Citi Industrials vs CS FSG
Hey all, looking to lateral from my current shop and currently trying to learn more about Citi Industrials and CS FSG about culture, deal flow, and exits. Would appreciate any insight!
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Former Citi Industrials analyst here who lateraled to an EB so I can provide some insight. I've heard good things about the culture at CS FSG, and Citi Industrials is huge so it really depends on your subvertical and MD. Personally I had a great MD who cared about us analysts but I also know of some MDs who are terrible to work for. For deal flow it's about whether you want the coverage experience or not. At Citi you'll get your fair share of debt deals as Citi's a huge balance sheet bank. M&A exposure is OK, but likely not better than CS FSG and definitely as not as good as you'd think, and a large reason why I lateraled was because I wanted better M&A exposure. Citi gets a fair share of its M&A credit through financing, which is a story the M&A league tables doesn't tell but is exposed through financial statements (ex. Citi's advisory revenue for FY-21 was even less than JEF, a much smaller firm). Exits from industrials are OK, but from what I've heard from friends likely worse than CS FSG.
Overall, go Citi if you're very interested in industrials or if you want a holistic coverage experience. Go CS if you want better exits.
Out of curiosity, is advisory revenue a better proxy for "true" M&A deal flow and a better representation of M&A exposure because advisory revenue can show if the firm actually did advisory work vs just got credit?
What are FSG hours (with LevFin/ without LevFin)? Do they compare to corporate banking or cmbs origination?
How were citi industrials exits? And what made you lateral to an EB?
CS FSG for sure - really strong deal flow and exit opps.
Am familiar with both firms and would give the edge to CS FSG. Citi industrials has a strong group head and is dominant in a couple sectors (I.e home building), but CS’s top group is Financial Sponsors. Friends in both areas have grown out of analyst years, but I think still some truth to both statements.
CS FSG doesn’t work on M&A except for the leveraged finance part. If you want modeling experience, don’t go there (CS M&A provides much better experience). FSG exits are good, comparable to M&A
OP didn't ask about M&A exposure or skillset, he asked about culture, deal flow, and exits. CS FSG has great culture, the best exits at CS, and generate the most revenue out of any CS group
Agree with above. Go to CS FSG – top group at the bank and the leading sponsors group on the street
While I don’t disagree, plugging financials into paydown template is not good deal experience for junior bankers. This is just my unsolicited opinion. FSG does have great culture & arguably the best wlb, but skill sets gained are not very transferrable
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