MBB to IB, has it ever happened?
Hi WSO,
I started in consulting at MBB a bit less than a year ago and overall enjoy the hours, the people, and the projects I have been working on. Recently I have worked on cases for blue chip PE firms (CDDs, etc.), and I have decided that joining the investment team of an UMM/MF PE fund is what I ideally want to do. Important to note that I already have experience in BB IB through internships and in finance through studies, however I decided to go for MBB in the end to broaden my horizons and skillset.
Given how hot the IB lateral market is and that IB experience is very much preferred for buyside recruiting, does it make sense to switch to a GS/MS/JPM caliber bank and start over? Has anyone ever done this? Will this raise eyebrows more than anything?
I really enjoy modeling and more broadly finance theory and while I realise the hours are brutal, I believe to have an above average appetite for work (i.e. I am a nerd and do not mind working a lot). Culturally I think people in consulting are nicer/more interesting, but I have gelled well with bankers too in the past. Projects I think would be more interesting at this point in banking for me, but no marked preferences either way. I would be lying if the better comp in banking wasn't a factor here, although not the main one.
At this point I am more leaning towards staying where I am, but curious to hear other people's opinions.
I had a networking call with someone who went from MBB to a solid BB. No insight other than that but it’s def possible
If this is Bain, I'd stay and try to go to consultant-friendly PE firms honestly. Heard their DD projects can be super interesting/intense. Probably better exposure to an overall business strategically than as a junior banker at big banks.
Haha it seems like the grass-is-greener mindset exists in both IB and consulting.
At an EB doing M&A right now and recently thought about transitioning over to MBB (ultimately decided it against it because also interested in PE, comp, etc).
Based on your post, I think you should strongly consider EBs (esp CVP, EVR, PJT) in addition to GS, MS, JPM. They place well into PE and are generally more technical at the junior level. You'll also have the opportunity to do less procedural and more strategic advisory work, which it seems like you'd be interested in.
If you're at McK/Bain in particular, I definitely think it would be doable to transition, provided you can demonstrate you have the necessary technical skills. Just get networking and cast a wide net.
Def some of that grass is greener going on. For sure top EBs would be considered too, just that they are not as strong in my geography as they are in the US.
I'm at a MF/UMM that regularly hires half bankers and half consultants. Despite coming from a banking background, through my interactions with my consulting counterparts, it seems like MBB to PE is quite common. Switching to banking from MBB doesn't really make sense IMO, unless you want to jump into HF immediately afterwards. Even then, the path to least resistance is still staying
biased opinion here (also at mbb, zero interest in banking whatsoever) but mbb -> pe is a very common path these days. surprised you havent had any recruiters reach out with buyside opps, and even if you haven't, it's as simple as reaching out proactively to the relevant headhunters and letting them you're interested in PE
Thank you for chiming in everyone, seems like consensus is that gains would be marginal at best. The initial worry was that I would be shutting the door to funds like Apollo, Warburg, Blackstone, KKR, etc. but I guess there are enough other great funds that it shouldn't be an issue anyway (and not like I had a great shot a those either any way)
You should check out the PE forum, there have been a # of discussions in the past about consultant friendly PE shops to target, some examples below as a start:
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/consultant-friendly-pe-shops
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/listtop-consultant-friendly-pe-f…
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/consultant-friendly-mm-pe-firms
MBB -> PE is definitely doable. Unless you’re interested in career banking (or the comp that would come with the switch), I’m not sure if you’d get a huge benefit if you’re solely interested in PE recruiting.
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