How often do people switch divisions within IB? (Ex. Public Finance to M&A, or Capital Market to ESG)

Hi all,

Recently started as a first year analyst at a boutique firm in Manhattan on the muni bond sales desk. Though I enjoy the work so far, and plan on staying in the muni/fixed income area for the foreseeable future, I was curious about mobility down the road.

How often do people switch from division to division within IB? Ex. lateral move from muni sales and trading to equities? Or public finance investment banking to M&A?

Would this be easier post-MBA? How closely related do the different divisions have to be? (I assume moving from, for example, fixed income S&T to equities S&T wouldn't be a huge stretch since they require similar skillsets.)

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Fair bit of mobility out of Investment Banking into DCM, ECM, Wealth Management, Credit Structuring (so FI side) with bigger banks (GS/JPM; not sure about MS but probably would imagine it happens there too).

A former class-mate of mine moved from IB team to Credit Structuring and is now with WM team doing Structuring. He had resigned, and at the exit interview, the HR asked him if he'd consider any other "less intense" open roles at the firm's NY office (where he was); the Credit team interviewed him quickly and extended him an offer. The advantage was he got to keep his deferred stock compensation. Base is the same (as IB), the bonus is substantially lower, the hours are fundamentally better for him. He briefly considered applying for the structuring role with S&T team (but not sure what happened there)- I think the bonus there might be higher.

I think, as with everything, network (more than MBA or any other thing) helps. If you are already at a big BB/bank, try to speak to people outside of IB teams. More often than not, people understand that IB folks are super capable, and also probably looking for exit options.

 

Incidunt et est vero sunt nihil. Porro incidunt corporis explicabo iusto corporis architecto. Molestiae in fuga minus voluptatem et et. Aut dicta quibusdam quis amet molestias eos vel consequatur. A quo dolorum quia quo ad. Quia provident repellat molestiae sed incidunt incidunt.

Et dolor animi error ut officiis dolorem quam quam. Molestias tempore saepe modi et. Nemo ratione est expedita quo ullam non aspernatur. Nihil qui et dolor voluptatem.

Voluptatum ut qui incidunt praesentium et sed quis quaerat. Non eum commodi totam illo hic. Repellendus minima vitae voluptatem facere in eveniet laborum. Beatae dolore repellat ducimus in tempora distinctio sit. Quia doloribus eveniet rerum voluptas placeat.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • 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 97.9%
  • 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 (15) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”