London Investment Banks
This fall, I'm going to a masters program that is heavily recruited by London investment banks. I was hoping someone could shed some light on the perceived quality of the major banks in London. I know that generally speaking the best banks in the USA are going to be the top banks in London (I'm sure GS TMT and MS M&A are big time players in London), but what about the other guys? UBS and DB don't seem to get much respect in the USA, but I would imagine that as European banks they do better in London. If anyone could provide insight on any of the following banks I'd be grateful:
GS MS Barcap UBS DB CS BOAML JPM Blackstone Rothschild Lazard
Clearly the best one is GS, hands down!
After GS, most European banks are pretty strong as well. CS is very strong in Europe, so is Rothschild.
Barcap is currently building its IB operations, so will have to wait a few years to see how strong they are, I personally wouldnt join them now.
In London, it is a different ball game to the US, I am sure Lazard, Evercore etc are considered better than some of the BB banks. However in london, I have the feeling that most people only care whether you are from a BB or not, so I wouldnt go to a boutique if I get a BB offer.
We don't obsess over inter/exter-firm differences like you guys do.
So no.
Get your offers first, then make a thread when you have difficulty making a decision. It's not like anything anyone says here will stop you from applying to ALL those firms you listed anyway.
wow, what a cunt- someone is obviously english
also, what the fuck is exter?
anyways to the OP, UBS and DB both do well in London.
At risk of this turning in to a ranking thread, GS & MS are generally seen as slightly ahead of the others, BarCap as slightly behind, but group matters more than bank, and the differences are not seen as starkly as they may be in the states.
The above poster is sort of right about boutiques, in that some good US boutiques (eg BX) are not seen as particularly strong in the UK, but there are also some European boutiques (eg Rothschild) that are much stronger than their American counterpart, or don't even have an American counterpart (eg JPM Cazenove). It is completely incorrect to state "most people only care whether you are from a BB or not."
Finally, while master's are more respected in Europe than in the states, do not go in there thinking that you will have the pick of the litter just because you got in to a decent program in exchange for paying tuition through the nose. Unless you went to a good school for undergrad, and have prior banking experience, you'll be at a disadvantage to both your peers and all the undergrads from day one - recruiters will wonder why you weren't good enough to get in previously.
You should spend your time worrying about getting an offer from more than one of the banks on your list, and then you can start considering rankings.
well, went to a good undergrad, have internship experience, speak 3 languages, have european citizenship, and got a full scholarship to the school i will be attending so i don't think recruiters will be doubting me. also, it's completely common for students to do a masters directly after undergrad without full time work experience- recruiters aren't going to be wondering about why you weren't good enough to get in previously, that's just silly.
and i don't think i will have the pick of the litter, but i do think i will be getting interviews from many of these banks, ergo my desire to know more about how they stack up to their american versions.
Your sense of entitlement is laughable. Being fluent in 2-3 languages is standard in Europe, and so is getting your masters after your undergrad.
Like others have said, go get your offers first, then consider which firm carries the biggest reputation in Europe. I doubt you'd forgo submitting your resume to one of the mentioned banks or take the interview less seriously since they weren't top 3 on your rankings.
Wow. I guess there should be the separate section for banking in Europe on WSO...
We are less concerned about differences in prestige of banks/groups and many people choose places where they fit.
If you insist on ranking, it's probably something like:
BarCap is very strong in S&T, but IBD is still very weak!
When it comes to boutiques, Rothschiild & Lazard are on par with BBs, but forget aobut Greenhill, Moellis, Evercore etc. - there is no recognition of these brands here...
But I know the guys who chose UBS/Citi over JPM/MS because of the culture...
Good luck with Masters/FT recruiting!
There is a hell lot of recognition of Greenhill, Moellis and Evercore in London. Greenhill is def as good as Rothschild, if not better for some areas. Evercore is slightly less prestigious.
Agreed, GHL London is doing quite well.
Don't desregard Nomura, those guys are becoming pretty agressive in europe!
I think in Europe JPM is on par with GS in terms of prestige. In terms of deal flow, JPM is unmatched. Esp. in ECM and DCM, GS is few positions behind. I think one player that is soon to enter top 3 and replace MS is BAML.
Are there a lot of smaller boutiques/MM too that recruit at LSE LBS etc?
A decent number.
"Recruit" is probably not the right term in Europe for what boutiques/MM do - some will post on career services, but because there is no OCR, most won't bother coming on campus, except maybe for 1 or 2 career fairs. However, because all apps are online, they'll definitely look at the online apps from their defined "targets," of which LSE & LBS will be members
From what I know, Blackstone and Houlihan Lokey recruit at LBS but I'm not sure about LSE.
I meant non-elite random banks. That is, if one was not good enough to make it to BB or elite-boutique like Blackstone, Greenhill etc, will he still be able to place at a relatively unknown smaller one. (something like baird or suntrust in the US)
Greenhill, Moellis and Evercore are NON EXISTENT in Europe, prestige wise. It just doesnt happen.The only one considered prestigious is Lazard, and even then plenty of people would choose a BB like UBS or BAML instead. Also, exit opportunities from boutiques not good. I'm yet to see a PE associate (in Europe) coming from Moelis, Greenhill and Evercore. Rothschild is pretty much middle-market in Europe-they do a lot of transactions in the $50M-$300M range-but again, not as prestigious as ANY BB.
Rothschild and Greenhill are both very well regarded in London.
I'll repeat my previous post:
A decent number. Anybody you've ever heard of who is hiring and a decent number of those you haven't heard of will "recruit" at both schools. Refer to previous posts for the meaning of "recruit" in a London context.
Top Investment Banks in London? (Originally Posted: 09/23/2007)
What are the top banks to work for in London? Is is the same as the USA, where it is Goldman, Morgan, Lehman, then all the rest or is it completely different in London?
Goldman is still very strong UBS is currently #1 in UK M&A (by league tables and perception) Rothschild is a player, whereas you never hear about them in the USA Lazard is beefing up (just hired Costa)
Barclays. Duh
Citi is actually no. 1 now in M&A and also for equity issuance.
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