Jefferies: Culture? Hours? Pay? Exit opportunities?

are the senior bankers open to helping analysts place into PE?

Jefferies is under $50B in assets - so it is not subject to enhanced regulation under Dodd-Frank: https://www.bettermarkets.com/sites/default/files/Fact%20Sheet-Everythi…

This doesn't mean it's not regulated - every financial institution, (even increasingly P.E. firms), is regulated. Jefferies just isn't under the same scrutiny as Bank of America or other bigger banks.

Can take more risk, hence more prone to leverage lending and thus have been taking market share for sponsored deals.

-Comp is excellent; ~150k all-in first year for IB is not unheard of; pay is similar, sign-on is 10k iirc -Interview formats are fairly typical, tighter emphasis on fit since it's a smaller shop -Yes it is taken as seriously "as the BB" when applying to mba programs; if "as the BB" you mean UBS lol -tight culture; brutal hours

Great thank you so much. Have you worked there/work there now?

I would also be interested in any insight anyone can offer into Jefferies.

I am interested in hearing whether firms like Jeffries and other MM firms ever consider sophomores for summer internships.

Probably not if you spell their name wrong.

Any insight into the ex-UBS guys especially would be awesome.

LOL. Also do they pay their interns and is it the same as the BB's do it?

Interns don't make much at all. From what I remember hearing, it was 75k prorated, no O/T, no housing allowance. Keep in mind this was last summer and it might change. Most BB's are 70k prorated + 2k housing allowance and some sort of OT goodie that will add up to ~3-5k+ over the summer depending on how much you work and how sweet of a deal it is.

OT goodie?

Overtime goodie. I'm old fashioned, fuck you.

overtime - for instance, .5x OT or $55/hour after 60 hrs (at BoAML), or something.

i know for their s&t at least on the fixed income side, its commission based which differentiates it from bb's which are salary and bonus structure. although that prob only applies once uve been there a few years

Yes Tradin, interns get paid commission...they're on the phone all day with David Tepper and John Paulson

too many people here work at jeffries.

lol at 150k. only Blackstone achieved that with 70k base and 80k bonus last year.

They have a Cleantech (renewable energy) group that looks to be independent of their energy group and technology group. Not sure if this is standard on the street or not, but I found it interesting.

Does anyone know the phone interview format and how in depth they get with technical questions? It seems like most banks have a "go to" question that they always ask in terms of technical.

yo how do u do a dcf? tried a search

I heard they just bumped their base-pay for associates to match the rest of the street.

For the MBA apps, it's not as much about where you went but it's about how you position yourself. Now, obviously Goldman > Jefferies, but if it's say UBS vs. Jefferies, it's less of a difference, and a guy from Jefferies can talk to more responsibility, client interaction, thinly staffed teams, and possibly more deal flow, etc. Now, it may not be true, as Jefferies is becoming to look more and more like a typical BB, but it'd be a believable way to differentiate yourself.

Anyway, Jeffco is a good bank.

150k is correct in certain groups.

70k plus 10k sign on plus bonus - reliable sources. Im pretty sure their IB doubled last year and are targeting BB status.

1. Yes
2. A strong balance sheet helps them offer better pricing on corporate products to their clients, since capital will be cheaper. Also it the underwriting capacity is increased for underwriting deals and bonds. Reserve requirements are fairly easy to meet, so this is not an issue.

Thank you, Ben Lorrelo. By corporate products, do you mean products in the vein of debt financing?

Yes, debt financings, swaps, f/x lines, etc. This is a relative advantage of a commercial bank over an investment bank in that it has very easy and cheap financing compared to an investment bank.

Thanks again, Ben Lorrelo. I appreciate it!

Jefferies already pays better than Lazard, GS, and JPM, so when do they become BB?

You get the size of the big boys and you get regulated like them too.

if you followed recent earnings calls, the investor base is concerned about the outsized comp ratio and want to see it come down. it has been rising much faster than increases in revenue. my associate buddies tell me that it's devolved into a world of haves and have nots at Jefferies. those who were hired from larger banks were given comp guarantees which is sucking the bonus pool dry, which is why the bank has started putting in multiyear clawbacks on their restricted cash bonuses (yeah, you get it in cash, big fucking deal if you have to pay it back if you leave within 3 years?). most associates allegedly got less than 50k this past year and well, let's just leave it at that. doesn't really sound like they are killing it to me.

this merger looks highly suspect. why would jefferies orchestrate a combination with a conglomerate? it is clear that there are personal reasons as publicly disclosed (leucadia ceo and jefferies ceo are extremely close personal friends), but are there any real business synergies? the only benefit i see is a tax free exchange of a shares in a highly volative midsized financial firm (as seen in last november's bankruptcy scare) with shares of a diversified portfolio of assets (meat processing, healthcare, industrials, etc).

my two cents based on my knowledge.

Would job security/deal-flow/bonuses be affected in any way from the reverse merger w/Leucadia?

Sorry for being annoying but bump

Yes. Jefferies does not do group placement until after the start of the FT analyst program.

Yes

/thread

Yes, Jefferies offers generalist program for SAs. I talked with an alum, and he told me to mention that for why Jefferies question during the interview.

Yeah you're a generalist until you go FT and then they place you after you network with the groups during training. It seems like a great system to me.

Solid MM. Obviously not as good as the two heavy hitters Bank of America and Wells Fargo in Charlotte but decent among the other MM's in that city.

Culture should be same across the firm.

Solid MM. Not as good as Piper Jaffray though unless you're in HC, maybe than it touches.

Really? I always figured Jefferies was on par with PJC if not a bit better? I work at a boutique on the west coast so I don't understand MM's that well.

I believe the C&R guys who opened the Charlotte office are very well respected. Not sure who is there right now, but I think those guys did a number of high profile M&A deals in the 2004-2007 era.

I think they advised on the Easton/Bell merger and the CBRL Group (Cracker Bell) deal. I know there were others, just can't remember the deals.

No idea as to deal flow. Would guess there is a ton of pitching going on there right now given the M&A environment we are currently in.

Are you kids serious? This bank is a serious no talent forsaken festering toilethole of pathetic losers.

Anyone with real balls is going to be at BAML, especially in Charlotte.

Do people really take first year seriously when like half of his posts are trolls?

Patrick, please ban 1styearbanker. He hijacks almost EVERY thread just to promote BAML and everyones annoyed at this point.

As for JEF, dealflow isnt bad, and compared to the other MM's in charlotte, its prolly the best. I hear culture sucks from someone who used to work there a while ago

It's a decent MM but there's much competition out there. I'd take HLHZ over Jefferies though.

i don't but i have email addresses...

sup turtle eggs?

Ok shop - SA offer rate don't mean shit. If the market is bad you won't get one end of.

yea, lots of analysts go on to MM PE

They pay cash.

It's a decent firm that for w/e reason gets trashed on a lot here on WSO. Personally I don't see where the hate's coming from. IBD is IBD - it's the same work & crap at every firm and most people don't enjoy the job, so who cares? Didn't work there so cant comment on culture.

Healthcare Group is top notch there and across the street