In banking is equity capital markets, or financing group within GS and departments like that seen as, hard core corporate finance and real career as M&A advisory, or is M&A set apart from every other department in terms of status.
Also for future options like private equity, is it open to people coming from ECM?
How are the hours in ECM/Financing?
I will be 30 when I get my MBA from a top school where investemnt banks recruit a lot. So M&A will not work with my life style. I will however want to spend the rest of my life buying improving and selling companies. Any other career options or companies I should look at?
Cheers
ECM is traditionally not recruited heavily by PE because in Leveraged Buyouts, you're concerned with just that...leverage/debt. You'll see that M&A and coverage groups feed well into respective PE (an analyst in Tech might place well at Silver Lake, while an analyst in Healthcare may place at Welsh Carson, for example).
The best feeders into PE are usually those who advise on transctions or underwrite debt...M&A, coverage groups (coverage groups that do their own M&A especially), and leveraged finance (providing they do execution). If an IPO exit is being considered for a portfolio company, PE shops defer all the work to the Equities group, so there's no need to recruit someone in-house who's knowledgable about the current equity markets.
Sorry to say but if lifestyle is a concern for you, banking is going to be a hard sell. ECM/DCM groups do work slightly better hours at some firms, but not by much.
Thanks for the good input.
I think I understand your point about PE, but this is just one example for me.
What would an ECM/DCM associate do five years down the line at the bank/if they left?
Regarding the hours I may have to sacrifice a 3 or so years, it is not out of the questiosn, just that I would avoid it if I can. Continuous nightshift is not without cost.
Coverage groups is industry coverage?
I am also going to explore the possibility of getting in to PE, perhaps closer to VC based on my operational experience.
Cheers
do PE shops recruit out of DCM at all?
DCM/ECM will not be a good place to head to PE, but the hours are a lot better. You don't work weekends nearly as often, and you pretty much go home by 11 at latest every night...even 10.
In terms of going buyside, going into a hedge fund would make more logical sense. A lot of DCM/ECM guys also consider jumping onto the Sales & Trading wagon, which is even less hours.
In terms of compensation, it pretty much the same compared with coverage positions.
I'm in DCM (leveraged finance) and several analysts/associates from the group were able to make their way to top-tier PE shops. Hours are pretty good as mentioned above.
Mind telling us what Lev Fin group? And by "top-tier" do you mean KKR, Blackstone, TPG, etc. or 3bn+?
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