IBD Group Rankings

Great.Wall.of.America

kaidenThis is my list based on: A) based in NY B) based on exit opps within finance (HF/PE/corp dev/VC/MBA)

1. BX R&R
2. GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A, LAZ R&R
3. JPM M&A, GS coverage, MS TMT, BX M&A, LAZ M&A, EVR
4. MS coverage, JPM Lev Fin, Citi M&A, Greenhill, BAML Sponsors, BAML LevFin, CS Sponsors
5. JPM Coverage, BAML M&A, Barcap Nat Res

There isn't a lot separating 4 & 5 but this is just from what I've seen.

JPM M&A is ranked third when they are top 3 in M&A deals in the first half of 2012? Where is Moelis? Evercore? Barcap M&A?

i thought barcap had m/a bankers in their industry groups and no general m/a?

Great.Wall.of.America

kaidenThis is my list based on: A) based in NY B) based on exit opps within finance (HF/PE/corp dev/VC/MBA)

1. BX R&R
2. GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A, LAZ R&R
3. JPM M&A, GS coverage, MS TMT, BX M&A, LAZ M&A, EVR
4. MS coverage, JPM Lev Fin, Citi M&A, Greenhill, BAML Sponsors, BAML LevFin, CS Sponsors
5. JPM Coverage, BAML M&A, Barcap Nat Res

There isn't a lot separating 4 & 5 but this is just from what I've seen.

JPM M&A is ranked third when they are top 3 in M&A deals in the first half of 2012? Where is Moelis? Evercore? Barcap M&A?

lol bro. EVR = Evercore. Barcap has no standalone M&A group. Moelis is wildly overrated.

Great.Wall.of.America

kaidenThis is my list based on: A) based in NY B) based on exit opps within finance (HF/PE/corp dev/VC/MBA)

1. BX R&R
2. GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A, LAZ R&R
3. JPM M&A, GS coverage, MS TMT, BX M&A, LAZ M&A, EVR
4. MS coverage, JPM Lev Fin, Citi M&A, Greenhill, BAML Sponsors, BAML LevFin, CS Sponsors
5. JPM Coverage, BAML M&A, Barcap Nat Res

There isn't a lot separating 4 & 5 but this is just from what I've seen.

JPM M&A is ranked third when they are top 3 in M&A deals in the first half of 2012? Where is Moelis? Evercore? Barcap M&A?

I think JPM M&A is on the rise for sure, but this year there's no way you can say the top kids coming out of there are placing as well as the top kids coming out of the four groups I listed above of it. Barcap doesn't have an M&A team. EVR is in tier 3 right next to Laz M&A and GS coverage. Moelis placement doesn't touch the top 3 here, although they can make a case for the fifth rung.

In regards to MS M&A and GS TMT/FIG being above BX R&R: I disagree for a number of reasons. First, BX R&R is the smallest of all of those (only one in single digits), which is a huge factor. Based on last year's analyst classes, GS FIG is more than twice its size and MS M&A and GS TMT are one person away from being twice the size. That means you're competing against twice as many people for exit opps, which is especially relevant at PE firms and top HFs because there are only so many upper level execs willing to make calls for you. BX also has a much weaker A-to-A culture, which means they're far more supportive of their analysts recruiting. GS especially has been terrible about this in the past year, which has hurt their analysts in recruiting (speaking of interviewing in GS FIG is literally unheard of). TMT is way better about it, but there's still a stigma against it from the top MDs in the group. Compare this to a place like Laz or BX where EDs and MDs will make calls for you and it becomes pretty relevant. Finally, the work in restructuring is viewed across the street as being more technical and better preparation for most buy-side roles than general coverage work.

Look, I'm not saying that the kid from Laz R&R is always going to get a better job than the kid in JPM M&A who will get a better job than the kid from BAML M&A who will get a better job than the kid from Moelis and quite honestly if you think that's what "group rankings" mean then you're either stupid and/or not working on Wall Street (most likely and). But ceteris paribus, analysts in groups that are higher up on this list will have better opportunities to get offers from megafunds (especially top 5), big name HFs, and top business schools. This is a result of a mixture of group reputation, the nature of the work you do, group culture towards recruitment, the number of people in the group, dealflow, and a handful of other relevant factors.