM in NY)
Yeah, I was planning on networking my way in, not going through OCR or anything. Is it still worth trying then?
even big firms are reluctant to sponsor canadians b/c of cost and time. small firms won't do it.
It's worth a shot to try to network your way in, but honestly I'd say your time is better spent networking with the Canadian banks and the global firms who actually do recruit at your school. Networking can be a pretty time consuming process, and even if you land a job at a boutique, there's no guarantees you'll actually get a meaningful work experience.
From my experience, usually the Canadian kids who end up at random NY boutiques are the ones who struck out in formal campus recruiting and network their ass off to avoid unemployment. It's simply a numbers game, as there are way more boutiques in the US than in Canada.
Impedit molestiae sit expedita tempora minima repellat et enim. Atque totam et repellat perferendis et nulla rem. Natus quod sit laborum ab ea. Omnis quod eius et a et perspiciatis. Ut ut error dolor nihil aut aut. Asperiores magnam adipisci quidem. Reiciendis possimus occaecati blanditiis ea facere quis.
Ut et ipsum similique aperiam asperiores et. Impedit soluta blanditiis asperiores dolorem odit. Magnam voluptatum nisi tempora. Sit omnis omnis aut et sit tenetur. Velit praesentium dolor qui quasi non id.
Repellendus odio vero ut necessitatibus ratione dolores laudantium. Quibusdam enim maiores architecto id ea error aspernatur magnam. Id qui qui molestias magnam tenetur est voluptatem.
Porro eum totam officia voluptatem est. Aut nisi quidem minima ut possimus beatae. Nisi nihil deleniti laboriosam et et. Et aperiam sit nisi id voluptatibus error numquam. Cupiditate fuga quasi vitae ipsum sit.
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...