Solomon Partners Vs. Wells Fargo SA 2024
Anyone have insight in terms of which firm would be better for SA 2024? Obviously WF is larger and probably does more capital raising than solomon partners. Which would you take? Assuming both are in NY. Any information would be great to hear. FYI, I don't have much interest in REGL which I know is strong at WF. Likely will end up trying to FT recruit for a "better" bank, so not sure if there is any information regarding which would be better in terms of FT recruiting or lateraling later on. Thanks in advance.
Would say Solomon by quite a wide margin. Pretty much only touch live M&A, and pretty strong across multiple sectors (C&R, GP&R, Business Services, Media & Telecom and Infra). Probably weakest in healthcare/tech/industrials.
Thanks for that info!
No problem - to those throwing MS and claiming that WF "blows PJS out of the water" in groups like REGL/Industrials/LevFin/FIG/Energy, would note that with the exception of Industrials (which Solomon only started covering the last year), PJS doesn't even compete in those sectors. Basically the decision comes down to your preference for working at a large commercial bank, with a very strong capital markets and lending platform, and a weaker advisory franchise (which relies heavily on its capital markets product to win business), or a boutique M&A advisor that is very active in the middle-market.
Either way, you'll have no problem moving upstream if you want, but just wanted to highlight its not the most clear-cut decision and a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison in terms of the experience you'll have at either shop.
Almost 100% Wells Fargo. Solomon has been sliding down the league tables and rankings (#36 on vault) in the past decade fast, while WF is doing the opposite. WF blows PJS out of the water in Industrials and REGL and the only group that is better at PJS is the C&R group. Also, if you want to lateral, WF is the much better brand name.
Wells without a doubt. Take a look at how they've grown over the last few years and the caliber of seniors they've hired. If you're interested in lateraling in the future, you're probably fine either way though.
Important to note that Regal isn't the only strong group at the bank. The other top groups are industrials, FIG, lev fin, and energy. Sponsors and TMT are also on the rise.
Wells. You said you will likely re-recruit and Wells is the bigger brand and it can help you for that.
A lot of people say they will re-recruit and end up not doing it because they end up enjoying their colleagues and build a network within the bank that they know will be beneficial for their development from A2A and beyond. I was one of those people so it's still very important for you to take this decision serious, as I am sure you are.
So for that reason, I say Wells Fargo. They are crushing it and scored a top 10 finish last year. Also, look at their recent hires to show the commitment to IB. Gudofsky from CS, I'm sure you've seen the Sponsors guy from CS Malcolm Price join, they have a senior that joined from Evercore recently in P&U, MD from Barclays HC, CS FIG head joined, etc. If you go on FactSet and look at league tables this year you'll see they are currently at #9 . If you are leaning Industrials, REGAL, FIG, Sponsors, or even TMT (due to Gudosfky hire), WF is the easy choice. Additionally, they by far have the sickest NYC office.
Thanks for info, lmk if anyone else has some insights. would be helpful
PJS. People saying Wells don’t really know what they’re talking about. Way better experience at a very solid MM platform doing pretty much exclusively M&A, vs predominantly balance-sheet related work and mandates. Also isn’t a bad brand name I don’t think and typically hires from pretty reputable schools.
If you want strictly M&A advisory exposure on lean deal teams, Solomon would probably be the best at giving you that opportunity. If you want to work on a variety of deals that come with being a part of a large commercial bank, then Wells Fargo would probably be better at providing that experience. Of course, if you are interested in a particular industry group, then I’d go for the bank that has the best rep in that area. Both provide good experiences, but they are going to be very different experiences.
Agree with the comment above, but I would go with Wells
I dont see how Solomon has any upside whatsoever if you plan on lateraling anyway.
Agreed. Wells would make more sense
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