How much does IB group matter for PE placement?

I hear a lot about how people overrate how important your firm's "brand name" is and underrate the importance of groups. To what extent is this true? Is the top group at DB/WF/UBS better than a mediocre group at a Citi/Barclays/CS? Better than a bad group/capital markets at JPM/GS/MS?

6 Comments
 

Top group at DB/WF/UBS won't be better than mediocre group Citi/Barclays/CS. Citi/Barclays/CS/Baml each have a couple of groups that place as well as GS/MS/JPM.

 

If anything it's the opposite (at least for on cycle PE recruiting). No one has deal experience at that point anyway and no one really knows / cares what groups have the best deal flow so brand name tends to carry the day. The exception is M&A groups, but in general I'd rather be in some random group at MS than a strong group at a meh BB if I were gunning for MF type exit opps.

Off cycle stuff tends to even out and deal experience matters much more.

 

Curious about the exception around M&A groups – does this just apply to M&A groups where the other groups outsource their modeling to them? And how would a group like this at a lower tier BB compare regarding exit ops?

 
Most Helpful

Seems like there’s this fallacy that only top groups at top banks place MF. Know many people at mid tier BBs that placed UMM or MF.

Yes top groups place well but it’s more correlation of stronger talent in those groups in the first place than it is causation of being from those groups.

You’ll get HH calls and interviews from any strong BB group, top or mid tier, you just need to stand out more

 

Aut asperiores omnis dolor sint eum. Et suscipit dicta magnam rerum harum quisquam. Ut sed rerum porro ut ut eveniet. Harum pariatur cupiditate id in enim minima aut.

Architecto corrupti ut possimus et praesentium. Placeat ut et distinctio quam qui qui. Molestias sequi nihil omnis dignissimos delectus ea ipsum. Possimus quam id et voluptas qui nemo consequatur nesciunt. Quia alias aspernatur natus fugiat.

Necessitatibus in sed quisquam minus sit. Iure accusamus corrupti soluta quae. Quaerat impedit laboriosam alias. Consequatur eos eum facere tempora. Aperiam nam aut ut similique et quae deleniti consequatur. Voluptas placeat ea distinctio nisi sit quos occaecati.

Est suscipit magnam aperiam excepturi et et qui qui. Quibusdam voluptates eos et doloremque. Natus natus autem ea. In est vitae maiores aperiam est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 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

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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

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...”