Deal flow/staffing as first year MM/BB analyst?

I was wondering how many deals a first year analyst should expect to have worked on this year, and how that number might vary between MM and BB banks? I realize that activity is different across industry groups, but was hoping for any general insight. Thanks in advance.

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

M&A volume is down and will be down this year. The past several years they have been higher than normal. Expect lower than historical numbers. Additionally, not all deals are equal. An example:

  • someone in your class gets brought on to do due diligence and “closes” a deal 2 months in, then they assist with marketing for a deal that closes after 5 months.
  • someone fails pitching twice, then works on a project at the very beginning having ownership of the model and it takes 7 months before the deal closes

I would take the experience of the second person over the first even though the first person has “done more deals”. 
 

As an analyst focus on getting reps seeing an entire transaction and understanding the role your bank does from a high level. If sell-side, learn how long a process takes and the steps required. If another function, understand how long your engagement is and how it differs from other engagements your firm does. To answer your question, a fast M&A process would take like 3-4 months, realistically it’s prob closer to 6-8. If you close 1.5 full deals a year that would be great. Odds are you and your analysts will have bits and pieces of transactions making up a full transaction, so don’t get caught up in the number of transactions focus on learning and getting exposure to each step.

 

Et quis est ducimus rem eius labore molestias et. In harum adipisci quibusdam ut est sed. A est voluptatem autem. Laboriosam doloribus et vel saepe eius adipisci doloremque. Et id non et consequatur nulla quis est. Omnis sunt cumque odit sapiente enim quibusdam. Ducimus voluptatem dolores et vero aspernatur eum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”