What are the benefits of a generalist M&A-RX program at Centerview/Moelis etc. over a sector group at a top-tier bulge bracket in terms of deal exposure, work experience, and exit opps?
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Also curious about what Centerview exit ops are after 3 years if you do decide to go into PE/HF?
For what it's worth, Centerview is one of the worst places to work on the street. The hours are brutal beyond belief and the three-year commitment essentially makes you a slave with no opportunity to leave unless you want to pay back your signing bonus. Yeah, CVP is pretty much modern day slavery.
False
I mean my best friend from school works there and we have compared our experiences, hours, etc. He literally works 100+ hours almost every week and feels really trapped after a year and a half. I know others who interned/worked there who felt the same way too.
oh ok then you're right. i actually heard it's a nice place to work
+1. CVP gets a lot of good press for the big ass bonus and the "supportive culture" but they really are a sweatshop, and the clawbacks blow. Its not a bad place to be by any means but its still banking at the end of the day, and it's banking for an extra year at that.
To the original question, your overall M&A experience (in terms of exposure to specifically M&A or RX deal process) will likely be better at one of the boutiques. Your lifestyle, as in hours worked, and exposure to non-M&A aspects of the deal (financing commitments, industry trends / overview, management's strategic considerations) will likely be better at a coverage group at a BB.
Exits are gonna be on the candidate more so than the group name in this case since both have a pedigree associated with them and might be slightly dependent on what coverage group / what bank - but generally good candidates from any good bank will have opportunities in recruitment if they are really invested in the recruitment process.
I would say high-level, you should go wherever you think you will be less miserable. If you are going to be happy spending all your time auditing VDDs, opening and managing VDRs, and doing DD for buyers, with a fair amount of modeling and some slide deck work mixed in, I think the boutique M&A group is probably a better fit. If you prefer doing more pitch work, learning more about the industries and companies you are working with from a consultant's (qualitative) perspective and getting a better view of the equity and debt financing in your industry, the coverage group will work better for you.
Note: i dont have a fucking clue about RX so didnt comment on it
Can confirm this very true. Also best friend works there and he/she works 100+ hrs consistently at least 3 months...
Really? I have heard quite literally the exact opposite of that (barring the 3 year commitment) from analysts who work there. Is this heavily group dependent? I'm not super close with the two analysts I know and when I see them we don't usually talk about work too much anymore, so maybe that was just their first impressions when they joined. Either way, kind of surprised to hear but idk what I was expecting considering how many deals they do.
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Moelis seems to be the most balanced I'd say when it comes to the generalist platform across products. Really solid restructuring with really solid M&A. Centerview is more top notch M&A with ok restructuring.
As far as exits go for Moelis, there is a surprisingly large amount of distressed exits (further proof of their balanced program). You'll see tons of Moelis people at Apollo and Ares PE, in addition to a good amount in upper MM PE, but also a ton in special situation type funds.
In terms of answering the core question, my perception is that exits from a place like Moelis and Centerview will be much more broad than a BB (other than more people in the BB going immediately to corp dev). This holds true for the work experience as well - you'll touch much more things and be good at a lot of fields rather than really good at one sector/product.
Which would be better for someone wanting to be a career banker post MBA?
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