How do you think about the top firms in the MM? There's a sort of top-tier everyone gives (Blair, Baird, HL, sometimes others) but how do you rank those 3, and what's the top 5-10?
Also, how do banks that are sort of MM but not really (RBC, Jefferies) fit on those lists? Ie how would you compare Blair vs RBC?
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Tier 1: Jefferies / RBC / WFS Tier 1b: HSBC / Baird / William Blair / BMO / HL Tier 2: Jaffray / Harris Williams Tier 2b: RJ / Cowen / Truist (STRH) / Stifel / Nomura / BNP Tier 3: Oppenheimer / Lincoln International / Mizuho / MUFG / Credit Agricole / Lazard MM
Edit: Firms not ranked within tiers
You put Stifel twice
Can you add Fifth Third, Waller Helms, Simmons, GCA Advisors, DC Advisory, Hammond Hanlon Camp, Duff and Phelps, Mesirow,and Lazard MM.
HSBC do anything in the US? I never see them.
Wouldnt add Nomura there, Nomura should be placed near RBC (still not sure in MM)
lol @ Jefferies and WFS in same tier.
RBC is a low BB, WF is in between MM and BB solely because of their balance sheet.
Tier 1 is Jefferies and Houlihan, Houlihan is a tier better than those listed in 1b.
You would put HL about Blair/Baird? I thought they were all very similar
You all need to decide whether you are defining MM as banks that do deal sizes in the middle market range or otherwise. Including "full service-like" banks such as WFS, RBC, HSBC, Nomura, BNP, Mizuho, MUFG, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, etc. just doesn't make sense. These banks would be included as BBs IMO.
Also important to differentiate between boutiques and MM. For example, banks like Waller Helms, GCA, Hammond, Mesirow, FT Partners, Intrepid, Livingstone, Greentech, Prairie Capital, Arbor, JMP, City Capital, etc. classify themselves as boutiques.
Also, should add Stephens and probably even FT Partners as MM banks (even though I just classified it as boutique).
they'd be balance sheet banks.. BBs are pretty squarely defined as the 9 names everyone knows
[Edit: this comment is almost 2 years old. Also, ranking threads are still absolutely fucking deplorable]
So first of all, I really hate these ranking threads, because most of the information people post is either outdated or flat-out wrong. But I wanted to present some raw data so people can interpret the results on their own. I ran a quick Bloomberg league table with these criterion:
Target Region: United States
Date Range: YTD
Transaction Type: M&A ONLY - I think this is valid because the majority of TRUE MM firms focus almost exclusively on M&A
Average Deal Value: $1B (this is a somewhat arbitrary cutoff for what I will define as "MM")
Here are the top 10 banks ranked by *total deal value* (TDV: total deal value, ADV: average deal value, n: deal count):
*1. UBS: TDV = 16.5B, ADV = 749m, n = 22
2. Stifel: 15.9B, 305m, 52
3. Baird: 10.0B, 238m, 42
4. Sandler O'Neill: 8.2B, 265m, 31
5. Houlihan Lokey: 8.2B, 97m, 84
6. William Blair: 7.4B, 118m, 63
7. BMO: 6.8B, 338m, 20
8. Raymond James: 4.4B, 77m, 57
9. Cowen: 4.3B, 619m, 7
10. Valence Group: 4.0B, 669m, 6
Now, obviously UBS is not a MM; if we remove it, the next up would be Canaccord Genuity: TDV = 3.2B, ADV = 154m, n = 21.
Irrespective of order, I think the majority of the firms on this list fit the profile of a “strong MM” in the US. However, you still have a couple wildcards, namely, Valence Group and Canaccord Genuity.
To address this, I tried ranking by *Deal Count*, as opposed to Total Deal Value:
1. Houlihan Lokey: TDV = 8.2B, ADV = 97m, n = 84
2. William Blair: 7.4B, 118m, 63
3. Raymond James: 4.4B, 77m, 57
4. Stifel: 15.9B, 305m, 52
5. Baird: 10.0B, 238m, 42
6. Lincoln International: 780m, 20m, 39
7. Piper Jaffray: 2.2B, 61m, 37
8. Sandler O'Neill, 8.2B, 265m, 31
9. PNC: 2.1B, 88m, 24
*10. UBS: 16.5B, 749m, 22
Once again, UBS is obviously not a MM. Also, Piper Jaffray and Sandler O'Neill are merging, so they are technically double-counted. Accordingly, the next two up on the list would be:
11. Canaccord Genuity: TDV = 3.2B, ADV = 154m, n = 21
12. KeyBanc Capital Markets: 2.2B, 104m, 21
Here are some of my key takeaways from this:
a) UBS needs to pick up the slack
b) Baird is on an absolute TEAR this year
c) Lincoln has solid deal flow, but I was greatly surprised by how small their deals are.
d) Canaccord Genuity and KeyBanc are doing better than I would have guessed.
e) The "in-between" banks (Wells Fargo, RBC, Jefferies) really are an anomaly, considering they don't appear on either of these lists.
For some added depth, here are their stats:
Wells Fargo: TDV = 60.4B, ADV = 2.1B, n = 29
*RBC: 155.5B, 4.7B, 33
Jefferies: 123.0B, 1.9B, 69
RBC's data is HEAVILY skewed by the fact that they are doing the fairness opinion on Raytheon + United Technologies, a 90B deal. If you adjust for that, RBC's stats are: TDV = 65.5B, ADV = 2.0B
As an aside, I would be greatly interested in seeing how these banks stack up when you control for the size of their workforces. Something like ADV / # of MDs would be very interesting. Some of these firms run much leaner than others, making it that much more impressive for them to crack the top 10. Additionally, there are other banks that may not have made it in the top 10, but are doing extremely well given their team sizes.
Anyway, I hope this helps shed some light on the ACTUAL data, rather than simply speculating based on word-of-mouth from reading other WSO posts.
Would you have any thoughts on the trajectory of the merged Piper Jaffray/Sandler O'Neill firm?
Considering UBS is a BB, most of its transactions would not even be in the MM range. Sure, UBS seems to be doing a decent amount of MM transactions but this isn't reflective of the firm's overall performance in deals outside of the MM range.
Regardless "ranking" is irrelevant its very group dependent at these shops
Would you have any general thoughts on Tier 1 groups?
Agree, but would put Piper down in Tier 3.
Any reason? Or are you just meming?
Well put on the depends on the group statement.
If we had to rank them across industries, I might not even have three tiers because it is so industry dependent:
What's the general consensus on Macquarie Capital?
"millionaire factory"
The deal count totals per Bloomberg aren’t remotely accurate for what it is worth. After recruiting last fall, I’ve seen deal count totals for a few of these firms, and they’re nearly 3x the numbers posted above.
Its just so group dependent that ranking them would be kind of useless.
How about you tell us which banks actually gave you an offer. Then we'll try to rank those for you.
Greenhill?
Greenhill is still very much in the category of an EB and should not be classified as an MM bank.
whats the difference between EB and MM ??
According to merger market, advisors sorted by 2019 sub $1b, global deal count (M&A only):
The problem with the middle market is lack of disclosed values, so take implied average deal value with a large grain of salt.
LOL, look guys Oaklins is a better bank than Baird!
/saracasm
God not another one of these fucking trash threads
Mizuho - glad to see them
Where is Moelis? Don't see them on this thread
Given that most of Moelis deal flow is $1 B deals (total deal value less than Guggenheim YTD), shouldn’t Moelis be considered a MM?
In fairness to Moelis, I've pitched against Evercore on sub-$500 million deals. But some of the deals Moelis takes on are head-scratching.
In your opinion, what makes Moelis an EB?
In your opinion, what makes Moelis an EB?
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