Ranking Non-IBD Groups (As Opportunities to Crack into IBD)

SA opportunities at BB IBD's are extremely limited and competition is fierce. Rank the following groups (or others you would like to add that I left out) in terms of their ability to help you get into BB IBD for FT recruiting the following autumn as well as their general prestige/compensation. While almost every post on WSO is about people already in IBD - choosing among these groups is a reality for the majority of college juniors around this time of year, so we shouldn't ignore it.

Sales & Trading Equity Capital Markets Debt Capital Markets Public Finance Private Wealth Management/ Investment Management Corporate Strategy Risk Operations Technology Equity Research Credit Research Macro Research Audit Merchant Banking (Firm PE) Commercial Banking Treasury Services Prime Brokerage Legal

Let me know if I missed any.

17 Comments
 

most prestigious is S&T/capital markets, equity research/p finance maybe less hard to get in but more relevant to IBD in terms of skillset. Company matters too; if you are gunning for GS IB then GS S&T looks better than non-name IB, but if its a small difference go IBD, especially with smaller boutiques

 

FT Piper - I just listed it on there as a non-IBD group. I know kids that are able to get S&T but not IBD even though they prefer the latter for whatever reason (the opposite also holds true for other students). Im not saying S&T isnt a valuable end in itself - clearly it is, just thought I would include it in the discussion. I would assume its on top of this list - my real interest is in what follows it.

 

as for operations/anything at or below PWM - go with a boutique IB firm unless MAYBE MAYBE MAYBE the PWM is at Goldman/Morgan, and even then I would ask around for advice

 

Philliesphan - great move signing halladay over the offseason. Your rotation is stacked. & Great point on taking ibd at a lesser bank over some of these groups. How about if you just had all these offers at a BB though with no ibd option anywhere? & To me, and many others, its still unclear what is "at or below pwm", hence the thread and request for ranking.

 

If you are in any front-office position and you are good, you can switch in any direction pretty easily. This includes Sales, Trading, Research, Cap Markets.

Of course, with Sales/Trading and Research, I don't know if you would necessarily want to move into IB...those are all solid career tracks into PE/HF/VC even though you don't hustle deals or anything.

 

Well in cap mark/research its a little easier. work with a strong MD and if he recommends you for a group switch his counterparts in banking will take note.

S&T I have seen it done , but honestly its the other direction most of the time.

 

So the general sense I get is S&T, Capital Markets, Research, Merchant Banking its all doable from but difficult. Everything else you can forget about it. What about Public Finance/ Tax-Except Capital Markets?

 

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