JPM M&A vs Top EB (CVP/EVR/PJT)

If you can get into a good coverage group, would always choose that over M&A whether that's at an EB or JPM. 

Dont know who would pick EB over JPM top groups (M&A/HC/M&C) unless its wharton witg hardos and EB Rx (those mfs would pick HL Rx over GS TMT). Or if you want to be a career banker and you want CVP.

would ppl choose JPM M&A or EVR generalist?

It's a wash, but more target analysts prefer top EBs over JPM in general.

JPM all day - EBs are sweaty af and no one cares about them

Why is Moelis and Lazard not listed as top EB >>>>>>>:-(

JPM sounds cooler, is more well-known. If you're good you'll get exits. If you're a hardo virgin i'd suggest the EB route, it'll help you protect that status for longer.

Good luck and grats on the offers.

Seems like everyone is just spouting shit about name brand, prestige, comparing how much of a hardo someone is, etc, without actually answering the question with anything beyond surface level knowledge. I'll try to offer some advice on a truly difficult decision that I also had to make in the past. Congrats btw on the offers!

For you, your exit opps and name brand are really a wash. Anyone that is important will know what PJT/CVP/EVR is. Yes, EVERYONE in finance will know, confirmed with multiple mentors and people who have exited banking. The headhunters that reach out to you will be the exact same at both of your choices. Granted, if you don't want to stay in finance and instead maybe want to pivot to tech or engineering then I would give an edge to JPM. What people don't understand is that name brand can only take you so far. It's about the network you build at each bank, your connections both senior and junior, that help you out long term, and that's up to you to cultivate.

With exit opps and name brand basically being the same, you should think about what type of experience you want in banking. As someone who has worked on both sides (BOFA and PJT/CVP) I would say the experiences are pretty different. BBs offer more training, introduce you to more people, and you will work on larger teams than at an EB. Being on a larger team is both a blessing and a curse, as often you are staffed on a shit ton of accounts where you handle one specific part of the model or PowerPoint, and while it's good because you can turn off your brain and become a template machine(which is what they want out of you), you also don't really get a sense of the whole deal process. This might not matter to you as you're leaving to PE in 2 years anyway, so who really cares as long as you're doing your job. At an EB, teams are literally like 5-6 people, and you're usually on fewer accounts but with a lot more responsibility. You'll get a chance to see the entire process and create key materials for actually important junctures in the process, but again, it's a lot more brainpower and having responsibility means you can't slack as often as you can at a BB. People overrate having "responsibility" a lot on this forum, which is why I think people are called hardoes for choosing an EB over a BB, as often after a year you just don't care about learning and would rather just coast.

Besides being on larger/ smaller teams, I would say another big difference between BBs and EBs is the culture. Being at a firm with 10,000 ppl vs 500 are completely different experiences. I found that at BBs it's a lot more corporate, easier to meet new people, and little to no exposure to higher-ups like MDs/ partners. You get more company sanctioned events, often have a much larger analyst class, and in general I would characterize the culture as a bit more "fratty" than EBs (by fratty I mean white male culture dominant, where most of the office talk is about sports, alcohol, tv shows, etc.) EBs have cultures that are a bit harder to characterize because I hear that each EB is a bit different which makes sense due to their small sizes and trickle down leadership. EBs are less corporate, with smaller class sizes and a more engrained culture(harder to fit in if you don't vibe initially due to small size), a lot of exposure to higher ups since you work way more closely with them, and of course, higher compensation. I've also found that most EB ppl are a bit sharper than their BB counterparts, which is kind of anecdotal, but my sentiments have been shared. It is actually possible to grab coffee with an MD, propose company engagement events or improvements to amenities, and even source potential clients if you have a good enough relationship with a partner, as you really do get a lot more responsibility and trust. But this is all on you to implement, so again, if you want to coast, this is all not relevant.

Overall, just compare what sounds best to you and definitely reach out to alumni/ contacts at each bank to hear their thoughts. Best if you can get an alumni as they're less likely to bs you and get you to sign.

Hope this helped a bit in your decision making process, and let me know if any of this needs further explanation or if you have a certain question. Something to note is that i did not work in the M&A group at BOFA so my experience will not directly parallel yours.

Kills me 90% of people answering here are interns

What is the prestige perception b/w JPM M&A vs. EVR/CVP/PJT?

Let's put aside exit opps for a second - from a purely probabilistic standpoint, in a decade, you're not going to be in a role where it matters either way. So go to the place that pays you more and makes your analyst stint at least semi-tolerable, and not necessarily in that order of import.