HW or lower tier BB
Figuring out which banks I want to target down the line. Seems like Harris Williams is a great shop But how would they compare w a lower BB
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bump
Bump. Are you in the HW SF process?
No I’m just curious
Same here, had a first round. Have you heard back?
BB w/o a doubt…
Admittedly biased here, but I’d say it’s up to what you value and what your goals are. If you want to exit to a MF that’s not going to happen coming from HW, but the odds are against you coming from RBC and WF for that matter as well (and personally I wouldn’t even consider those low tier BBs). HW does have some strong pros though, namely the culture and the senior bankers being strongly supportive of MM PE recruiting.
So if you’re willing to work outside NYC and prefer a strong culture group with strong MM PE exits HW would be a great fit. I don’t think there’s many banks that beat it at those aspects.
Lmao thanks intern.
I’ve seen a lot of people lateral from WF to GS
Awesome dude good for them.
DB easily
would take HW over any of the banks you mentioned. HW pays way more and has as good/better exits on average than DB/WF and most groups at RBC. If you're looking to lateral to a better bank for UMM/MF exits, you would be no worse off at HW than the others
Pretty sure HW pay does not compete against some of the firms mentioned (i.e. RBC and DB) given recent raises.
Pretty sure HW’s all in comp is north of 200k according to the recent 2022 bonus thread, which DB and RBC can not compete with.
bruh
A1 at HW was 215-225. 235-245 if you include signing bonus. That’s more than A2 at pretty much every bank this year
I would second this. First off, you'll be doing exclusively M&A. Secondly, you'll be leading plenty of deals and will get more exposure to sponsors than you would at the above. They may be more MM or UMM sponsors vs. MF, but that shouldn't deter you unless you are dead set on MF (unlikely out of those banks anyway). Third, confirming that HW pays above street and is among the best in the MM.
Agreed. OP should take HW.
Couple analysts have gone MFs at WF from their top groups. WF has the strongest balance sheet out of all mentioned here, they are strong debt shop.
You only mentioned one BB.
At a competitor to HW (another top MM) and think the take HW advice is kind of crazy.
First of all, if exits are the goal, HW’s exits are exclusively MMPE. That’s not a bad thing, but a quick LinkedIn search shows very few (zero?) MF exits, or even UMM. Very very generic MMPE. If that’s the goal, no better place to be than HW. Had friends there and every single opp is a 2B MMPE firm.
DB has sent kids to MF historically, and I don’t doubt that the right candidate can land a MF or UMM from DB. Not as sure on RBC or WF, but would imagine you’re slightly more in play for a big PE fund.
If the goal is stay in banking it’s a different convo, HW pays more, better culture, all M&A, etc
Outside of finance, all the other names listed have way more of a reputation than HW
Felt like any typical wells exist is attainable from hw
The median is probably pretty comparable, just ran a quick LinkedIn search and didn’t see any UMM names from HW, whereas there’s a handful from WF/DB (NMC, GI, etc) whereas all of HW is places like HIG, Riverside, or random MM shops I’ve never heard of. Just seems like a slightly higher ceiling on those bigger bank names, though agree the typical exits are pretty similar
What groups at HW would likely give you the best PE exit opps?
No point in ignoring any bank unless you don’t like something like their sector focus or team. Solve for getting into as many processes as possible and interviewing well. The RBC to HW zone of banks is solid and you’d be doing similar work at any other bank. I work at a sector boutique and have friends at other boutiques. We all end up doing similar work with different clients.
Work at HW and wanted to add other data points for those considering it:
1. HR reaches out to HHs and PE firms on our behalf
2. We have an internal outplacement tracker that lists analyst PE exit destinations and we have definitely trended upwards in the past 2-3 years with multiple UMM/MF exits. Albeit I admit the majority are MM firms. This has coincided with our increased deal sizes, 1b+ deals are not uncommon at all. I personally know people who interviewed with MFs this past cycle. (Going to avoid listing individual firm destinations to preserve some anonymity for the people themselves.)
3. Also confirming the comp numbers, the CEO himself said he wants comp to be competitive in order to attract people to Richmond instead of NYC. (This comp goes very, very far in Richmond)
4. The firm has seen an increased A2A rate in recent years due to comp and culture
5. We wear polos to the office everyday
How about the SF office?
SF is mostly Lululemon pants and polos, jeans/blouses for women and sneakers are acceptable unless client facing. Hours are pretty average for banking but hours to transition home, exercise, eat dinner, etc. are pretty respected.
Also curious about hours and WFH policies?
Not sure about sf but in another office. Hours suck and wfh is pretty flexible
Multiple UMM/MF exits? Did some digging and didn’t see a single one, and have friends there I asked about this and no one knew. I think the rest of the post is all true and totally agree, but don’t think it’s fair to characterize exits that way when it’s really not true
I saw the names and locations myself brother, totally fine if you (or anyone else) don't believe me. Just trying to add other data points and make this a fruitful discussion.
Regarding SF (other comment), I can't say I know too much unfortunately. All I know is they work pretty hard over there.
Edit: I will addend my comment. I went through the list in detail and I was mistaken about one thing (I'll admit when I was wrong)
1. While some of the names are at MFs, they aren't in investment roles. (Analysts who went into mid/back office roles) They're very few MF names after that, but still a couple. I will say it's a moonshot though and I wouldn't come into HW expecting it.
2. Regarding UMM specifically, a somewhat less common exit but still very attainable.
3. Stand by my statement regarding MF interviews this past cycle (not 1st years though).
.
Do MMPE funds not pay well?what’s the biggest difference between MM and UMM and MF
Would it make a difference if the other bank is in NY? HW is only SF and Richmond right?
Also Boston and minneapolis
Bump
Does location matter for PE?
no
The HW office you're in doesn't matter at all. All offices get inbounds from all the HHs for opportunities all over the country. For example, if you were worried about getting back to the Northeast after 2 years in Richmond, that's not an issue at all.
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