Jefferies culture?
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Been known jefferies has a shitty culture. Have two friends as analysts there and they look jaded even for IB standards
Also another reason why Jefferies’ advisory business will never be on par with the other EBs
Thanks for the input. Is it true that they pay more than the BBs? Or is that only the houston office
Interested in other posters pov
OOF
This makes me dislike Rich Handler so much... he tries to make himself look so fun/goofy on social media and even criticizes other banks for having a bad culture (he had very vocal criticism about the PJT email thing), and then he turns around and his bank does the same shit. Just very disingenuous...
Jefferies is a bro-y shitshow. Avoid.
I remember when they started the clawbacks years back, word spread quickly about it and there was broad street consensus that it was a mistake for the firm. That still appears to be the case. Whatever success they’ve had, nobody can call these clawbacks smart.
Not sure I agree with the broader comments about the culture, outside of clawbacks. I know the firm well despite not working there. Have had many touch points in IB and Research there over the years . . worked w/ them on deals, friends working there, some client side relationship today etc.
My impression is, they place a lot of added emphasis on getting the work right and that’s not always true at every bank. Those who read sell side reports can correct me if they disagree, personally I find their shit consistently more accurate and informative than most of the other banks.
On the IB side, as I’ve said in other threads, they’ve done well wading into more treacherous territory. Doing Icahn’s dirty work, churning endless follow-ons for weaker HC companies that BBs probably wouldn’t touch. Personally, I’m a fan of their scrappier approach as opposed to some BBs that I’d say have more of a lazy coupon-clipping culture and dont go as far for clients.
But it’s not for everyone. And certainly for folks planning on short IB careers, the client perspective is less relevant. I do agree the clawbacks are stupid and they should just take the L and move on.
They work juniors hard, but I also think they probably do a better job than most of making juniors stronger. PE placement for example, JEF probably outperforms if you benchmark the quality of the incoming class vs who lands a PE gig 2 yrs later.
Do people think this hurts Jefferies from a talent perspective at the senior level? Not sure why an MD would ever go to JEF vs a comparable bank when JEF is the only bank on the street with such intense clawbacks.
Not true. Claw backs common industry wide in the sense that senior comp is sometimes up to 50% RSUs. Meaning an MD could lose millions in unvested stock options if they leave early. Jefferies bonuses are 100% cash, so they don’t have the same type of golden handcuffs and instead have claw backs. Most of the time to competing firm hiring you will pay for the clawback. This is not as big an issue as some are making it seem. I would 10x rather have 100% cash bonus than 50% RSU. Just take a look at bank stocks in the past 12 months and it’s easy to understand why.
I didn't want to create another thread, but I know there has been a lot said about how it's a sweatshop and terrible the culture is. I am currently
recruiting for the firm, and I know it's also a very solid MM firm with decent exits. Can anyone who currently work there or worked there as summer
analysts provide some thoughts? And when people are talking about culture, is this mainly for regional offices? Currently recruiting for the NY Office
and have networked a ton, but seeing these threads are making me second thoughts about looking there although I understand the importance
of casting a wide net. Would appreciate any genuine inputs.
BUMP
Groups in NY are hit or miss culture wise. A lot of the shit Jefferies gets for culture are aimed at HC/Industrials and maybe M&A. Most other groups are pretty normal. Make sure you network appropriately and know what to getting into.
If you want minimal transparency, knock yourself away.
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