Want to see if anyone has any thoughts on ranking the Chicago banks. Thinking HL, WB, Baird, Lincoln, RJ, BMO, BGL, Piper for MM, and then obviously there are the EB and BB branches as well. Just curious to see if anyone has strong opinions on the Chicago landscape currently.
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Many satellite offices are still elite though - GS TMT CHI, JPM Industrials CHI, EVR Chi (all industrials/paper and packaging, but elite); definitely a bit closer between them and top rx shops tho. Lazard might be the best bc they have an RX presence, EB brand name, strong healthcare deal flow and seem on par with new york in certain sectors and coverage (though, ofc, disadvantaged by location)
Wait are we sure GS CHI has TMT?
I'm pretty sure GS only has an industrials team in CHI. Maybe some GS CHI guys work on Telecom stuff, since cell towers are industrials-adjacent---not sure
GS Chi only has IND, CMG (mm focus), and FIG which is smaller
Rankings are so incredibly asinine. Completely dependent on group, vertical, level, etc. There is no real ranking. Cosplayers who are freshman in college on this sub would tell you that Lincoln is dogshit. And yet I have an MD who made $15mm last year. My MDs and directors have street comp and fantastic wlb. I leave the office as an associate with everyone else at 6 or 7 and just plug in at home. Most weekends are mine, and I don’t often work late on Fridays. Comp is street. People are chill. I picked this over far more prestigious offers, and my friends who went to bigger and better firms have long burned out and now make just more than half of what I do with a similar wlb. Within 5-6 years I’ll be at $1mm a year working 55hr weeks and blowing my peers’ comp who burned out of Evercore or JPM or wherever out of the water. Lincoln has crazy rates of MDs who started as analysts and associates.
It’s not a competition and I don’t care at all. But it just shows how stupid rankings are. Everyone is indexing for different things.
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