35 Comments
 

pinkmonkey21, hey, look at the bright side, at least you didn't get a ton of monkey shit thrown at you...here is my best guess on threads that might be helpful:

More suggestions...

If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

To your question on is it investment banking: It is a product group within Lincoln, whose primary business is investment banking (M&A), but, VOG is much closer to Big4 valuations than what you would think of as "investment banking."

From what I have heard, it is a great gig because it pays much better than typical Big4 valuations roles and they are growing like crazy so I imagine job security, ability to move up and exposure to senior-level people are all great. Compared to banking, you also work less hours on average, and more importantly, your hours are much more predictable.

The downsides are 1) you still get crushed at the end of each quarter (they are some of the only people grinding right at year end around Christmas) and 2) I imagine it can be very mind-numbing work performing the same valuations every single quarter...

 

I got an offer there and the pay scale was as such:

Analyst: $85k base 30-40% bonus

Associate: $120k base 50-60% bonus

Keep in mind this was pre-covid. I know they bumped analyst base to $90 but not sure what happened to associate pay.

 

are hours comparable to IB? Also, I never applied but saw a VOG posting for LI on handshake a few months ago, and noticed the salary was quoted at 30/hr, I believe. Is salary then hourly and not annually?

 

Overall the culture is pretty good, but beware of one female MD who has such a toxic workaholic mindset and is constantly talking shit about analysts - especially other females - behind their backs. She is the largely the reason I quit. On an hour front, during busy seasons (quarter ends) hours are easily 80+ a week so be prepared to work banking hours or worse. In between quarter ends (slow season) hours drop down to about 50 per week.

 

It's a Valuations group within an investment bank. You are not going to be working on what people would typically describe as investment banking activities (e.g., M&A, equity raises, etc.). I think people on this website have created their own definition of back office vs. front office, but if your definition of back office is administrative and support work (e.g., accounting, compliance, etc.) then no, it is not back office. They work with clients, typically asset managers and private equity, to do quarterly valuations of their investments. They also do various transaction and fairness opinions. For example, a public company makes acquisition and hires them to do a fairness opinion to show the Board they paid a fair price.

 

I work in VOG. It’s a pretty awesome group. Lots of opportunity to get your hands on all kinds of investments and work with different sponsors. Learn a ton about private cap markets, especially private credit. Hours are tough during the quarter, I would say that’s the only downside. Comp is very good, slightly below banking but probably around twice what you’d get at a Big 4 Val shop.

 

Can anyone speak as to what the interview processes was like? I have a call coming up and am wondering if the first round is anything technical or just an interest gauge.

 

Explicabo voluptas dolorem aut adipisci debitis qui. Eos aperiam quaerat ut dolores voluptatum accusamus ducimus. Occaecati nulla voluptatem ipsum reprehenderit.

Voluptates est porro deleniti ut. Rem repellendus qui et dicta ad ut accusamus. Saepe placeat alias porro sit beatae esse atque. Aut non dicta sit exercitationem sunt. Repellat sequi blanditiis qui. Possimus id ut eius modi reiciendis dolor.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”