Is DCM actually underrated ?
I get that it’s not M&A and not the classic PE pipeline. But people act like anything that doesn’t lead directly to PE is a trash career, which feels exaggerated. Even M&A -> PE isn’t automatic: getting into M&A is hard, staying there is hard, performing is hard, and landing PE is another filter. So yes, odds are better than from DCM, but aren’t we still comparing two selective paths?
My question is more about DCM itself. If you’re interested in debt products, rates, credit, macro, issuance, FIG, sovereigns, investor appetite, etc., is DCM actually a good fit?
I don’t particularly like the classic corporate-related paths : M&A, PE or even corp dev sounds less appealing to me than fixed income / macro / credit markets. So are DCM exits really just corporate treasury, or can people realistically move into fixed income funds, private credit, rates / credit strategy, debt advisory, restructuring, LevFin, IR, etc.?
I’m a very young finance bro and probably making wrong assumptions, so feel free to correct me . Just looking for actual insight beyond “DCM not good because not PE pipeline.”
DCM analysts are the only analysts who during networking calls mention downsides to their role without me asking
do they get a similar compensation ? compared to M&A, S&T ? and what downsides do they mention exactly?
Same base mostly, lower bonuses. Downside is little modelling exposure which isn't fundamentally a bad thing about the job but most people in IB use it as a bridge to PE/HF where DCM experience isn't very helpful.
what are the downsides?
I thought exactly like you 4 years ago. I worked in DCM for almost 2 years (I've left finance since then).
Credit research is the best spot. i really wish I did CR instead of DCM. Would've got more exposure to the raw, complicated technical/credit analyses you described. Way less bullshit and better hours too.
Unfortunately, DCM is a heavy marketing job. There's not much technical learning. LevFin is better but even LevFin can be the same if your group doesn't do any modeling.
Thanks, that's really helpful.
- What do you think about the fact that DCM (compared to macro/credit research) allows you to build execution skills (like on a Syndication desk) ? Is that actually valuable for exits ?
- Also, have you seen interesting career moves from DCM into the macro / fixed income world?
For example sovereign debt funds, fixed income asset management, rates / credit strategy, public sector advisory, etc.Or Rates Sales ? Even though the latter is not that interesting imo, but I just want to have a clearer view
Again, I’m not chasing PE optionality at all. I’m trying to understand whether DCM actually builds useful capital for the macro / debt / fixed income world, or whether it just gives you surface-level market exposure without enough technical depth. And I hear you for LevFin, but it might be a bit too far away from macro/fixed income for me.
Aren’t LevFin bonuses on par with coverage groups (and a bit higher than DCM)? Or are they typically in line with DCM?
how different are total comps exactly ? between M&A and DCM we're talking about a 10, 20% difference?
Capital Markets in general is underrated, people only avoid it because it's less technical, more process driven. So not idea for PE exit or anything M&A related.
A lot of the Capital Markets MDs at my BB worked in coverage before. IMO it's a great trade off in terms of comp vs. WLB. I know mid-level people in ECM/DCM working ~50 hour weeks, rarely weekends, and get paid roughly same as coverage. Comp diverges a lot more at senior level, but WLB more than makes up for it IMO.
Are there any decent capital market roles outside of NYC?
M&A isn’t technical at all…
lol what
Is WLB good in most banks for ECM/DCM or only certain banks?
Well. It’s easy to keep printing revenue as an MD in capital market because it’s flow driven and your your client base will always refi
Maybe if you don’t actually like finance
No, please stop the cope.
Yes. It is a good field to be in. The only people who say otherwise are pretty much exclusively terminally online children or LLM simps.
In DCM at a BB. I'm a fan personally. Bonuses at analyst level is really just a hairline difference at my bank compared to coverage groups. Wasn't too particularly focused on what I wanted to do in college, and also didn't have the pick of the litter either (non-target), but overall happy with where I ended up. Make 6 figures, get to maintain my relationships, and fits my lifestyle anyways.
I feel like a lot of people will cope and tell you it's paradise, but just keeping it real, I have no clue what life would be like if I was in a traditional IB group. Have I thought about it? Definitely. I also have thought about my career progression being different as well. But at the end of the day I think it's a very, very personal thing and for me, I am very happy with where I ended up despite what some hardos might think.
Even at 23, I have no clue in 5 years where I might be. I'm all over the place in terms of whether I want to exit into Buyside CM or get an M7 MBA – regardless, just a very personal thing. If you know you'll be comfortable, it's a good seat for you, but if you are always going to look at the other side of the grass and ponder, then maybe you need to take more time to figure out what's more important for you and if the sexy exit opps (which in my opinion is the hugest trade off, not the $$$), are something you need and not just want, then I would not recommend DCM.
Thanks for the honest opinion.
Again, I’m not interested in M&A or PE. I’m more drawn to macro, fixed income, monetary policy, and international debt topics than to corporate finance roles. So I know M&A and PE are not aligned with my interests, but I’m still unsure whether DCM is.
Hence my main question is about the day-to-day in DCM: what skills do you actually build, and what expertise do you develop? I’m asking about exits because they seem like a good proxy for that.
For example, are exits into fixed income/macro-related roles possible, such as macro AM, sovereign debt funds, restructuring, etc.? I know I could target AM or macro research directly, but DCM seems interesting because on top of macro, there seems to be this live deals, fast paced environemnt exposure that I think I could enjoy.
My honest take having been in your shoes at the start of my career and making a pivot to LevFin - apols for all the text.
DCM is a great start to your career because it teaches you the basics of thinking about cap stacks, importance of raising unsecured debt, IG vs. HY mechanics, credit risk / reward dynamics, etc. It gets you exposure to C-suites at corporates / financials (depending on the sectors you cover) as well as very large transactions given huge M&A deals will likely have a large funding portion syndicated out via the unsecured debt market. You get exposure to clients and important parts of the firm early as well, and depending on leanness of team, you get all the same skills as a coverage banker with more of a debt hat (don’t model as much as others have pointed out).
The reason why I wanted to make the switch is I saw the writing on the wall - there are only so many different flavors of DCM and ways you can raise unsecured debt, especially if you are specializing in a specific sector. Healthcare for example will always be boom and bust cycles, utilities / energy will be more steady but boring / repetitive, tech volume will largely be driven by the strength of your M&A team to source the initial deals and you get the lead left on the bond deal etc. It is indeed a nice role with respect to WLB and comp at the junior levels is in line with basically all groups other than M&A.
However, it depends what is more important to you long term career-wise. Personally, I want to constantly learn and work on differentiated, interesting transactions, and that is not going to happen being an IG DCM banker. Your exit opps are also very limited - best case is you exit to LevFin / credit research then make a further pivot into private credit / credit HF, but you will certainly not make the jump from DCM to PE / private credit / HF because the skills are not comparable. My advice is if you are interested in macro and market dynamics, being investor facing from more or an IR perspective rather than investment one, and learning how to be more of a debt coverage banker, then go for it. If you want to eventually make a pivot into a buyside role, it’s not impossible but you will likely need a good story and likely jump to LevFin in between.
Whatever you want to do post IB, I’d make sure this is the last time you ever refer to yourself as a “finance bro” in public again.
I recommend my girlfriend to take DCM when comes to group selection. Cuz it is chill. I can't date a girl who is working 100 hour per week
If you're interested in credit and macro, why don't you actually just go work in... credit or macro? If you can land a DCM seat, you can land a credit structuring or rates sales seat at a minimum.
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