I was hoping to get some more information on financial sponsors groups and what they actually do. I know it can be really firm dependent, but for the most part all of the discussion here on fsg groups basically is "do they model or not" because most people here only care about LBO PE exit ops, which isn't something I'm interested in.
Other than that, there's no other real information about what sort of work groups like this do. I know within some fsg groups there's hedge fund coverage and private equity coverage. How do these two different areas of work differ?
I'd imagine hedge fund coverage within fsg would mostly be on the credit/activism/new issuance areas, but I really have no idea and would love to learn more.
What are interviews for these types of roles like? Considering there seems to be less of a modeling heavy aspect of these jobs (I know, some model a ton), are interview questions generally less focused on financial statements and more behaviorally/market heavy? What areas should someone interviewing for these roles focus on while preparing?
What banks have the best cultures/hours in fsg? Also which banks in fsg are the sweatiest and have shitty cultures so I can avoid them. To add to this, personally I'm only interested in NY based groups.
Any first hand insight from people who have worked in these groups would greatly appreciated, as someone who's interested recruiting for fsg analyst roles.
Credit Suisse FSG is the best on the street followed by BAML FSG AND JPM FSG. Each of the three groups are execution focused (analysts model), while other banks like MS FSG, is more relationship based. It operates like LevFin, but sponsor oriented. As an analyst, your job is really no different than any other gig in banking. You build CIMs, LBOs, attend meetings, and pitch to the bank’s internal risk committee. FSG exits are typically oriented towards PE funds or lateraling to other banks and doing FSG or LevFin.
Source: Interned at BAML/CS FSG and have interviewed and received offers from Citi, MS, DB where I exclusively networked with FSG bankers
UBS should be in this discussion. CS / UBS are widely known across the sponsor world for extremely strong execution and are hands down the strongest groups in both banks and the biggest revenue drivers. Also operates exactly like CS sponsors. IMO both of these groups offer some of the best training you can get on wall street.
This ^ Anyone who is active in the sponsor world knows CS and UBS are leading banks in the space. Check league tables for B3 / B trades - they are both consistently top 5.
Currently a full time analyst in FSG, but can’t speak to any of the BB’s.
My impression is that the best resourced banks lean on their FSG less than smaller EB / MM / Regional banks (this shouldn’t surprise you, less bodies in seats at these smaller firms means more responsibility to go around). This may be where you get the impression that FSG is a sleepy place to work. Saw some posts about FSG bankers working minimal hours for the same titles and pay as execution roles. As with most things in life, it really just depends on the situation.
So in these smaller organizations (with likely smaller FSG teams as well), my experience has been that FSG will source deals that align with the investment bank’s strategy from their PE clients (example, here’s a small bolt-on acquisition for one of your platforms, or let’s consider resetting this portfolio company’s capital structure with a dividend recap).
FSG has to be mindful of the bank’s risk parameters and source deals they know the bank can have a meaningful role in (pitching for LL’s, not a participant title with 15 other banks and a 2% pro rata share). Often times the hardest part of the job is getting all of the right people to buy in on a deal internally before we even consider asking credit risk for their approval.
So is FSG a 2 year modeling camp? No, probably not. But since we’re sourcing deals the initial financing view is the most important part of the process and requires an understanding of leveraged loan market dynamics, pro-forma combinations of business and capital structures. You then have to display all of that in a visually attractive and technical manner in your pitch materials, often to the PE client, the portfolio company management and the credit committee all without losing the thread and keeping everyone together until you can toss the deal over to your execution partners.
It’s a much more creative role than M&A in my opinion and very material heavy. If you like pitch work and want to learn about the grease that keeps PE funds moving, FSG is where you’ll find it.