Does Ranking Matter? (Ex: Vault top 50)
Hello WSO! I am currently a sophomore wanting to pursue investment banking. I just wanted people's thoughts on how accurate the top 50 vault banks are.
Thanks!
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No, those rankings are pretty dumb. JPM and CS in the 20s and Guggenheim #5? Nonsense. Talk to any of your alums in IB and they’ll give you a lay of the land. Generally speaking, BB and the top 4 EB’s (EVR, CRV, LAZ, PJT) > the field for someone coming out of undergrad or MBA.
Where would you put Moelis among EBs?
It doesn’t matter where they “rank.” If you have alums there, try networking and if extended an offer make your decision based on the impression of culture you got during the recruiting process.
The vault ranking is so inaccurate it's laughable. Go by the ranks found here and league tables.
Vault is a joke. they have “college works painting” as the 6th top internship IN THE WORLD, when it’s essentially a scam to get any student they can get to paint houses for next to no pay
I've seen the Vault prestige rankings. I'd say it's actually fairly accurate if you move PJT a bit higher up
Agreed, but I would love to know their criteria.
I would say the Vault rankings are decent for law firms (no as good as AmLaw 100), but for banking they are just way off. In what world is Guggenheim a top 5 bank? Either the editor in an ex-Gugger or some Gugg MDs are paying Vault some serious kickbacks!
I think you're thinking about the prestige rankings. The ranking where Gugg is 5th is not just prestige; it takes into account pay (Gugg undeniably one of the top), culture, etc., so that one's very subjective. But the prestige rankings seem accurate to me
The only “rankings” that matter to people who matter are league tables. Everything else is useless.
I have never understood this, which can only be described as an arbitrary dick measuring contest (comparing GS to Perella is like 8 inches versus 8.2, meanwhile companies like Northwestern Mutual can’t even get it up), yes, are some EBs better than most banks? Yes, but even they come with their disadvantages; smaller network of people if you ever want to break off and go on your own. Goldman is Goldman, it’s always going to be the top bank, but even then, how much variability is there REALLY without the nuances between spot #2 and #5. Just break into any of these banks and you’ll be fine; the main goal here is to get INTO WALL STREET, specifically where matters less at the end of the day.
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