Lincoln or Stephens?
Pretty simple, Lincoln or Stephens for analyst gig? Any additional insights would be helpful. From the south, so the Stephens role (Dallas/Atlanta) would be more ideal location wise, but feel like Lincoln has slightly better dealflow and slightly larger deals (but not entirely sure about that - could be wrong). I will be focused on doing banking long-term so not too concerned with exit ops. Both seem like places that do a lot of promoting from within so that's good. Chicago would most likely not be a long-term place for me to live, so would probably at some point move down south at another shop. If deal experience will be somewhat similar, I'm leaning Stephens due to location but would like to hear other's thoughts. Thanks
Would go with Stephens if you're aiming for a longer-term career in banking and want to be in the South. If you're gunning for a2a and you just ride it out at the same bank you will have a near untouchable reputation by the time you're an associate.
You could also very easily lateral to a bigger more national bank but honestly that might not be worth it. Careers in banking last until you burn out. Once that happens, you're done. So if you're in the city you like and want to stick with banking, could make sense to just stay at Stephens.
I’ve been at Stephens for several years now (A to VP). The firm really supports and wants people who desire a long-term career in banking. Promotion schedule is very structured and it’s fairly easy to reach VP if you are decent. I’m from the south as well and love the good ole boy club that is Stephens. Also, the comp is top tier for the region can’t be beat in Dallas or Atlanta. The culture may not be for everyone though. The leaders are very Jerry Jones-esque and that southern frat boy culture spills out across the firm. Happy to answer and questions.
What groups are in the Atlanta office and how big are they? How is associate and vp comp?
Atlanta is a fairly small office. Dallas is much larger. I may be forgetting someone but I think the only groups in Atlanta are:
FIG
Industrial
Financial Sponsors
Debt Advisory
General Analyst pool
I’ll follow up with comp in a separate message
I’ve heard good things about Stephens anecdotally. Lincoln is also a good place but if you want to be in the south sounds like Stephens is the way to go
Any insight on the Stephens restructuring group in Dallas?
Any insight into the comp at these places? How does Stephens ATL/DAL comp compare to that in a HCOL area?
Pay is the same for Stephens in every office. 90k for 1st years, same with bonus pool.
Is bonus ~75% of salary? Or does it fall short of other more established shops?
Do you think Stephens analyst pay will increase to 100k to be in line with Truists new 100k pay bump?
Stephens recently implemented salary bumps across the board. $10k for analyst, $15k for associate, $20k for VP. Salaries in this thread are stale now. 1Y associate is now $155k
This is actually higher now. Associates at $185, Analysts at $110 for Stephens.
Just received a first-round phone interview for 23 summer at SF office, but found little info about it, any insights would be appreciated!
The people who are on here telling you to go to Stephens are 100p Stephens employees! Anybody with a brain in the industry knows that Lincoln is a far better bank, no competition. They will pay you better, you will 10x the exit opps (just linkedin that one), the people there are smarter, and you will work on much bigger deals (on average). Basically, Lincoln is a genuine MM bank, comparable to a Stifel and just behind Baird/HW types
stephens kids will definitely downvote this, so just go read some more posts on WSO and research
Lincoln has better exit opps even in the south, so just go do ur two years at a reputable shop, and have fun in Chi town for a while. Then you can lateral back down south easily
My two cents:
Lincoln very sweaty, decent exit opps into MM PE, if that’s what you want. I personally wouldn’t want to be a career banker there.
Stephen’s probably the better option if you want to be a career banker. Clearly the people on this forum love being there. I don’t think their exits are nearly as good, but IB comp in LCOL cities is pretty hard to beat, especially if you are from there.
Lol Stephens Atlanta is historically one of the sweatiest teams in country. Doubt Lincoln is that bad
and they still get paid like shit and have no exit opps lmao
Stephens Atlanta is actually full of some of the most demanding assholes you’ll meet in banking. There’s no reason for anyone to care on this site, but they routinely basically have a majority of each analyst class split before the end of the analyst stint (if not before their first year bonus)
Thoughts on Stephens Analyst program (Dallas/Atlanta) vs. Lower MM Shop in LA
stephens is a LMM
I currently work at Stephens and there’s just so much wrong information on here. Stephens is mostly LMM whereas Lincoln is more MM.
Pay: 105k for 1st years, 115k for second and 185k for associates (does not increase over the years), then 225k for VP’s.
Bonus: 35-50k was the range for first years last year, so def not 75%-100% as others have mentioned lol Now COL is cheap in most Stephens cities, so that makes up for some. I’m not sure on 2nd year bonuses.
Hours: Depending on office but most are extremely sweaty with consistent 85-95 hour weeks and constant weekend work. Also don’t expect to take a vacation during your analyst stint (no one has at your office).
Culture: Southern and fratty but extremely nice. No assholes and never once gotten yelled at or done wrong by anyone. Very high exposure to senior bankers, travel etc. However people are very demanding. Class sizes are small and most deals there are no associates or VP’s, which means tons of learning and responsibilities for analysts, but also very long hours.
i don’t know much abt the Dallas office but heard it’s cushier, so the above may not apply.
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