Im a young guy, and im wondering if the minneapolis area is a good city to have a career in finance or is it worth it to move to chicago? What industries have potential in the twin cities?
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The only top group that I'm aware of is the restructuring group at HL. I believe a lot of the top hitters are based there, and the culture is very informal, with people wearing sweaters and jeans.
If you are ok with staying in the Midwest and aren't shooting for megafund PE or whatever, Minneapolis is a great place to be. Sure, winters suck but the city itself is nice and there are a lot of young people in the area.
Really depends on your post-banking goals are. I personally don't want to do megafund PE and never wanted to work in New York, so Minneapolis is a good fit for me. Some banks let you transfer offices after a year or two as well.
For what I want to do Minneapolis hasn't been a hindrance at all for recruiting, but there are so many variables at play that I wouldn't take that as a final answer. I think my friends who are trying to do HF stuff are struggling a lot more.
There are a fair number of decently sized buyside firms based in Minneapolis FWIW. No idea how any of them do their recruiting.
Many go through recruiters, some local, some national.
Laterals from fund to fund tend to be more based upon networking.
What is your anticipated career path?
I'll try to break it down for you.
Pros: - Great city between April - Nov, not much different than Chicago (a bit colder, less snow though) - If you work downtown, you have the Skyway so you don't need to deal with the winter or elements - Very physically active and fit city, so the population is attractive - Lake access is limitless and boating is great - Golf is underrated, some great courses in the suburbs and within a couple hours of downtown (Brainerd area) - MM IB is quite large and competitive, second to only Chicago in the MW. - Plenty of PE and HF given the size - Cost of living is superior - Traffic is superior - Food scene is surprisingly good, plenty of variety (though nothing like Chicago) - No sales tax on food (unprepared) and clothing, which really adds up (for every $1K you spend on suits and shoes, you save ~10% over Chicago) - St. Paul, while the little brother, has some interesting things and a different culture
Cons: - If you get a bad winter, like 3 years ago, it really sucks - Women tend to get hitched sooner, so dating life in the upper 20s can be challenging compared to Chicago - Serious lack of quality dry cleaning, which is reflected in pricing - Less opportunities, in total, than Chicago (probably less willing to live in MPLS long-term though) - No Thai place that serves legit Pad See Eiw (lack of wide rice noodles is disturbing) - No booze sales on Sunday, a huge problem during the NFL season - Far less direct flights compared to ORD and overall, airfare is more expensive - Downtown MPLS has gotten more seedy in the past five years, though there are no areas as bad as Chicago's West and South sides (which you wouldn't venture to either way)
Strong industries: -Healthcare -Retail -Med Devices/Technology -Food & Bev -Industrials
I get the appeal of Chicago, particularly for younger people, having lived there myself. But, it has major issues, so if you are looking long-term, I think MPLS is actually better. The suburbs are the same in any city, so unless you take constant advantage of downtown Chicago, you aren't doing it right.
Tony, have you tried Sen Yai Sen Lek in NE? http://www.yelp.com/biz/sen-yai-sen-lek-minneapolis
SB'd. You may have just changed my life. The Pad Kee Mao looks spot on! I've seriously been to dozens of Thai places and none of them had those noodles, which are a commodity in every other major city I have lived in.
Do you have any feel for the culture/comp at pe firms in the area? Starting ft in minneapolis at one of the MM and trying to learn more about the finance landscape in mpls
It's really more of a Mezz town. Yukon, GMB, Northstar and Norwest are all solid and do deals MM/LMM all over the place with sponsors across the country. There's a bunch of smaller mezz funds like Spell, legacy Marquette and wherever those people end up, Lake Country, etc. that do sub $7mm EBITDA mezz deals.
For traditional PE:
Norwest is probably somewhat comparable to the larger Chicago funds (MDP, GTCR), but I have no idea if pay is on par. It's by far the best buyout shop. Culture isn't good though (as recent turnover confirms). Shoreview seems to be doing well and had some nice exits, seems like a decent place to work. Tonka Bay just raised a new fund and has been more active, some of the better guys in town.
GHJ&M is very average, but surviving. Senior guys are very lacking in personality IMO. No idea how Stone Arch still exists, but they have some of the more fun guys to hang with. Mill City blew up. Spell is really focused on Mezz and hairy lower MM buyouts. HCI has an office in MPLS but rumor is they are shutting/winding it down.
Among the mm banks in the city (HL, Piper, HW, LMM), which would you say have the best/better cultures. Understand it's hardest to generalize Piper since the hq is in minneapolis, but the other banks only have 1 or 2 groups from what I understand.
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