Is UBS beginning to be a great place to work again?

I have been reading that UBS is growing their IB and plans to maintain this growth in the future. I realize that the firm's main revenue stream comes from WM but is UBS IB currently a great offer to receive? Would you accept this offer?

 

it’s still suffering from its poor rep and lack of balance sheet funding. It isn’t trying to compete with Jp, GS, MS, but it is trying to be more of a recognised advisory only (rather than BS lending) player. I think the strategy is working and they are beginning to grow again, with ambitious plans for US as you say. I see improvements and yes I think it is a great place to have an offer from, but not top level like GS/JP etc.

 

I’d say it’s getting there but still got some way to go. Too quote Florence and the Machine i’d say UBS’ dog days are over. I think it will become more and more competitive with Barclays and CS. Also, it’s more strategic because they don’t lend merely off the back of their relationship from being on a firm’s revolver (which some controversially label as ‘lazy banking’). Because of this there is a lot of time spent pitching.

 
Best Response

Barclays has just gone through restructuring and it not in the best of places whilst UBS has got its stuff done a few years ago. It's slowly but surely growing globally (with a big US push). Pay has also recently been quite strong.

After MS/GS/JP/BAML, i'd go for UBS. Beyond that though... I think the culture which you liked matters most, and if you like the UBS people, it'd be a great place to go.

JP and GS seem to have nice cultures too ... BAML not so much from personal experience.

 

To give some perspective to OP...banking across all BB should be relatively similar, so don’t get too hung up on each (yes, differences in deal flow / culture and exit opps to a degree but don’t expect too much from a two year expereience and recruiting really is all about your intelligence once you are in the room).

Having said that, yes GS/MS would be the top (I’m speaking from an experience level). That’s because a bigger portion of the work you’ll do will be m&a. JPM/BAML will “rank higher”, but do realize they drive with their balance sheet (I.e. get “m&a” credit just being the lead lender but the analyst doesn’t get to do any m&a work). You’ll see more of those fake m&a dealflow at these places. CS and Barclays are different because their are ex DLJ and ex Lehman...you will see a lot of m&a concentration in the Americas because of that reason. UBS never got to the same scale as the other banks (whether organically or through acquisitions like Lehman), so it will always lag behind. Don’t go to DB, they are literally bleeding bankers now (I.e. their TMT team has only 1 MD left in NY and zero in Boston). Hope this gives you more color of why each bank stands where it does on the league tables

 

Dying, soon to be sold for parts?

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Magni nisi natus quidem praesentium. Animi magnam quia dolorem quia debitis commodi doloremque. Adipisci et non est omnis.

Ipsum aperiam quam enim sed. Sint qui qui eos. Nihil ut unde repellendus omnis.

Molestiae non sint et occaecati quidem. Quo repellat eos voluptates ut suscipit. Illum consequatur veritatis harum. Tenetur ut magni sit neque omnis.

"Come at me, bro"- José de Palafox y Melci
 

Voluptatem omnis dolor natus libero impedit non voluptas. Laudantium repellendus animi necessitatibus voluptatem ipsam. Architecto asperiores tenetur et ipsum. Sit ut odio vero ut quia ut quia. Nostrum necessitatibus ea cupiditate nostrum molestiae ipsam incidunt. Qui laborum ut fugit laboriosam fugiat.

Vel explicabo inventore vel rerum id repellat dolorem. Et laudantium facilis totam eius quis. Ullam quia dolores commodi pariatur.

Sunt sit pariatur rerum ut maiores. Perferendis voluptatem similique et iste dolorum ratione. Eum nesciunt dicta ut fugit quod facere. Et quia quasi rerum sint inventore minus nobis tempora.

Ducimus totam repellat est labore veritatis sint. Suscipit optio in libero dolorum aperiam deserunt aspernatur. Quia ipsam ut tenetur suscipit exercitationem illum sint. Eveniet nisi similique delectus ullam sed at sint quis. Dolores unde necessitatibus quo deleniti sit. Minus tempora ullam sit placeat odio ut qui. Dolor laboriosam sit aliquam rerum adipisci rem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”