Goldman FIG vs KBW vs Sandler O'Neil vs EVR FIG

Why leaning towards KBW? They do tons of smaller deals but Goldman FIG is where you will get experience and exposure to a larger variety. Unless the vertical you are in for GS is not the one you wanted.

EVR FIG I can't speak to as I don't know much about them.

If you are leaning towards KBW from a fit/culture perspective and actually want to stay in banking after your analyst stint that may make more sense. Otherwise GS is not a shabby alternative option good sir.

KBW and Sandler pretty much dominate the community/regional bank space, so its not a bad place if you want to stay in FIG banking for the long haul.

I can't comment on EVR or GS in much detail as i'm not very familiar with them, but I know GS FIG is seen as one of the top groups on the street (or at least is said to be around here), and places very well for PE/HF. Deals will be bigger and higher profile than KBW where you will close lots of "Regional bank buys Bank of Smalltown Upstate NY" deals.

Ultimately, depends what your goal is, but I would aim to choose the group that will get you the most valuable experience as long as it appears to be a cultural/personality fit. GS FIG should open lots of doors and I can't imagine it would prevent a move to KBW/Sandler/elsewhere in FIG banking later on, if so desired.

Would love to see people with more experience with the BB/EBs chime in

EDIT: I stand corrected on KBW/Sandler.. thanks for correcting me guys, my impression was opposite but obviously not the only insight

Sandler is #1 in M&A league tables currently for # of deals and deal size for FIG.. source SNL Financial

That's only for banks...include the other verticals and the list is BB top heavy. Source SNL Financial...

Globally: (last 12-months)

1 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC* 31 48,964.28 2 Goldman, Sachs & Co.* 22 41,278.36 3 Morgan Stanley* 25 33,145.98 4 Barclays Capital Inc.* 18 29,460.67 5 Bank of America Merrill Lynch* 22 28,065.96 6 RBC Capital Markets, LLC* 16 23,359.49 7 Credit Suisse (USA), Inc.* 19 17,836.01 8 Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.* 18 14,751.17 9 Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P.* 75 13,355.48 10 Robey Warshaw LLP 2 10,887.57

Just to be more specific: USA & Canada (Banks, Insurance, Spec. Fin., Fin Tech. etc.)

1 Goldman, Sachs & Co.* 16 29,665.22 2 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC* 16 28,820.17 3 Morgan Stanley* 12 21,280.33 4 Barclays Capital Inc.* 12 18,953.06 5 Bank of America Merrill Lynch* 12 18,565.43 6 Credit Suisse (USA), Inc.* 12 13,862.80 7 Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P.* 74 13,355.48 8 Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.* 11 12,612.64 9 RBC Capital Markets, LLC* 13 10,947.18 10 Keefe, Bruyette & Woods* 50 7,648.71

Right. To be a private firm with ~300 employees total and be #7 with 74 transactions in FIG in past year isn't a bad deal I suppose.

I would have to disagree with ai215 in the KBW is a notch above sandler, especially post KBW merger. Sandler seems to be consistently higher up on league tables as a much smaller firm and pay/culture seem to be much better based off of friends there

KBW and Sandler have very different corporate cultures. They both do a lot of small-midsize deals.

KBW definitely weakened themselves after being acquired by Stifel. Sandler has been stealing deals from them.

GS FIG is a great group.

Goldman FIG is a great group - I would choose Goldman Do you mind sharing your lateral experiences and the process you took?

Thanks!

What level are you recruiting for? If you're an analyst/associate, definitely GS as you don't know if you might move around firms down the road, so going for a big name will help you down the road.

I'd avoid Sandler - incredible deal flow yes but terrible culture and below street pay. Heard everybody including analysts leave in less than 2 yrs

Thanks for the insight guys I've done a lot of asking around as well and it looks like GS FIG and KBW FIG are the top choices. Sandler's pay and culture really blow.

EVR is on some pretty cool stuff but you will only be doing M&A and building a client base through "conflict of interest advisory" is much harder than using cheap financing to win business like I would have at GS or KBW.

Can someone expand on the terrible culture/pay at sandler? Have interviewed there and everyone seemed like great, laid back guys- pretty old school. Also know several partners through family friends living in 7-8 mil homes so pay cant be too low

bump

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This must be a joke. No debate in this. Goldman FIG is top of the street and will give you the best exit opportunities compared to almost any other group on the street. Period.