Does TMT Banking offer the most lucrative exit options?

Monkeys, I was reading this article which said that folks belonging to the TMT groups of their respective banks were being chased by buy side firms and startups alike.

Junior tech bankers are being targeted, but they’re also gaming the system because they know they have options,” says one junior banker headhunter. “Most go into banking with an idea that they want to leave, and choose tech because it opens a lot of doors.

Though the article speaks about the banks and companies in the UK, was just wondering if this is a global trend. Look forward to hearing the community's views.

9 Comments
 

The best exit opps for IB analysts right now are at, in particular order, MS M&A group, PJT RSSG, Evercore M&A, GS TMT/FIG so to answer your question, it's group dependent not industry dependent, you aren't going to get any top opps out of, for example, Barclays TMT just because its TMT

 
Best Response

I speak with a significant bias toward TMT groups, but I'd imagine TMT just offers slightly more exit options, but is not necessarily more lucrative. The issue is that many tech buyside jobs (for example - venture capital or growth equity) expect a serious interest in technology from candidates. While it's possible to get these opportunities coming from other product/industry groups, it's much easier to demonstrate interest in tech if you're coming from a TMT background. It's also easier to be plugged into tech trends, etc. and sound more informed if you're coming from a tech group. Tech companies also tend to expect some demonstrated industry in the technology industry.

It is also important to note, however, that venture capital and tech corp dev opps tend to pay significantly below traditional PE, generalist long/short funds, etc.

If your goal is traditional private equity, special sits, industry-agnostic fundamental hedge funds, etc. then being in TMT won't really make much of a difference, but it still won't hurt you.

 

are the best shops based out of chicago for the industry vertical? I heard Chicago is a big town for industrials.

We're not lawyers. We're investment bankers. We didn't go to Harvard. We Went to Wharton!
 

Chicago is big on industrials but in reality industrials is so completely vast that I think it provides a very unique background and is still a large presence in NY as well as other cities. LA has aviation and defense companies (DC too). You could be working with an aerospace company to a glass manufacturer or railroad company. I think it'd really be more interesting.

 

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We're not lawyers. We're investment bankers. We didn't go to Harvard. We Went to Wharton!

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