Goldman Sachs Low Tier/Back office Financing Group (ECM NR) or Low Tier Bank (Soc Gen) but respectable group (M&A)
All,
Just wondering what choices and considerations you would have here? I understand people may be inclined towards Goldman however if I want a career in finance/banking, I believe that I would pretty much have a “back office” role at Goldman given it’s ECM. I am looking to build a career in investment banking and want to learn valuable skills at the analyst level and also have a chance to listen into client meetings and what the real product/coverage role in IB is.
Would appreciate peoples thoughts here as from what I’ve heard is even though Goldman brand name will apply, I would only be as useful as ECM market pages I need to send to classics.
Not sure in what world ECM is considered “back office”. Pretty sure Goldman has the top / one of the top ECM groups.
Yeah OP is dumb… gs ecm is considered top of street especially natural resources with a lot of renewable stuff.
Sure but I mean in terms of the actual work you do. Most of the IPOs are originated from Classics so what real skills do you develop as an analyst? Not talking about Goldman ECM league table rankings but more about if you’re an analyst in a 5-10 person group in ECM
Know of people who have moved from financing to classic (after 2 yrs) at GS.
Right but I guess that’s the only rationale then you sign that offer? Because I see no real development otherwise
Yea this happens but depends on the market, right now it is probably tough to do it for example.
Yup makes sense. But then I guess you recruit and see if you can get a better bank coverage offer? Like I’d assume Deutsche bank let’s say Technology which still exits to PE and you still may work on M&A would be much better than just to tell people you work at Goldman?
GS should rescind your offer for this post
He clearly doesn’t have a Goldman offer. His post history is “growth of ubs” so probably salty
Tf I be salty about. I’m talking about two shit offers here but no chance of a PE exit
Hey OP,
TLDR; take the GS offer.
I also used to think ECM was "lesser" and less of a "front office" role. I personally wasn't in ECM but that perception couldn't be further from the truth. You can build a BSD career in ECM, especially at GS. With that said, it also depends on the skillset you're looking to build. If you truly want M&A modeling experience day in and day out, you're not going to get that with any ECM group, no matter how prestigious. On the other hand, if the M&A group you're looking at has shitty deal flow, then you're better off taking the offer with a BB ECM group in this example and doing your own homework for M&A modeling. There will likely be some folders of modeling exercises floating around at GS you can practice on, and it isn't impossible to lateral to another group once you're in GS.
Hope that helps.
Thanks and totally understand. Do you think it would be worth to recruit for mid tier IBD ( think of William Blair / Harris Williams / houlihan Lowkey) over Goldman ECM NR for exits and experience?
What would be better?
My kneejerk answer is you don't need to keep recruiting at this point, but it really just depends on your goals and preferences and willingness to keep grinding through interviews.
What are you looking to do long-term or just after banking? I would say ECM experience is pretty valuable if you're looking to jump to earlier-stage startups later on. Regardless of industry, you'll develop real experience and knowledge around capital raises (both private and public) and guiding companies through their IPO process. M&A experience is great if you're looking to join a Corp Dev team at a more established firm. If you're looking to hit the typical PE/buyside exit, then the prestige of a BB like GS is likely going to attract more headhunters than a William Blair, though I will say Houlihan Lokey is at the upper end of the mid-tier imo.
Don't forget that you have offers in banking. 90% of the job is done. You'll always be able to say you did a couple of years in banking, and that will carry weight wherever you go. It's good to be mindful of how the last 10% (choosing an offer) lines up with your medium-term goals, but don't forget this is just the beginning of your career, so I wouldn't sweat over it.
Bruh at least fucking spell HL right
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