DB/UBS vs. Top Middle Market Groups
As I heard people are jumping ship from these two banks, I want to know how they compare to Middle Market shops like Jefferies, Houlihan, and Stifel.
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DB is a different story but I would 100% take UBS over the others you listed. UBS has good groups (TMT, Industrials, Consumer) that still do well. DB is a sinking ship.
At an EB this summer so no dog in the fight, but I'd take UBS over all except obviously HL RX. Jefferies and UBS pretty comparable in my eyes, but I heard you get worked like a dog at Jeff whereas my friends at UBS praise the culture. UBS Industrials, LevFin get pretty good looks as well
UBS >= Jefferies > DB > HL > Stifel
lol who would actually take DB over HL in the US?
DB is still a BB brand with a few strong groups (sponsors/levfin). HL is solidly middle market, not sure why this is controversial.
most would do DB over even Jefferies at my target
I could see taking Blair or Jefferies over UBS/DB but not any of the others, assuming HL isn’t talking about rx, of course.
HL is better than Blair
I did my SA at Blair/Jef so may be biased, but don’t people think the ridiculous amount of deal flow makes these top MM players attractive? I don’t know much about UBS/DB, but in a two year analyst stint at a top MM you will close a ton of deals, certainly more than at a BB like UBS. Obviously the deals are smaller, but isn’t there sheer quantity of deals attractive?
FT a different BB than listed but generally no. 1-3B+ deals are much more complex than churning out cookie cutter MM deals. My BB does some MM deals on the side and those are significantly easier than billion $ transactions. There are always exceptions but generally if you're looking at PE, the quality of transaction matters more than quantity. Top groups at UBS and DB get a high quantity of large cap deals too, I know friends at UBS completely hammered right now on live transactions.
I think there's an awfully big difference between the Blair/Bairds/HLs of the world and some regional "MM". Beyond mega mergers, a deal that is 500m vs. 1.2B is not all that different. I think the "middle market" is a blanket term absorbed by firms selling local mom and pop businesses, but the true middle market or small cap companies don't lack much.
Would rather have strong deal flow and several 300m-1B deals under my belt, but that's just me.
DB/JEF/UBS > other mm
Jef > DB > other MM > UBS for exit ops
top groups at DB > top groups at UBS
average groups at UBS > average groups at DB
Thanks for the ranks, Associate in VC. Or should I say sophomore prospect with zero industry exposure