HI! I was really fortunate to do early recruiting and got offers from CS, BAML, and Barclays IBD for a summer analyst position. Can you please give some insight as to which would be best for PE exit ops, culture, etc? Thanks!
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Given current situation, American bank is the way to go.
Each of these banks is solid and has their own strengths / weaknesses.
On average, PE exits will be the strongest from CS, with certain groups placing particularly well- M&A, Sponsors and TMT come to mind. Similar situation at BAML, with M&A, Sponsors and LevFin. Barclays will have very good group specific exits from Natural Resources and Power, and some others will also do fairly well (one kid from Barclays FIG placed into Apollo generalist this year).
Can't speak to "culture" since this is very group-dependent. Just see if you like the first year analysts in group X, since that's what really matters in most cases. There are groups at all 3 banks which are toxic, and groups at all 3 banks which are great.
In terms of other things, keep in mind that any news about CS / Barclays "cutting investment banking" is referring to equities / FICC trading and not actual banking. Also keep in mind that by bank and group, return offer rates can vary wildly - I believe BAML and Barclays come back to its interns on Thursday or Friday this week, and CS already came back (overall ~90%).
Quick edit: Barclays already gave out return offers, but I don't know what the percentages are like Also it is not looking good for BAML return offers - at least one or two groups are planning to be around 50%
Not my field of work, but + SB for that great answer
I'd go with BAML. They've likely reduced incoming intern headcount whereas the structural headwinds are still against the European banks.
Also as a follow up, you have to think about yield. Offers just like school acceptances are given out with an idea of how many will accept. How many of the CS summers are shopping their offers and trying to upgrade? A lot of them, I would bet. Especially if they aren't in top groups.
Some additional color on CS, and as a counter point:
To my knowledge, banks don't factor an "expected yield" into their return offer numbers. If you give 8 kids return offers, you are trying to fill 8 spots in the analyst class. If 2 kids don't accept their offers, this typically means you hire in 2 additional analysts from outside the firm or from different groups.
At CS, the handful of kids that were dropped this year (1 in M&A, 1 in Sponsors) were less due to poor performance and more due to downsizing. 1 in Industrials absolutely hated banking and didn't want to return (literally asked not to be given a return offer from what I heard), and then 1 in Healthcare got cut because a few people didn't like him. Consumer, Real Estate, and maybe FIG had 100% return rate. I don't know about TMT.
Given that I don't work at BAML I can't comment on specific numbers for all groups. but I do know at least Healthcare is targeting a 50% return offer rate this year. Also worth thinking about is that these numbers have not really changed significantly since last year, where BAML overall return rate was like 60% and CS was in the mid-80% to 90%.
Interesting. Cool insight.
I'm not sure why someone gave me MS but I might just elaborate a bit:
OP is talking about 2017 summer internship, 2018 full-time class and potentially 2019/2020 exit or A2A promote. It is important to look at longer term instead of focusing on what the current situation looks like.
If you look at top level, most European banks are still struggling with positioning/identity - some are not even sure if they will still invest heavily in institutional business (trading will get hurt mostly but banking will be affected as well due to weaker balance sheet). If you check where senior MDs are moving, you will get a sense. If you think it doesn't matter at analyst level, check with the current analyst class at CS TMT.
Also, the intern conversation rate in one particular year is not very important as long as it is not a pattern. Some banks may convert 50% of intern in one year because of over-hiring and that may lead to 100% conversation in the next year because of lack of manpower.
Of course fit/team/people matter a lot so my advice assumes them all equal.
I think we're mostly on the same page, except I disagree on the longer-term outlook being useful for a 2 year exit.
If you are dead set on doing PE, you interview in January of the year after you sign on, and it might even be December of the year you sign on nowadays. This means a 2017 summer will interview for PE in January 2018, or December 2017. Short of a bank pulling a Lehman, this is not enough time to materially impact headhunter outreach, and really not enough time to change people's perception of your firm as "better" or "worse" than another. It took like 10 years for Morgan Stanley to add Salomon and GS into the bulge bracket, even though they were absolutely killing it on the street (from like 1965 to 1975), and this attitude is largely still present.
On the other hand if you have any intention to stay past the two years and you like your group, BAML is usually preferable because the long-term outlook is better, for the reasons you listed.
i'm still wondering about BAML - haven't heard much from them over the past few months / years. i heard that they typically over hire, and as such, some of their juniors are not having as much deal exposure. i could be wrong, just curious.
I can tell you that the return offer rates from BAML this past summer were absolutely horrific -- while I am not sure if either of your other options are much better, I would weigh this heavily. I personally know two individuals who didn't receive offers and were completely f'ed.
IMO, any of the above offers should be enough to leverage interviews at other banks, and I would almost always take an offer from those other banks first.
CS Tech vs. BAML Tech vs. Barclays Tech (SF/Bay Area) (Originally Posted: 05/13/2015)
Which of these is the best to work for from a culture and deal standpoint? What is the best to work for as an Associate or VP? Which firm has the best analysts?
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