Internship choice: SMALL boutique, or big valuation house?
Yes, have both offers in hand. Small boutique would give zero technical training, but client exposure and freedom to take on lots of responsibility; valuation house would give 100% technical. I already have an IB internship (off-cycle) under my belt.
The goal is to get into the best iBank I can for full-time.
I'd do the valuation house
Why would you recommend this?
Probably what he said. Knowing your academic year helps, but Valuation is a fairly flexible role for laterals. I've me too people who transferred from big 4 valuation to BB IB and MM ER.
Junior year -- still holds?
I would go with the boutique. You want to work in IB, and this is an IB internship- it is that simple. Plus, how are you going to spin with in an interview when asked why you had an IB internship and then decided to work in a valuation role? The assumption will be that you either did not know what you wanted or that you could not get an IB internship, so you settled for valuation role, neither of which bode well for FT recruiting.
I'd say it depends. If it's a two or three man shop and they would prefer to criminally underpay you, as in 50-60k all in, I'd look elsewhere. Depends on the situation
Perhaps I am biased given my background (I started off making $60k all-in at a tiny boutique and then lateraled to a MM), but I respectfully disagree. I think OP is looking at internships, but I could be mistaken.
A reminder -- I already had an IB off-cycle internship. Don't you think it might be best to do something technically focussed and really add value that way?
No. Modeling and valuation are just a tiny part of what IB is. Editing CIMs, putting together teasers, keeping track of potential buyers, uploading documents to the data room, etc. are all still very much IB. Valuing intangibles, PP&E, or whatever else this valuation shop values is certainly very important, but it is not IB. Second, and most importantly, your story will take a hit if you take this valuation internship. How do you explain going from IB to valuation and then now wanting to do IB again? Regardless of what your answer is, your answer will leave the interviewer with more questions than he/she had before.
I would take the boutique internship and then read my lateraling guide to see how I overcame the lack of modeling experience when I started FT at a boutique.
Take the boutique. Transaction experience will set you apart from the hundred other kids in valuation looking to make the move, as will having Investment Banking Analyst on your resume. Yeah you might get underpaid but hey it's not forever seeing as you have plans to lateral, so just swallow it and take it for a year. I'd rather interview a candidate who knows his way around a deal than someone who is just technically capable.
A reminder -- I already had an IB off-cycle internship. Don't you think it might be best to do something technically focussed and really add value that way?
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