What would the pros and cons be of deciding between an industry group at a top tier bulge bracket bank or being in a generalist program at an elite boutique (Greenhill/Moelis/Evercore/Centerview).
Thanks
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Same boat as you, decided to take EB
I faced a similar choice as well and went with an EB. The decision was mainly due to people I knew / culture. At the EB I chose, I felt I had more intimate connections with senior bankers there. In fact one of the MDs had a very similar background to me and we immediately connected well after I met him during a networking event. He acted as a mentor throughout the process. Thus, I chose the EB because I had an in with senior employees at the firm coming in, which helped me a lot during summer to get staffings I wanted and I believe will help FT for staffings and exits. When you're at the level of choosing between EB and Top Tier BB's, I think differences between prestige, comp, and dealflow are marginal and your decision should come down to where you see yourself thriving in the best. Happy to discuss more, PM me for info.
Interested as well
If you have GS, would still recommend that over any EB gig besides PJT RX or maybe Evercore. Buyside placement in any gs classic group is still extremely strong, and exits are consistently overhyped for Moelis/CVP/Laz/PJT M&A. If you want to do something else after banking, GS will be better as well.
If you have MS or JPM, it's a tougher decision.
I agree that GS places very strong, but I wouldn't say that EB placement is overhyped after Evercore and PJT Rx. Moelis / PWP / PJT M&A / Greenhill all have had strong placements over the past two years in Upper MM and MF PE. CVP as well has good exits, but the three-year analyst program is something to consider.
Don't know much about Greenhill, but know from friends in Moelis NY/PWP/PJT/CVP that there is a placement gap between GS and those EBs. All these places will do you fine for PE/HF (all certainly "place well"), but objectively I think your odds of a MF or top notch mm are higher at goldman. Moelis maintains an active annual placement list, and last 2 cycles have been more mm/credit oriented (with exception of 1-2 per year who go to apollo).
Do you want to work on financing memos or fairness opinions
People choosing between BBs and EBs are mostly weighing the experiences they will receive, which are drastically different. Been at both, work and responsibilities are not too similar. Up to you to choose which kind of environment you prefer spending 80 hours a week in.
Would you rather be the only analyst, dealing with the client on a $20bn merger (Moelis/Evercore/CVP/PWP) or one of 12 analysts chipping in and sitting around until 1am waiting to get turns back on a BS deck. Experience at EBs >
While I agree that the experience at EBs is better (just a personal opinon however), I don't think its fair to characterize work at BBs as sitting around all day. At both EBs and upper-tier BBs you will get a good amount of exciting live deal experience, and yet also have to work on tedious pitches that will likely end up nowhere. Dealflow wise and live/pitch % balance are probably very similar across these firms, but where I think EBs really help is providing greater senior level exposure and more a chance to stand out / take greater responsiblity as a function of operating in leaner deal teams.
EBs VS BBs (Originally Posted: 06/02/2016)
Hey monkeys,
The school I go to primarily is recruited by the majority of the BBs. However, not really with the smaller EBs. I was wondering how some of these EBs compare to the BBs. For instance how would a Moelis/Jefferies compare to a BOA or DB? Also are there any EBs that are as well regarded as a GS/MS/JP?
Thanks
This discussion has been had multiple times on the forum, so I suggest you take a look through those and do some more research on pros and cons of each. Jefferies is not an EB at all - it's MM.
To give a succinct answer - yes they can be considered as well-regarded as BB's. Many people take Evercore, Blackstone, Centerview, etc. offers over the GS/JP/MS and vice versa.
Also, get the offer first. No need to compare at this point since you'll want to recruit for all of them anyways.
I'm not gonna go at length here because as Binders said, this is an old discussion.
I will say one thing though: read the news. You see the number of BBs firing people? This is just basic common sense... banks (i.e. BBs) are dying.. this blind love for BBs at some point has to converge with reality.
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