47 Comments
 

bump, firms are similar enough so pick the group you find the most interesting

 

If it's not a top BofA group (M&A, Sponsors), then LAZ by a mile. If it's one of the stronger BofA groups then LAZ has a slight edge but not that crazy to take BofA over it. LAZ is a shell of its former self in the US

 

Yes, that’s more or less how the math works. I was at GS TMT/FIG, and the typical outcome is a large MM. Large-cap groups just have far more people than there are MF spots, especially once you factor in strong candidates from other banks. Also worth remembering not everyone is optimizing for MF in the first place.

Top groups at BofA/Citi/Barclays absolutely send people to MF seats every cycle (and in good years it can be a handful), which is a great outcome. I’m not convinced Lazard M&A materially outperforms the strongest groups there across cycles, although I do think some of those BB groups benefit from self-selection, they tend to attract candidates who are already very PE-focused (i.e. a BoFA M&A group likely has more people trying to optimize for PE than a group like BoFA HC or BoFA TMT).

The real advantage of being in a top group is access, you’ll get looks at pretty much everything. From there, it’s on the individual.

 

If you want 2 years then BofA if you want to stay long term then Laz

 
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Are these comments serious? At my school (HYPSW) nobody would consider BOFA over LAZ. Would say the only BB more desired is GS and same for the other EBs (CVP, EVR, PJT).

 

Congrats on Wharton. The reason MIT places worse than Wharton for finance is because of less interest in finance. Took classes at MIT through our cross registration program and the classes there are super hard, the MIT kids are far smarter than any business school kids including Wharton. It is and always will be HYPSM not HYPSW.

Was at a HYPSM, and the general consensus is GS/MS over all EB's (only CVP would get some people choosing it over the others), and JPM over a Lazard-type EB in the US. Understand that Wharton is far more finance hardo/pre-professional, so could be different. Know it's similar in most of the HYP schools at the very least. I think BoFA and Lazard aren't as far apart as prospects would like to beleive. Exits aren't going to be any better from Lazard M&A vs a BoFA top group. BoFA is also just simply a better brand name outside finance circles.

 

Congrats on Harvard genuinely, I graduated from Wharton but not going to pretend it's in the same tier as Harvard in general prestige. However, I don't think Wharton is behind the other names in the business world though. Given it's an IB forum and not a start-up founder forum, I think grouping Wharton in with the other names isn't too egregious. 

 

How is this even a question? If you pick BofA over Lazard in any capacity you are legitimately retarded. BofA is a shit bank with shit bonuses and shit people. Idc what people say about Lazard getting “worse” — it’s infinitely better than BofA on literally every metric imaginable, particularly not because Lazard is so amazing but because BofA is so ass

 

Go to Lazard… BofA has terrible group placement and bad pay. As a HYPSW graduate, we used to make fun of kids going to BofA. Current MD at EB, think about your career.

 

Comments like these just show how much this website loves to hate on BofA...im not saying its better than Lazard at all, but saying you would "make fun of someone" working there is the most performative comment I have ever read here lol we need to get a life

 

LAZ comp, exits and deal flow are top tier. Literally exits the same or better than EVR/PJT. 

What kind of ridiculous question is this comparing a top EB to a mid-tier BB? 

The only places I would consider a clear cut above LAZ are PJT RSSG, Q and CVP.

 

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