44 Comments
 

Chicago was ~20 offers for ~30 interns. NYC was a bit better. Regional offices got hit pretty hard, heard Dallas was like 30%.

Lots of people waitlisted so I imagine those numbers will rise slightly but still pretty shitty to flaunt a high 90s offer rate and then axe like 30+ interns

 
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Got a buddy who interns there (not saying which office). The firm completely went back on their “the return offer is yours to lose” thesis, assuming due to the IPO and AI. Regarding offer rates: Chicago 50%, maybe less, Dallas ~1/3 and NY in the same realm. They’ve implemented a waitlist this year too which seems to be more or less a soft rejection.

Heard reviews were absolutely brutal too with half-assed and blatantly false feedback. Would absolutely reconsider Lincoln post-IPO from the sounds of it.

 

What’s the relevance of having IPOed? Comps have lower employee compensation?

 

Think it's because they have shareholders to report to now, just shaving off expenses anyway they can to boost share price. Could be wrong tho

 
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ignore the title. have a friend who works there and a family friend interning there. probably a byproduct of hiring from a shit ton of non target schools like iowa, W&L, ohio state, etc. when 60% of your interns come from schools that dont even rank in the top 50, not sure you can expect some good analysts. sorry but that’s the harsh truth - they just aren’t as prepped and dont know what to expect going into it

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

I can personally guarantee you that Iowa kids are better at this job than you

 

I think many MM banks like Lincoln will slash return offers due to a combination of weaker deal pipelines + AI

On the pipeline side, many MM banks rely heavily on sponsors for recurring sell-side mandates as PE firms exit their platforms. However, the supply of high-quality platforms is shrinking as the sponsor universe becomes increasingly crowded and fundraising slows. There are now plenty of “zombie” PE firms that are unlikely to raise another fund or build another credible platform

AI also lowers barriers to entry and allowing LMM advisory firms to operate with leaner teams. I have always believed AI will affect the middle market more than the $1 billion-plus market. Large-cap transactions are highly relationship-driven and often depend on rainmakers at BBs and EBs initiating strategic conversations. In the LMM, execution is more standardized, and buyers do not give a shit to quality of ur CIMs or data room. As AI automates more of that execution work, MM banks will need fewer junior resources to support the same volume of deals

Now LincoIn's strongest revenue generation unit is PFA (secondary + fundraising), but now competitions are also picking up. Almost all non-balance sheet banks start to build out this platform
 

 

interned at Lincoln this summer. would agree with your point on lackluster intern class. the interns this year were all wannabe ferds but they’re all in bouse. and on top of that we have guys from schools like bates thinking they’re gonna be the next david solomon

 

Dang, this year at a recruitment event they were advertising that they give 95% of interns return offers. Unfortunate.

 

Lincoln M&A is PE shop. PE not selling. Growth in VOG rn (Pretty much 100% return for VOG).

 

Curious if this is at all tied to BBs like GS, JPM, Bofa, starting to reach into the MM and take market share from MM firms. Wonder if we will see similar trends with the HW / Solomon / Pipers of the world. 

 

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