Low Deal Flow
So my team of 9 only managed to close 1 deal this year. I am working at one of the larger banks in the middle market space. I am not sure if to switch roles or wait and see if next year pan out to be better in terms of deal flow. It seems that we might be first to get axed if the bank decides to do another round of firings.
So my question is, should I begin to look around or wait it out and see if things get better next year. I am a first year associate on this team.
Not great but for only 9 people that doesn't sound way below where the market is.
Are you a brand new first year ASO or came in as an analyst? You can't really move until you have a year of experience and even then, you are going to have a very hard time given the lateral market is basically closed.
Came in as an analyst and will finish 1st year in December. Yeah, lateral market is though. I am thinking of maybe pursuing an MBA.
MBA is a big waste of time and money if you're already ASO at a MM... basically wasting $200k and 2 years. You just need to wait for the lateral market to improve but MM -> BB/EB is very doable
1 deal amongst 9 is honestly not bad. Lot of BB groups with 60 people that only closed 4-5 deals.
What industry? 4-5 deals does not sufficiently cover team overhead + meet targets unless they are huge deals
HC/Tech
Order of magnitude (no specific numbers are necessary unless you are comfortable with that), how many (1) sell-side deals have you guys worked on (since you are a coverage group, this can also include any securities issuances but it doesn’t seam like that’s what you meant), (2) how many buy-side deals has your team worked on, and (3) how many deals your team has gotten into phase II DD?
There are two main things to remember. (i) Your job as a low-level IB professional is NOT to get deals done. You are a process monkey. The actual end result doesn’t really matter. Your promotions will almost guaranteed to not be based on if the deal closed and neither will any potential lateral hire. Now, your team may face cuts if there isn’t visibility into your team bringing in some acceptable amount of revenue but you can’t control that. Unless you are Leon Black you are not a profit center. (ii) What matters is how many times have you actually gone through an entire process. How many times have you gotten to through all the steps. How many times have you done the process is far more important than the actual end result of the process. That will determine a lot of your initial job promotions/lateral ability/job security
(edit: cleaned up some god awful grammar)
I kind of see this advice repeated on this forum and get puzzled every time. Yes, you have very little control over the success of your deals as a junior, but still the success of your deals as a junior has a tremendous impact on your career trajectory and opportunities.. unless you’re at a top BB/EB and recruiting 1 week into the job, of course. You can only get away with being “unlucky” with no deals or repeated failed processes for so long before it hurts your career.
This is a scenario where most people’s intuition is correct: being in a group that gets deals closed consistently is important. At my bank the analysts with the best deal experience or most closed deals are the top bucket ones about 100% of the time. The analysts and associates with the best deal experience and most closed deals get the promotions about 100% of the time. The groups that have the most deal flow have the least layoffs about 100% of the time. Has there ever been a “unlucky” analyst with 6 failed processes that got promoted and top bonus over the analyst that had multiple closed M&A deals? Idk maybe but I’ve never heard of it or seen it in the real world.
I’m by no means saying that having great deal experience guarantees top bucket and promotions, but it’s almost a requirement to be in the conversation, and the lack of it is a serious drawback and opens you up to mediocre reviews, layoffs, mediocre bonuses. I’ve seen this movie before many times, and have been on the both sides of this coin myself so not speaking from a high horse.
Which is all to say, from my humble experience, if you are in a group with consistently poor deal flow over years due to factors that can’t and won’t change, do whatever it takes to get into a group that does not have this problem (internally or at another firm). Some questions or problems in life are complicated but this is not one of them. You don’t control your group’s deal flow, but you control what group you’re in. For context approaching 4th closed M&A deal in 2.5ish years at a MM bank.
Generally agree with this
Iusto non laboriosam sed. Velit ratione omnis vero impedit provident veritatis. Officiis a ut voluptatum voluptas quas est. Ducimus assumenda in nemo consequuntur vel saepe nihil veritatis.
Quis asperiores vel velit eius voluptates alias ut. Nobis eaque suscipit aspernatur atque suscipit vel. Eum et aut magnam repellendus architecto. Qui et asperiores est quis perspiciatis velit ipsum. Corrupti qui consequatur aliquid magnam velit nam ipsam. Voluptatem aperiam nisi veritatis facilis illum. Ex ea non libero dolorem nulla eligendi occaecati.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...