Recently received offers from these 3 shops. No specific groups in all 3 cases. Does BB > all still apply in this case? Heard the prospects for UBS and Citi are pretty terrible (e.g. possibility of delayed or even nil bonus at UBS) while Jefferies seems to be an up and comer.
Please advise.
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Jefferies raided everyone who's anyone at UBS in the US, and Pandit is annoying and self-righteous so I'd go with the trend line and take Jefferies. Congrats.
I wouldn't be so quick to ditch Citi... but agree that Jefferies is a great pick. Seriously though look into Citi some more.
Citi is messed up but on the way back - still a better franchise than jeffreys
Citi > ubs = jefferies
where does barcap, baml and nomura fit into this picture?
I often see comments on the fact that people should go for the better franchise. If it was about owning the business, I would say yes, probably. But as an employee, not sure it's necessarily the best way to go. Better name does not mean better pay. Go through the MD&A of those investment banks and you'll see that the relation between franchise and average pay is not obvious. Yes, Goldman is consistently paying more than the other BBs. But there are many boutique investment banks out there that have higher average salaries than Goldman. Having a profitable business is good for the shareholders, not necessarily for the employees (most specifically when they cut in the bonuses to achieve that). What really matters is the amount of business generated per employee and and how close these employees are to the clients (is the business sticky to the firm?). Even if Citi is making a come back, it's a huge bureaucratic business that will never get to be involved in risk taking anymore. A come back is good for shareholders but you can be sure they will keep a tight grip on how the business is run going forward.
Not sure what you mean by Citi having terrible prospects... if you're referring to bonuses they paid top of street for analysts last year. If you're referring to deal flow, I wouldn't worry about them too much.
Here's your order:
Citi > UBS > Jefferies.
Wasn't top bucket at Citi $65k?
I would assume that bulge4lyf is biased...
Bulge4lyf hates on any bank that isnt a BB. He would tell you to go to Lehman in the middle of it's collapse over Jefferies.
OP, that is a tough decision, but I would choose between Citi and Jefferies. Again, I will advise you to go based on the culture and people. Citi is a bigger name globally, however Jefferies is growing explosively.
Jefferies is a great firm with a ton of momentum and growth, as well as a terrific culture to boot.
That being said, if you are looking to go into PE and HF, Citi (and probably UBS) will still place significantly better to the top firms (Top 25 or Top 50) from what I have heard. Citi M&A and UBS LevFin are especially good.
With that in mind, If this is for an:
analyst position = pick Citi/UBS associate position = pick Jefferies
Appreciate all the great responses and insight. From the sound of it, the general consensus is to pick Jefferies over UBS but perhaps not over Citi. I definitely will look into it further.
I really enjoyed what I saw of the culture at Jefferies, whereas its a mixed bag at Citi. Kind of ruled out UBS after talking to an alum who is currently a VP, basically told me to avoid UBS America as long as it didn't mean I was going to go to a small regional. Additionally, I heard that comp is better at JEF for whatever reason (I believe they have the second highest revenue per employee ratio behind GS), not a deciding factor but certainly important.
For the moment I am interested in going into PE after my analyst stint and B-school afterwards so any insight regarding Citi vs Jefferies for PE would be much appreciated if that info is out there. Otherwise, thanks again!
Citi for sure if you are interested in PE; again, Jefferies is a great firm (and probably as a whole the better firm), but Citi has a stronger IBD and they are still solid on the league tables and work on large-cap transactions, something that is rare for Jefferies outside of Energy (which is located in Houston anyway so you won't have a chance to work on Exxon/XTO etc.).
Plus, the Blackstone/TPGs have hired Citi analysts (and quite often before the recession) before, but never a Jefferies one. Just 5-6 years ago, Citi was considered a top bank, right after GS/MS and Lehman Brothers
As someone who has woked with 2 of the 3 banks here on deals, I would say pick Citi. Jefferies is def up and coming, but Citi will still provide better dealflow and open more doors after you 2 years.
As someone who had a friend at Jef and had some alums intern there. I am unsure where the up and coming sentiment is coming from. Jeffries is still in many ways a MM firm. Citi Commercial Banking may be struggling but they've still got one of the best IB franchises. They are dealmakers so I would suggest picking Citi, my friends love the atmosphere and if you get a good group, you have good PE opps
I though Miller Buckfire, Centerview, BX etc. payed $85k+ for 1st years?
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