DBO Partners vs Barclays vs Greenhill vs UBS
How would you compare these firms and offers from them? Which would you take and why? Would really appreciate any insight
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Interesting that there’s been so much commentary on DBO recently. Not providing a ranking as those are largely useless without specific detail from the person.
Are you interested in particular sectors / products? Are you considering a career in banking? Are you maximizing FT recruiting opportunities? Does geography matter to you?
These questions are honestly impossible to answer / generate some REALLY useless responses without more detail. If the GHL offer is RX or if you’re interested in a PU or TMT etc. or if you prefer various work cultures all matter. A generalized ranking of (randomly) Barclays > GHL > UBS with DBO thrown in there somewhere does you no good - especially when comparing banks like Barclays and UBS in which cultures and dealflow vary significantly across groups.
DBO recently gave out offers in the past few weeks for '21 SA program (all my college friends got rejected lol). This probably explains some of the discussions. But I see now that OP is an analyst.
Asking for a friend
To provide more context, I’m really not sure what product or coverage I care about. I’m hoping to either be a career banker or go into PE, and I’d like to go to b-school at some point
If you want to be a career banker, then somewhere like DBO would give you the most clear path. They have very few people in between analysts and senior bankers.
If you want to go into PE, maybe Barclays or Greenhill make the most sense.
I second this.
DBO would be perfect for someone who's trying to become a career banker. Fast track to promotion, great comp, brilliant partners/team, and expanding strategically.
Barclays/Greenhill would make a lot more sense if you are trying to go into buy-side. They have a much bigger name, which would help you get to where you want.
I'd choose Barclays. Most coverage groups are strong and solid exits to PE. Barclays and Greenhill are similar in terms of exits, so if you prefer small class sizes, go to Greenhill M&A. Then I'd go UBS since they still have decent exit opps to MM PE. They also have a widely recognized global brand name so that's a plus I personally would not choose DBO. I've never heard of it but it may be a solid bank idk Barclays >= Greenhill > UBS > DBO
DBO is pretty strong. Higher pay/better exit ops than UBS and you get the chance to work directly with really important senior bankers - check out the founders if you get the chance.
Interesting thanks for the info. Lots of strong boutiques!
DBO is a boutique located in SF. Founders/Partners were ex-heads of groups/divisions Morgan Stanley. Great exposure on deals and work with very smart people. EB level comp, but long hours. PE exits aren't amazing, but they exist.
Why is this guy getting MS? UBS, while not what it once was, still has established exits to MM PE and is a global brand name Barclays = Greenhill > UBS > DBO
Guy must be an analyst at UBS haha
Barclays > Greenhill > DBO > UBS
Swap DBO/UBS if you absolutely want NYC. Swap GHL/Barclays if you really love the culture at GHL.
Barclays > Greenhill >> UBS/DBO
DBO is out of the question unless you know that you want to be on the West Coast. I'm assuming all of your other offers are for NYC. If you want to be a career banker and work in the West Coast, DBO may be one of the best options: higher comp, fast track promotions, strong deal flow and very smart people. Again, don't think about DBO unless you only want to be on the WC.
UBS is out of the question because you have a better BB offer. I could somewhat understand the UBS vs. Greenhill debate if you hate the EB model, and die for BB. However in your situation, I wouldn't overthink it.
I think it comes down to Barclays vs. Greenhill. Again, what is your preference for BB vs. EB? Is your Greenhill offer generalist or RX?
Barclays is known to be the best culture BB. They have very strong coverage groups, with great exits to PE and deal flow. Good brand name outside of finance as well. CON: weaker product groups
Greenhill will give you slightly higher comp, more responsibility (leaner deal teams, however you should know that some Barclays coverage groups run pretty lean as well), RX capability.
Do you think there’s any scenario in which DBO would have better exits as they have fewer analysts and your experience could be more unique?
You'll have better exits at Barclays/Greenhill regardless. DBO exits into mostly WC MM/LMM funds. The only scenario would be if you are just a super quality candidate and network into some top WC fund, but then the firm wouldn't really matter.
I think there definitely is a scenario. I think the name brand from Barclays (as one bulge bracket example from the ones you named) could take you further than DBO in a vacuum, but I think it’s a lot more likely that partners at DBO go to bat for you in buy side interviews. Good luck getting a partner to do any favors for you at all at Barclays or UBS, maybe even GHL (I know it’s a boutique, but I don’t work there so I don’t know to what extent you’d have partner exposure). As the above comments have pointed out, I don’t think there’s one right answer between Barclays, DBO, and Greenhill. Depends on who you are/where you want to be
There's definitely a lot of truth to this. I'm not suggesting DBO offers better exit opps than Barclays/Greenhill, but if you build a solid relationship with the partners (and they got some sick partners from MS), I'm sure they'll go bat for you. Worst case, they'll give you a nice promotion and raise.
I'm just an incoming analyst at a bank not listed here, but when I was networking with people at Barclays, a couple of analysts mentioned that MDs went to bat for them(obviously not partners, but group head was mentioned). Also, GHL is small enough where working with a partner is somewhat likely.
I think for traditional buyout, Barclays is the pretty clear choice, but for growth/VC there's a case for DBO. DBO also used to be a bit stronger a few years ago whereas Barclays seems to be on a strong upward trend.
Definitely agree that UBS is the obvious no, not really any upside at all in going to a platform that is withering out in NA.
How much more do you think PE firms for instance would appreciate one having worked on leaner teams w more responsibility? Or are you just making this point from a self-improvement standpoint.
Damn no love for UBS lol
UBS is a good shop. This forum shits on banks unfortunately
It's good but compared to CS/Barclays/Citi/Baml there's no reason to even consider it.
Yeah agreed. MF is tough from UBS but UMM is certainly doable, I've had good conversations w/ many people there so I feel like the culture is solid
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