Joined a Low Volume Boutique. Am I fucked?
Hey all,
Recently started as an an1 at a LMM boutique (only about 10 people on the deal team). They do decent sized deals (in the range of $50-$250 mm). However, they’re not a high volume shop and was told some 1st years had to wait up to 6 months to be staffed on their first deal which scares me as there’s not really anything beyond initial conversations and a handful of pretty far along live engagements in their current pipeline right now.
I’m lucky I was able to get another job in IB but for context I unfortunately did not get a return offer last summer from a reputable bank. So I had to take whatever job I could get and was lucky to get something in IB. However, my intention has been that I want to lateral to a larger bank after anywhere from 6-12 months of experience. I’m worried I won’t be able to do that just given the lack of volume. Nobody on the team has a series license either, which I’m afraid might be a bad look.
What would you do in my situation? Am I fucked? Should I start to look for new roles now? I have prior internships across both IB/PE. Appreciate any advice.
Do a year, and then switch to a larger shop if you’re seriously not seeing any deal flow. Don’t leave immediately because it won’t look well when you try and make the jump. Bigger firms are always looking for more analysts but they want to see you’ve had some experience first.
Is that possible to jump if all I'm doing is pitching? I think I'll be able to get on a deal by 6 months in. I don't think most analysts have a closed sell-side deal in their first year to be honest, even at bigger shops.
On the flip side, my hours are really good for IB so I'm using that spare time to network.
Live deal experience is over valued. Personally I think you learn more from pitches, esp early on in your career.
I disagree. You will want live deals on your resume (1 min., Ideally 2-3). You learn a lot during closing diligence that you don't get from pitches. One thing, I have been seeing more of for Assoc.+ positions is firms asking for x amount of deals closed or worked on (usually 1-2 per year of work experience asked for). I don't think its a problem if you are working at a lower volume shop, but you do need to make sure you are getting put on deals that are closing.
Do you have to have a closed deal by the time you start lateral interviews? I feel like most an1s even at big firms don’t have a closed sell side in their first year. Ideally would like to move after 6-9 months, a year would probably be the maximum amount of time I’d like to stay.
I would stay a year. I think it offers more continuity in your story. There is also something to be said that as you stay if you are a high performer, even if deal flow is low, you should be well positioned to get on the deals coming in.
I did two years a a lower BB, and there were MDs who would bring in deals and those who did not. You need to make sure you are getting yourself in the position to get on deals (friendly with the staffer, aligned with MDs, Good analyst so you get chosen, etc.). There are plenty of stories on WSO of associates and VPs who did not get deal reps, and where not given promotions.
Sometimes deals die and you cannot control them, but you should be working on live engagements and getting them towards a closing. In a year, you should definitely be able to get something under your belt in this environment.
I work at one of these currently. I am in the process of lateraling after a few years. If you don't have deals on your resume, it is significantly harder to exit. A lot of larger banks want to see some overlap with what you're doing and what they expect you to be doing. Since you said you won't be working on deals, this will be very difficult to overcome. You will mostly get looked over for analyst roles, and you need to utilize your network to get past initial screens. I cannot emphasize this enough. You must be networking and leveraging your network to lateral to a better firm. As for the lack of series licenses, most boutiques don't require juniors to take their exams, as pure buy-side / sell-side M&A advisory is usually exempt at a smaller level (sub $25mm EBITDA since the no-action letter). Firms that do capital raising, etc. will require it. It's more of a marketing thing. Feel free to pm with any questions.
Make sense – it’s not like they don’t do deals but it’s just a lower volume than other places I’ve worked in the past. Getting staffed 6 months in sounded like the worst case scenario, which I hope to be true. I have fairly decent hours for IB so I’m using that spare time to do networking to hopefully be able to make a jump when it’s appropriate.
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