Many of us first year MBA students are starting to ramp up recruiting. Part of that process involves narrowing down a list of groups to target during the networking period before interviews. To avoid the discussion on Coverage vs M&A (for which there are already a number of helpful threads), please assume that the student has already decided to pursue industry coverage groups (incl. Sponsors).
For those that have been in our shoes: Which group did you choose and why?
For anyone working in IB coverage group: Which industries do you think are most interesting to cover/analyze?
I am aware that this can be very bank dependent (for example does coverage do M&A in house, how strong is deal flow, etc.). I'm mostly just hoping for some broad opinions on industries.
It can be difficult to find this information online, especially on a forum that is focused more on the analyst level and therefore prioritizes exit opps over long term banking careers.
Bump
Which group did you choose and why?
Levfin: I knew m&a and the top industry teams would be super competitive to get into and also knew a lot of people didn't really know much about levfin, so I picked them as my #1 and got it. Happy with the choice.
Which industries do you think are most interesting to cover/analyze?
This one is tougher to answer unless you personally have a strong interest in one sector. For me that sector is financial services. I think they are the most interesting companies. There's also a lot of subsectors within the field which makes it fascinating in my opinion
Did you weigh Financial Sponsors vs. Lev Fin? If you were interviewing at a bank whose Fin. Sponsors does the modeling
Yes there is a lot of overlap although at some banks they are two separate teams with fsg focusing on all products/industries. Something to consider.
The groups are really not that comparable to be honest. Lev Fin is much closer to DCM than sponsors.
Sponsors is a coverage group... The modeling and focus areas for an M&A transaction will obviously not be the same as a debt issuance, even if the types of companies you look at are similar.
Your rationale makes sense, thanks for the explanation.
If you don't mind me asking, how highly ranked was your school? You mentioned that coverage/product teams were extremely competitive. From what I've seen the "banking" M7s (Wharton/Booth/CBS) will place nearly 100% of their prospects into product/coverage groups.
What does the recruitment process look like at the MBA level for someone interested in LevFin, but without prior finance experience?
I think it's an absolutely terrible idea to target industry groups based off what's stronger at which bank. Same with based on who does the modeling - if you're coming in at the associate level, does it really matter?
This leads you to have to keep a number of different stories straight (i.e. lie to every bank) about your interests, leaves you less well prepared than your peers as you get spread too thin. Also, the first year associates lead the initial rounds of recruiting and all know their school teams across different banks. People gossip about candidates - if you tell Goldman you're super interested in Tech and JPM you only want healthcare, you'll look like an idiot.
Most people choose industry based off of your pre-MBA work experience as it makes the story easier to tell and more believable. Those that don't choose an area where they have an interest and some tie to it - (maybe your uncle's dog sold medical supplies so gained a big interest in healthcare...)
If you have no idea, industrials, healthcare and tech generally have a lot of M&A and interesting trends going on in the sector. If you have no preference, would generally steer you towards industrials given lots of M&A and less popular.
Definitely agree with everything you have said, especially with teams talking to each other across banks (during my networking calls some guys knew about me and how I was before I even spoke to them). But, I would say that it's not very difficult to prepare for different groups in terms of stories and some technical questions. I mainly interviewed with 3 specific coverages across the different banks and ended up with an industry group at a bank that is at the top of the league tables for that coverage. I think there are multiple stories that can be crafted from one resume so one should make full use of it. But, I agree with the risk of one team talking to another and thus being found out. Just wanted to put this out there, though.
There are also soft ways to figure this out. At my school, if you're interested in a particular sector then you're probably very involved in that industry club on campus. If the second year students don't know you and you don't go to those events, the insincere interest can be sniffed out pretty easily.
Can I add to this by asking which groups you had on your ranking list and which you were placed? Would like to hear how well banks paired you.
I did M&A post-MBA. I was a former analyst in a coverage group that executed its own M&A (great experience, btw). But I found that I hated the "coverage" part of the job and was always drawn more to the M&A side and wished I could spend all of my time doing that.
In terms of which coverage groups to focus on, I would recommend doing what you are most interested in. The reason is that this is most likely where you will spend the rest of your career, as scary as that might sound. It's very rare to see someone spend their time in one industry and then switch industries when they exit. More practically, the hours are incredibly long. I couldn't imagine working 80+ hour weeks and pulling all nighters working on companies that I had no interest in.
If I didn't really feel strongly about a particular industry, I would focus on the ones where there are good exit opportunities. For me, that would be tech. Comp, lifestyle, and location are very attractive in big tech....as opposed to working in some other staid or dying industry. Do you really want to spend the rest of your career in Ohio working for some industrials company? Maybe but not for me.
You are thinking it wrong.
MBA recruiting you should be doing at max 1 coverage and 1 product group (so total of 2). The group you have should have some link to your prior career
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