Wanted to hear more recent opinions on this topic: which one would YOU personally choose, given learning opportunities, deal flow & exposure, prestige, lifestyle/culture, PE/corp fin exit ops, and overall experience? All for NYC. Which one would you rank first? Last?
Asking as a sophomore (HYPW) applying to 2020 SA opportunities, and confused about top-tier BB vs EB debate. Many thanks!
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GS/MS hands down unless I knew I was going to get my least favourite sector and/or knew half the office at EVR/PJT.
All factors equal (which they never are) MS/GS hands down for me.
Thanks! Could you maybe elaborate a bit more on your opinion?
I mean, i personally feel that its GS/MS hands down because of brand name (not that you think they're the best) but that people in outside high finance circles know them. if a friend tells you they have a buddy at MoCo/PJT/EVR, you shit your pants like "oh they must definitely fuch" but if you workedd at PJT and went to a bar, you may not be able to pick up a chick w the fact that you worked at PJT (unless shes a socialite) but your buddy at GS would hundos. Jokes aside, the real brand name argument is for if you see yourself outside of high finance. An established CEO who started his career at a well known shop just looks better than a firm only appreiciated by financiers. Like for me personally, i'm down to stay in finance so an EB is kinda perfect - at an EVR/PJT type, you're almost never pitching, you're doing interesting work and getting the most exposure to deal process possible and mitigating the risk of a coverage group at a GS/MS. and because one might be thinking about PE/Buyside after analyst years, you want as much of this as possible.
your prestige point is kinda moot - i think that you show exactly the opinion in high finance; GS/MS/PJT/EVR would be almost even w prestige. But outside of finance, no one might have heard of evercore or PJT (which sucks when you tell a pal that you pull a hundo hours last week and they ask where you work and they shrug their shoullders invalidating your effort)
Well if you can’t even pick up college chicks at B Bar by working at EVR/PJT, I really don’t see the point of even applying
Bump bump!!
I think the above comment nailed it pretty spot on. The reason you do banking (if you are not planning on staying forever) is to open up as many doors as possible. A top GS/MS group will place similar if not better than EVR/PJT, however the GS/MS name will also open up more doors outside of finance given it being a household name. Example being switching to corp dev or working at tech companies. Lastly, I prefer the GS/MS because it is also easier to transfer internationally if that is something you are interested in, like going to London for example, because the offices are much larger
Thanks for your reply, much appreciated!
This forum has an obscene obsession for boutiques fwiw
Everyone is trying to flat out say BB or EB is better but there are nuances you have to consider. Assuming you're competitive at any of these or have offers from them, then you've already made it so congrats. Here are a list of things you might want to consider (definitely not an exhaustive list).
Top BB will net more exits into PE just because it's a numbers game and they have more analysts. On a "which bank maximizes your chances as a % of analysts exiting into PE" basis it is probably even on average.
That brings you to ask yourself where you fit in in terms of culture and also which teams you think you're most likely to get placed into at the respective bank. If you have a preference for one vertical and you feel any one particular BB or EB would net you a better chance of getting there then that's something to consider.
In line with culture you should ask about the hours / how hard the teams in X vertical are worked. GS / MS may be a bit more streamlined in terms of the program itself because it's inherently larger and existed longer.
Which bank do you / your family / your network know more people at? Grinding out analyst years with maybe 5 of your close friends from college definitely helps, and while it may not be the deciding factor it's something I would definitely consider.
At the end of the day it's going to come down to how well you perform in your role, wherever you end up. Top bucket analysts will get top exits, so make sure you kick ass wherever you end up.
This has to be one of the worst threads I have seen in 2019.
All four are among the top places to start your career. It's like asking if you should start your career in Real Madrid or Barcelona - who tf cares, you're gonna do great anyway. They all have top groups in various segments and as an analyst, headhunters will want to sit down with you. If you can choose, go for the one with the best fit and never look back.
This is a tough one. Given MS / GS can be a crapshoot with group selection (and group significantly influences lifestyle, PE recruiting, culture etc.), I would personally lean towards PJT / EVR. Between PJT and EVR, I would lean towards PJT (private / purely focused on IBD). Allow me to elaborate below.
Caveats: If you are thinking about leaving finance after banking, MS / GS may be slightly better. If you want to be a career banker, it may be easier to make MD at MS / GS than partner at EVR / PJT. If you can get GS TMT / MS M&A / PJT Restructuring, take it.
Learning Opportunities / Deal Flow / Exposure - Tied, if you’re a good analyst at any of these places you’ll see good deals
Prestige - Goldman above the others, with the exception of aforementioned caveat. Very close.
Lifestyle / Culture - Very group dependent at GS / MS. I’ve heard Evercore has good culture but can grind. PJT I don’t know too much about but have heard lifestyle is pretty good.
Exits - With the exception of the aforementioned caveat, pretty even. Goldman is a lot less friendly about you looking around however and you can’t speak openly about recruiting.
Comp / Expense Policy - PJT best slightly ahead of Evercore which is way ahead of GS / MS. No shareholders to answer to at PJT. All in first year I’d expect PJT to be around 50% higher than BBs and EVR to be 20% higher.
PJT went public in 2015...
This is such a bizarre post and has so much information that is both factually incorrect (not even a subjective opinion, just factually wrong) Regarding the factually incorrect information: - PJT is public, not private - PJT is not exclusively IBD, at least in the traditional sense (See Park Hill for example)
Separately, restructuring is very different from M&A advisory. Unless you want to work specifically in restructuring, it just doesn't make sense to work in restructuring. The work is very different. If you want to work in traditional IBD for your career and have the opportunity to start in M&A advisory, you shouldn't start in restructuring.
Also, you say you don't know too much about PJT - which clearly shows based off he info you posted, yet you seem convinced comp is 50% higher than GS / MS? Based on what exactly...?
My miss on the public point.
PJT is the most IBD focused out of the four listed.
Restructuring still keeps PE / Corp Fin doors open - the group has a good reputation and places well.
On comp, MS / GS are probably around 10 / 85 / 55 signing / base / bonus for first year. Have heard 80 bonus for Evercore and 100+ for PJT and CVP.
Is PJT really in the same league as Evercore or the top BBs?
I always thought they were more on the level of Greenhill, Houlihan, Perella and Guggenheim. As I understood it, EBs similar to Evercore are Moelis and Lazard.
Depends if pjt rx or pjt m&a
agreed lots more high regard for Rx at PJT (legacy Bx) than their M&A practice that isn't close to MoCo and Laz
I don't think that's accurate at this point. Know from friends at pjt that from a recruiting standpoint it's never been better. In the past couple of cycles M&A analysts have gone to warburg, apollo, carlyle, bx, tpg, ares, cb and a number of top HFs. On a per head basis that's unparalleled. Add to that decent lifestyle w good culture, generous comp and good experience, it's no surprise a lot of kids at top schools pick PJT over top bbs or other top ebs like EVR and LAZ. Not saying there aren't legitimate reasons to go to GS/MS but PJT seems to be taken pretty seriously among competitive candidates.
PJT (and PWP) are both significantly better than Houlihan (non-RX), Greenhill, and Guggenheim
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