FIG and Industrials Banking Difficulty

Currently working as an analyst in IT and tech-enabled services vertical at a boutique bank and looking to lateral into a larger platform.

I am seeing a lot of FIG and industrials lateral positions open at banks that I would definitely love to join. But I was not sure how I would be perceived as a candidate coming from a tech background.

Would love to hear any thoughts on whether the project management skillset will still be valued as opposed to specific industry knowledge/analysis. Is it even worth applying for such roles or should I just shoot for other tech/generalist seats?

6 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Both are capital intensive which means sweaty. FIG is the most differentiated from an analysis perspective (at least when regarding Banks & Insurance). Their business models are fundamentally different and harder to truly understand. Balance-sheet driven and a lot of recap and securitization work involved as well. Subject to a bunch of regulation too so a lot of capital adequacy ratios and requirements to keep in consideration. Industrials can mean a bunch of different things but fundamentally easier to understand business models than banks & insurance. Both r sweaty, FIG has a steeper learning curve all things equal. This is my analysis from a FIG group post-grad (My only Industrials exposure was from a semester in college at my SMIF)

 

I have no clue I joined out of undergrad with previous IB experience in PCA, but with transactions involving  FIG assets. Everyone on my team was also out of undergrad. Scrolling linkedin I don't see much non-FIG to FIG laterals. Most of the time its FIG to FIG, once in a while sometimes FIG-Adjacent to FIG (like TMT with FinTech exposure, Securitization/Structured Finance, maybe Sponsors to more A&WM FIG groups) but I have seen cases of people with like actuarial experience get into insurance FIG. Thats kinda why FIG is always hiring and you see these more drastic laterals within FIG - because its so niche. If you have the skillset you're in the circle, and if you don't its much harder.

 

Wanted to circle back to this post instead of creating a new one, as a follow up, which IB groups are open to non-traditional backgrounds?

Currently having a difficult time with the lateral process and primarily focused on generalist roles. With MM deal activity lagging, I was thinking maybe giving a shot at BB/UMM banks but wasn't sure which groups had the lowest barriers of entry.

I have heard ECM, GP/LP advisory are one of them but wanted to hear if anyone knows of similar niche groups?

 

Voluptates eum enim ipsa nemo cumque occaecati dicta. Et exercitationem suscipit commodi in nostrum. Harum id doloremque et voluptatem quia doloremque nobis.

Id consequatur sint nemo deserunt. Quas accusantium dicta suscipit voluptatibus. Et sequi nostrum consequatur sapiente nulla harum. Omnis aliquam omnis id doloribus.

Voluptatem dolorem iste sint reprehenderit quae voluptatem et impedit. Assumenda eum est in fuga. Magni dolore iure possimus voluptatibus minima. Laboriosam dolore repudiandae alias quos ipsam. Praesentium cum nobis debitis dolore illum labore quo. Et harum et tenetur vel. Modi aut eum ut dolorem. Soluta vel neque necessitatibus voluptatem sit enim.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”