Guide to LA IB Scene (2023 Edition)

Hey all, current LA banker who figured he'd pay it forward and provide some help for prospectives. The following thread below is aimed at sophomores interested in recruiting for LA IB. This post is largely an update of the LA IB SA Recruiting Mini-Guide from a while ago (credit to hogcalling2015), with some new additions regarding the offices.

Pre-Requisites: 

Target Schools: USC, Berkeley, and UCLA are the main target schools for banks in LA and SF. There is also representation from Stanford, the Claremont colleges, and other T20 schools (Northwestern, seen a couple Wharton, etc.). A lot of the LA offices also have a heavy Wharton presence.

Grades: 3.5 GPA required, 3.8+ is competitive. 

Resume: 1-2 finance internships, preferably 1 investment banking internship (at a boutique). There's other guides on here on how to find these internships and who to cold email, lots of these internships are bullshit and people know that but it is a box to check. USC/UCB/UCLA also have selective IB workshops that host exclusive recruiting events with banks, pretty important to be in your respective program for LA recruiting. 

Pre-Requisites: 

Target Schools: USC, Berkeley, and UCLA are the main target schools for banks in LA and SF. There is also representation from Stanford, the Claremont colleges, and other T20 schools (Northwestern, seen a couple Wharton, etc.)

Grades: 3.5 GPA required, 3.8+ is better. 

Resume: 1-2 finance internships, preferably 1 investment banking internship (at a boutique). There's other guides on here on how to find these internships and who to cold email, lots of these internships are bullshit and people know that but it is a box to check. USC/UCB/UCLA also have selective IB workshops that host exclusive recruiting events with banks, pretty important to be in your respective program for LA recruiting. 

Location: Ties to LA or a specific interest in LA as a location is heavily recommended. LA IB recruiting is largely dominated by students from local schools or students with personal ties to LA, and throughout the recruiting process, from networking to the superday, you'll likely have to have a very solid answer for "Why LA over NY" if you don't have ties to LA.

Banks: 

Moelis: Generally considered the top shop in LA, Ken Moelis technically sits in LA even though he's never actually in the office. Most similar bank to NY culture (aka sweatshop), although the LA office does have a slightly more casual and laid-back culture. Juniors are pretty tight-knit. Great dealflow, great exits including PE exits to NY. Generalist program with a focus on Media/Entertainment, also a lot of deals in sports/sports teams/sports betting. The office also has a presence in Industrials, C&R, and Tech, and does little RX deal flow (so don't make RX part of your "Moelis Generalist" interest pitch).

Credit Suisse: Split between Financial Sponsors and Gaming (aka casinos and other gambling. Very strong group, the financial sponsors side of the office is incredibly technical and gives you a ton of exposure to LA PE firms. Sweatshop (sense a pattern yet from the top groups?). Self-proclaimed "fratty culture" (still sweaty). Analyst program is designed to be 2 years because everyone leaves for PE and has great exits. Is relatively insulated from the wider CS mess, although its future is still up in the air.

Houlihan RX: Important to note that RX is a distinct group from their Corp Fin. team and recruits separately. Downside is that it is brutal sweatshop, multiple SAs recently have declined their return because it really is just that bad. Definitely do their Case Comp if you go to USC/UCB/UCLA, they hire directly from the finalists of the competition. Super early recruiting process. Very interesting RX deal flow (quite a lot of HC, a lot of Telecom, and also some LATAM deals).

PWP: Industrials-focused group that also does P&U and some Tech, they've experienced heavy growth among the senior ranks and are definitely in growth mode. Probably around 4-5 SAs each year going forward. Very strong and diverse deal flow, with the core Industrials bankers focusing on a lot of large-cap deals, the P&U senior doing quite a bit of cross-office work with TPH, the A&D partner focusing a bit more on the MM to mid-cap space, and the new Tech partner focusing on growth capital in addition to M&A. Culture is a bit more chill than the offices above. Outsources its first round interviews and you need to be well-versed in the industrials space. 

Barclays: Financial Sponsors group. Known for great culture and slightly less hours than other groups. Completely owns the model for their sponsors deal which is important when considering West Coast groups. Like CS, known for great PE exits because of the exposure you get with PE firms. Seniors also encourage analysts to leave, so a bit of an implicit 2-years-and-out program.

Morgan Stanley: From my understanding there are four groups: Media and Entertainment, Consumer/Retail, Gaming, and M&A. Regardless though you recruit as a generalist and rank them once you join. Strong group, probably about 4-5 size analyst class. Morgan Stanley name carries value. Culture is extremely sweaty and is pretty brutal, with relatively high analyst turnover.

Goldman Sachs: Healthcare and Consumer/Retail (C/R team is like 5 people total). Junior bankers are staffed across SF and LA so the team is larger than just the LA office. Takes probably 1-2 SA's each year for the LA office. Very strong, just runs very lean. They hold a selective West Coast Insight Day and then recruit directly from that event.

Lazard: Aerospace and Defense as well as Interactive Media that recently worked on the Sony/Bungie deal. Very chill people, but only take about 3 SAs per year with two of those spots being diversity. Great culture and solid deal flow.

Citi: Metals and Mining group. Executes all their own deals and is the Citi Global HQ of Metals and Mining. If you are at all interested in that space definitely pursue as they kill it. Office is in Downtown LA which is pretty bad in my opinion, almost everywhere else is in Century City. 

Rothschild: Technology M&A. Growing group and if you are set on tech banking in LA its the place to be. Lots of European senior bankers and opportunities to work overseas a few years in. 

BofA: Weird combo of groups, they have EGRC which is like smaller deals on the West Coast, used to be more industrials focused but now includes TMT and C&R as well. Very late recruiting process historically (June). 

Houlihan MM: Heavy industrials coverage with part of its A&D franchise here in LA (split with DC). Decent deal flow, although the LA A&D franchise is pretty weak and most of HL ADG's deal flow is ran out of the DC office. Sweaty.

RBC: New office covering entertainment. 

Ducera: Rx and M&A. Very sweaty, and culture is not great. LA office is in expansion mode.

Wells Fargo: MM coverage. 

Deloitte Corporate Finance: MM coverage

Raymond James: MM coverage. 

Timeline: 

I want to preface this section by reminding that the timeline changes every single year, and there really is no way exactly to predict when a firm will go, but this is a rough guideline.

Networking: Kicks off in January-February of your sophomore year and ends when you get an offer. This may change in the future but it seems pointless to get on calls before January, and even January is early. I had a bank or two where I got on 4+ calls with a bank in January but didn't keep in touch enough and then when interviews rolled around in April I wasn't in the picture. 

Interviews: First banks to go kick off non-diversity interviews around end of March/beginning of April. Average timing is probably mid-late April. Some firms (BofA) tend to go super late like in June. Standard procedure is 1-2 first rounds/phone screens then Super Day with 5ish interviews. 

Tips:

Networking: The goal for networking is maintaining relationships and keeping your name at the forefront of the bankers minds. Don't spam the entire office but try to talk to a good amount of the junior bankers in order to get a first round. If you can manage to have a good call with a Director/MD then you could end up with someone really pulling for you which is great. Have your first calls with banks you don't want to end up with because the first 5-10 calls are probably going to be shit.  LA recruitment is 100% networking, HR is not involved and the online applications are oftentimes not even related to the process. These are really just miscellaneous tips that came to mind first, feel free to ask more specific questions too. 

Technicals: You should know M&I Advanced Guides and BIWS 400 Technicals cold, then start prepping beyond that. Paper LBOs are common for Super Days especially at the Financial Sponsors groups. LA interviews are generally more technical than NY interviews so be prepared. Technicals are really just a box to check, will never be the thing that gets you the job. 

TMAYS: Tell Me About Yourself/Walk Me Through Your Resume will be asked in every interview. Have a 70 second story prepared and rehearsed, then make it sound like its not rehearsed. Practice it and improve it throughout the process. 

Behaviorals: Have a strong why LA story and make it clear you are only recruiting for LA. Know a deal, industry trends/deals if it's a coverage group, and have 5 stories you can use for all "Tell Me About a Time" behavioral questions.

That's all I got. LA Banking is a hidden gem and absolutely worth pursuing. Important to note that it is really difficult to recruit for LA and NY simultaneously, especially because many banks force you to rank by location or only apply for one location. Try to figure out your location preference early on. 

Once again, credit to hogcalling2015 for making the original post (which I just provided a few updates on).