CS/Moelis LA vs JPM FIG NYC vs CVP SF Biotech?

Hi, can anyone give pros and cons to each office? Im an incoming AN1 at a west coast healthcare office lol looking to lateral ASAP. I originally thought healthcare was cool because it was really diverse and technical as an industry but then realized quickly that the work itself I'll be doing in banking isn't very hard. I am looking for a more intellectually stimulating experience out of my analyst years and thought it would be a good idea to ask on this forum.

Feel free to throw your opinions into in the mix, including other very good offices elsewhere that I missed. Personally I feel like I would like west coast IB culture more vs east coast since it is more laid back and fits my personality better but at the same time how do I know if I haven't tried. Thanks!

edit: I love prestige btw

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thx for ur input. Isn't JPM FIG the best group on the street? I heard their insurance subvertical is full of really sharp people. plenty of exits to MF PE in the past like Bain Capital lol. That doesn't sound like it sucks does it?

 
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Also a west coast banker here (generalist but focused on Industrials so my recommendations may be a bit Industrials-oriented). Personally, I think that overall, banking is banking and your experience won't be extraordinarily more "intellectually stimulating" at any bank. What industry do you want to cover? 

If you're interested in biotech, CVP SF is the best office, hands down. They get on well over half of all large-cap biotech M&A, and there's no better place to get biotech M&A exposure. Know a couple of guys in the office, and I'd say the office is probably one of the most "intellectual" offices as far as banking goes. Analysts are expected to get into the weeds of reading scientific journals and at least develop some scientific background.

Moelis LA also gets some very interesting deals. The office mainly focuses on M&A (NY gets most of the RX), but they get some very interesting deals in the Media, C&R, REGL, and also some A&D, space. I can't think of somewhere that will give you a better variety in deal flow in LA, the analysts there truly work on everything from Series A Cap Raise advisory to some of the large-cap industry-changing media deals. The culture there is also pretty good, although the wlb is still pretty intense.

Lazard LA is also a pretty good office. They mainly do A&D, with a couple of gaming/media MDs as well. The office is busy, but the culture there is great. The deal flow is also pretty interesting as well, a lot of MM aerospace sell-sides. I should note they just lost one of their main A&D MDs though.

There's also some non-west coast offices have a pretty chill "non-NY" culture as well if you know what I mean as well as really interesting deal flow. I've heard Barclays FSG Chicago has great deal flow, is pretty chill, and has a genuinely super-collegial culture. The Jefferies ADG office in Charlotte is also great from a culture and deal flow perspective; their deal exposure is super diverse (clients include everything from space startups to drone companies to the "boring" government contractor), so if you're interested in the industry, you'd definitely appreciate the variety in clients. Based on my interactions with people in teh office, I also can't say enough good things about the culture there.

 

CVP SF Biotech absolutely kills it in the space but not sure if going there would solve your issues with healthcare. Definitely a bit more of a career banker office with very small classes. 

 

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