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There was a pretty accurate post a while back about top shops in Chicago. Moelis is certainly up there after hiring away talent from BAML and DB.

Quality Firms in Chicago Elite boutiques: Lazard, Moelis, and Greenhill BBs: CS, JPM, Citi, MS Middle Market: Blair, Lincoln, Baird

May have a missed a few so no need to throw any monkey dung!

MD at BAML Chicago was on the Heinz deal but haven't heard much else about that office (industrial and consumer groups). Also, I haven't heard about the Chicago presence for GS and Barclays.

 
GED or BustThere was a pretty accurate post a while back about top shops in Chicago. Moelis is certainly up there after hiring away talent from BAML and DB.

Quality Firms in Chicago Elite boutiques: Lazard, Moelis, and Greenhill BBs: CS, JPM, Citi, MS Middle Market: Blair, Lincoln, Baird

May have a missed a few so no need to throw any monkey dung!

MD at BAML Chicago was on the Heinz deal but haven't heard much else about that office (industrial and consumer groups). Also, I haven't heard about the Chicago presence for GS and Barclays.

GS has a good presence in Chicago, where the Industrials and Consumer/Retail groups are.

 
peinvestor2012 GED or Bust:

There was a pretty accurate post a while back about top shops in Chicago. Moelis is certainly up there after hiring away talent from BAML and DB.

Quality Firms in Chicago
Elite boutiques: Lazard, Moelis, and Greenhill
BBs: CS, JPM, Citi, MS
Middle Market: Blair, Lincoln, Baird

May have a missed a few so no need to throw any monkey dung!

MD at BAML Chicago was on the Heinz deal but haven't heard much else about that office (industrial and consumer groups). Also, I haven't heard about the Chicago presence for GS and Barclays.

GS has a good presence in Chicago, where the Industrials and Consumer/Retail groups are.

Interesting. Did Byron Trott use to work in that office?

 

HL would fall into the MM bracket, definitely a pretty big banking office that competes with those listed. They have their head of industrials (also a board member), head of healthcare, and head of consumer all in Chicago. Plus a few MDs in restructuring.

 

Moelis Chicago seems pretty cutthroat. Haven't heard much good about culture but seems like some people like it.

With Lazard Chicago, you should be careful between which group you're looking at - restructuring is very strong, did the Tribune deal. Pretty good exits to some brand name PE/credit firms. I don't know as much about M&A other than to say that it's not quite on the same level and does a lot of industrials/auto deals.

 
Kemp

Which one's have the best exit opps for analysts? Do people generally stay in Chicago for buyside? PE or HF?

Generally Chicago or MW (Minneapolis, STL, WI, OH, IN, MI) for buy side. It depends on what you want to do. If you want mega or large PE shops, clearly BBs. If you want MM, Blair, Lincoln, Baird and others place as well as any MM groups.

 

Have two buddies in Chicago: one at a top BB and one at a top boutique previously mentioned. Guy at elite boutique told me PE opportunities in NYC are very difficult to get out of Chicago office, especially given lack of facetime/networking with NYC PE headhunters and management. Analyst at BB told me NYC exit opps are hard to come by, but not impossible, it requires you to be on good standing with your MD and your MD to reach out to his contacts. Both said Chicago exit opps abound for a top BB/elite boutique analyst and there are plenty of strong PE names in the city.

 

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