Most technical groups?
Hello monkeys,
I was looking at different banking groups to see which one I would prefer. I am looking for the most technical and “math” related group. Which groups, both coverage and product, are the most technical and modeling focused?
Probably Infra from a coverage perspective
Infra or FIG. Pick your poison.
Thanks, and very creative username
Ones listed above + RX probably
Infra, O&G
i feel like rx is a clear choice.
Coverage: PUI, O&G, FIG, Metals & mining - industry specific modeling that generalist M&A groups don't hold the pen on
Product: Rx, M&A - self explanatory
Maybe consider just going into quantitative finance. That said I remember Moelis having a quant MD as part of their risk advisory / mortgage finance / FIG team back in the 2010s. That guy seemed to be very technical and math oriented.
Good luck 🧮✖️➗➕➖🟰♾️💻
I will stick to basic arithmetic thank you
O&G and RX, when I recruited, seemed to have the most technical and industry specific interview questions
RX and Infra
LOL. Go to Jane Street
IB technicals across groups are largely very easy and a commodity. Yes that includes FIG and Infra, maybe a longer learning curve, but a commodity nonetheless. Nobody gets promoted in coverage (where the real money is) because of technical skill. The job at the senior level is fundamentally a sales job. Product MDs are more technical in nature, but there's far less money in being a commodity, a guy who can execute an M&A transaction, versus being someone who has relationships / can bring in deals, as ultimately that is a far harder and uncommon skillset than execution. Outside of quant-heavy firms, all of finance is primarily a soft-skills game. Being the most technical person in the room is not what gets you paid after you leave your analyst two years.None of this means don't learn the technicals, as they are table-stakes for all of these career paths in IB/PE/non-quant HF. If you genuinely want math to be the job rather than the ticket in, you're describing quant type work, not banking.
Just adding to the above - there are those who can be profitable in commodity businesses. It’s just general those who can either produce the highest quality commodity at the best price (like Venezuelan thick oil or whatever at cheaper prices than light sweet U.S. crude or for example just high quality coffee beans or whatever) or just being the low cost provider of that commodity (like the lowest cost miner of gold). And a spectrum.
People can make money in commodity businesses but it’s a different skillset
For execution MD’s that generally can mean they get the best execution. Like Bid’em up Bruce Wasserstein from what I read. Or CVP (at least earlier days from what I recall) getting way best price for biotech assets in the market. Like running a bake off and seeing which bank offers the highest price for the asset and most likely to actually get it done. Or alternatively being the lowest cost way to execute a deal. An MD who can crank out a flawless CIM, model, data room, buyer list, etc without draining firm resources. Maybe they just need one dedicated fresh college analyst who effectively costs the firm $300k or whatever and then this MD can get done a $1bn sell side that brings in $10mm of fees.
Just some thoughts to add to the discussion. Thanks.
Cheers
Maybe I am jaded and cynical but this seems a rose tinted view of the product groups MDs.
CVP get's the best price in sell-sides in biotech because their seniors know all the potential buyers in the industry to a level nobody else in terms of connectivity does (similar idea to Qatalyst in Tech). Major corproates or start-ups looking to sell go to Quattrone and Boutros at Qatalyst for their deals even if they charge more than most banks because in the end of the day if they can get a few turns more of EBITDA that is far more valuable than their fee, given the size of the businesses Qatalyst is selling.
Relationships is a key driver of solid execution. We hire banks on primarily their bench of seniors and the relationships they hold. A cheaper MD resource wise is benefical to the bank, but not nearly to the same extent as the MD who brings in the deal itself or has the relationships needed to connect buyer and seller.
Thanks for the honest reply. Can you clarify though why you said coverage is where the real money is? I’m guessing they bring in the clients but feel free to answer
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