HSBC/NOMURA/MACQUARIE Full Time vs GS/JP/MS Summer Intern (IBD)

I have a MM FT offer (think HSBC/Nomura/Macquarie) and a BB SA offer (think GS/JP/MS/BAML), both for IBD.

I am in my final year. I can't delay graduation, so the only option is taking a masters if need be.

Which one would you pick and why?

9 Comments
 

Personally would pick the former, but that's just because I am risk-averse and I think the first three will still provide ample opportunities for development. If I were you I'd first check the conversion rates of the BB SA offer and then question if you back yourself to get the FT there. If you don't convert, then even though you can say that you received an offer from the MM on your CV, and even though the BB SA will look good, FT recruitment will still be really tough. It is for anyone.

 

Ok, so the SA offer is BAML. I would take the MM spot. An extra year will be way better for you in the long run and you can 100% jump to a different bank after you start.

 
Best Response

Thanks guys. I'm leaning more towards accepting the FT from HSBC/NOMURA/MACQUARIE.

To make it clear, the goal would be to eventually move to PE, which means I'd definitely need to move to a top BB.

But from what I've seen it's quite hard to lateral directly to a top 3 bank from there. I've seen HSBC/NOMURA -> DB -> JP, but it's rare to see HSBC/NOMURA -> JP. This means that by the time I get to a top BB (if I ever will) I might be an associate and chances to break into PE would be much lower. I would also have moved 3 banks in 3 years, something that recruiters might get suspicious about.

Any thoughts?

 

I mean it's a difficult one. You've done very well getting both offers, so whilst it's an agonising decision, you can't go that wrong with either.

Seems like you predominantly want to go into PE if you'd be willing to change banks twice haha. In that case, research the conversion rates at your BB and do whatever it takes to convert, assuming the SA > FT stats look decent. I get the feeling that if you went to a HSBC/Nom/Mac, you'd have that 'what if?' thing playing in the back of your mind.

I know I said I'd pick one the existing FT option, but everyone is different.

 

Take the FT offer unless you're have a crazy risk tolerance. At minimum, you're giving up a semesters worth of tuition and 6-12 months of FT analyst pay for an intern spot at a better bank with no guarantee that you'll get a FT offer out of it, especially if the economy pulls back sometime in the next 9 months. You can fill in those variables yourself, but unless you have a big scholarship, you're giving giving up >$100k in hard money that would be in your pocket and taking on a huge risk that you wouldn't get a FT offer which, depending on how you value it, could be easily more than the hard money you'd be giving up.

 

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