JPM 2026 Group Rankings / Placement
Very rough prestige/exit hierarchy. Massive variance within groups — top analyst in a “lower tier” group will out-exit an average analyst in M&A. Take with a grain of salt.
Tier 1:
M&A
HC
M&C
Tier 2:
DI (Industrials)
Tech
FSG
Consumer (C&R)
Tier 3 (Nicher exits, but still great groups):
FIG
Real Estate
Tier 4
P&R
Mid-Cap
Business Services
Tier 5
Mid-Cap M&A
Emerging Tech
Tier 6
IFA
M&A SEAMAC
M&A SIG
CFA
Ratings
Thoughts?
FIG is not tier 4, at least tier 1.5. Top analyst at mid group can’t out-exit analyst at HC/M&A/M&C. These are the 4 groups that will get a look from MFs and exits guarantee at least UMM.
Least obvious FIG analyst
Least obvious IU kid
UMM guarantee is not possible. There are multiples more IB analysts at supposed top groups vs. total seats at UMM/MF PE. Top analyst at worse coverage group at JPM exits to UMM/MF and median at top groups exit to a MM. All the hardos go to M&A, so they place better. You'll get similar PE looks from all the relevant coverage groups at all top BB/EBs. Median exit is almost always MM PE if a large group simply due to seat count in PE vs IB.
HC / M&A exits?
Any insights on exits for non-tier 1 groups?
Non-Tier 1 exits are still strong — just more variance and a less concentrated MF funnel.
Tier 2 can definitely place MF/UMM if you’re top bucket, have real reps, and interview well. Tier 3 places very well within its niche — you’ll see strong buyside outcomes, especially at sector-focused funds.
Tier 4–5 skew more UMM/MM and sector funds. Mid-Cap especially has placed well as of late given it’s a growing group.
At the end of the day analyst quality, deal exposure, and interview ability matter more than the tier.
How about M&A/HC
It’s so obvious this post is from an intern who just finished placement lol. Congrats on a shit group.
How do exits look for FSG?
FSG’s class is tiny — I think ~5–7 interns most years — so you naturally get a ton of reps. It’s a product group with heavy modeling and you’re directly interfacing with PE funds all the time, which is obviously relevant for exits. Smaller group also means seniors actually know you well and the culture is pretty tight, so historically they’ve been willing to go to bat for analysts. I’ve heard Jamie’s newer on-cycle rules have toned down how much seniors can directly influence recruiting, but the exposure + relationships are still a big plus. Definitely a strong option if you want sponsor / PE adjacency.
LevFin is forgotten
I was only ranking the Coverage/M&A placement track for incoming interns, which LevFin isn’t part of — believe it’s now grouped with capital markets like DCM/ECM.
del
Are u a bot? Stop spamming
How is business services? Is it actually tier 4?
They’re a newer group after splitting from Consumer (formerly CRB), and from what I’ve heard the transition hasn’t been perfectly smooth culture/workflow-wise — others can chime in. That said, it’s still Business Services, so you get solid modeling reps and generalist exposure. Good option if you’re not 100% set on a niche yet and exits should still be fine
Is it mostly middle market deals or do they do big deals too?
Good list.
FSG should be down a few tiers. They have no exposure to M&A and are mainly working on mundane tasks and chaperoning other deals from a sponsor coverage perspective. Exits are not as good as they used to be due to the new Dimon rule.
FIG should probably replace C&R in tier 2. C&R is a pretty stagnant group and has limited dealflow.
Business Services is a wildcard. Who knows how that team will pan out. Similar team to DI from a large coverage area, deal volume standpoint so might be good if they grow it successfully but a bit tbd for now.
Why is SIG M&A so low? They sit within M&A, can get staffed as generalist M&A analysts, and are the M&A analysts on sponsor deals that come through.
Facts - are they not just M&A for sponsor backed deals? Seems like deal flow should be strong here. Obviously slight discount to regular M&A but you would still list M&A on your resume
Cograts on placing sig M&A. They are not under classic M&A.
Not at JPM but genuinely curious - what do they do then? If it's sponsor backed M&A it seems like a good gig no?
Theyre still part of the M&A team, just with extra homework on sponsor business development and cover. You idiots on the outside stop saying they're not "under classic M&A"
How’s the Security & Defense Resiliency group?
Bump - curious as well
Recently talked to someone from mid cap sponsors - are these IB people?
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