JPM (JP Morgan) Groups

really depends on what you care about, but

• JPM known for HC, but hours suck bad (like 3am everyday type vibes). all groups will be "sweaty" but HC is notorious because of the prestige 
• M&C has been good in past years but it might be dying on all fronts and can't compete with other banks. one current analyst gave me this advice: if you're interested in this group because of media (e.g. netflix), it's not a good reason to join bc the group does like 75+% telecomms deals bc entertainment is dying. heard pretty bad things about culture too
• M&A is obv the most prestigious product group, but the culture is varying. last year all 10 interns got returns. they usually give high returns and if someone doesn't come back, it's cause they hated it lol. but don't rule out the other product groups. levfin is fantastic apparently, and ecm has some of the chillest people even through to the seniors 
• FIG apparently extremely strong/technical and has been significantly bettering their culture. heard hours were tough though even when not many live deals happening. also it's a huge group that has an additional placement round which could suck. in their defense, the pigeonhole argument is imo a bit exaggerated because people in my class in fig have almost exclusively exited into non fig roles
• CRB may have changed recently but culture is horrid despite having cool analysts/associates
• dunno if this is true across the board but RIB / Midcap might not be as prestigious but has one of the best cultures i've seen
• the lesser known product groups like infrastructure etc. could be quite interesting if you gave it a chance. downside is lack of modeling experience, but being one of two interns means getting more mentorship and relationships

if I could do it again, i would look at CFA because the people there are genuinely smart and interesting and have unique backgrounds. Also i'd place more weight on the type of work because when I was going through this, I was hyperfocused on the industry. tbh you'll have mindnumbing shit everywhere you go, and if you just don't like the work, the industry doesn't matter as much unless you want to exit into it. to me, idc when a kid has an interest in "tech trends" or studied computer engineering as much as if they are actually interested in equity work

This is the case for placement, not outreach. Outreach is pretty much the same across all groups. The fact is that there is self-selection; those super interested in exits do better in the PE recruiting process due to being more prepped and all those kids end up in the same group. Once you get the interview, it's largely up to you to convert but as long as you are in a coverage group or a group like M&A or FSG, you'll get the same looks from HH's.

tech is def not worst coverage group idk where u heard that haha

This is the right answer to PE/Exits. The question they really should ask is about group culture

HHs bake in the possibility of getting shafted by group placements so they will hit up most groups.

Also curious

Any insight on LevFin? Understand its not typical coverage/M&A but will same opportunities be available?

bump

Great culture group. Great for banking (60-70h on good weeks). Don’t do much or any modeling. Pure relationship guys

Still think exits are solid, but can’t give too much color into that. Work at another group in the bank.