Equity Research to M&A

Hi all - title is fairly self explanatory, but I was hoping to ask some more specific questions and get the input of anyone who has successfully pulled off the move. The particular role I'm looking at isn't sell side IBD, but more akin to a corp dev gig. With regards to my questions, I wanted to ask the following:

1) What was the biggest change you saw moving from ER into m&a 2) How was the interview experience? How did you prep for the interview 3) Are you happy with the career switch?

11 Comments
 

Flip Associate and Analyst. ER you start out as an Associate. Analyst is a separate category. You can be a VP or MD and an Analyst, for example. Different at every bank so it's not necessarily true.

 
BillBelichick

Flip Associate and Analyst. ER you start out as an Associate. Analyst is a separate category. You can be a VP or MD and an Analyst, for example. Different at every bank so it's not necessarily true.

Yes exactly... can be different everywhere, and the terminology gets people mixed up. The "top" is the Lead Analyst (who is an MD). But, standard seniority levels apply. In other words, leaving college you enter as at the analyst level (but you are not the lead analyst). Then Associate (which is also the MBA entry level), then VP, then Director, then MD.
 
Best Response

The switch to M&A can be quite difficult if you wait too long. You have a better chance getting an M&A group to look at you before you're an officer (VP and above), but have almost no chance as a VP without M&A experience. I work in BB M&A and can tell you first hand that we would never hire a lateral VP that did not work in M&A, let alone IBD. So my advice would be earlier the better, hope that helps.

 

He's there because he has relationships and knows the marketplace. He isn't going to be running transactions. I wouldn't call it an "exit" - at the level he achieved (which happened to be in research), you're going to be of value to several different lines of business.

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat."
 

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