Strategic Advisory EB vs Management Consulting
Have a FT return from an M&A/Strategic Advisory Boutique (CVP/PJT/PWP/etc) and recently got an MBB offer.
Came to banking for the deal and business model exposure, with short term goals of going into growth/PE, and long-term interest in building something tangible (ie. early-stage/pre-IPO startup) after finding a compelling idea/market to put my all behind. Having previously worked with a BB and felt lukewarm about execution work, I was drawn in by the strategic advisory model of my boutique. For full-time, was considering shifting over to MBB as it might be more relevant to working at the startup level, but had heard from some of my consulting friends that consulting was just banking (slides, etc.) with marginally better hours and significantly worse pay, and that I should stick with my EB. Comp and W/L are secondary to learning and professional development for me--
To any advisory bankers or management consultants, would love to hear your thoughts on skillset development over time, exits, outcomes, etc! Any anecdotes on pivots to startup side appreciated tremendously as well
If it’s Centerview take it over any MBB - the work that they do is true strategic advisory & not as deal-focused / seeking as PWP for example. And the deals you do get to work on will be of great quality whereas other places will prioritize quantity of deals. Don’t know too much about PJT M&A besides that they’re the little sibling to RSSG.
Not sure why this is getting MS lol. If you have a varying opinion then speak your mind
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The amount of college students who have read that IBs provide 'strategic advisory' on their website and thus assume bankers are involved in meaningful ongoing strategy/consulting-style mandates is very high
Prevalent misunderstanding about the nature of investment banking work
Hey man, this is not directly relevant to your concerns, but I am actually interested in taking a very similar path that you are taking. Currently working FT at top BB. Want to connect
As a former advisory banker, I'd stick with banking. SA in banking at least leads to getting deals for the firm and you can usually participate in them when they happen. With consulting you're offering strategic advice but often times aren't involved in any sort of conclusion or outcome, which to me is very important. And yes, the pay is much better at the bank.
I think the hours are a good trade-off for the pay and the more holistic experience imo.
I did a fair amount of strategic advisory work while at Moelis under a former CVP principal. The work was a nice change from just grinding out models and deal oriented stuff, but at the end of the day was just kinda like business development work / collecting retainer fees. It’s just a fee to be on standby in case a deal comes up. Granted, even with that I have seen people go from more SA-focused banks like Moelis / PJT / even HL move into the start-up world albeit most commonly into a finance-related role at some decently established/growing start up. I do recall at least one person going from Moelis to start his own business and had another friend who after a Summer stint at Moelis did a stop at Apollo Credit then went into start ups and now runs / CEOs a company with a billion dollar valuation probably. I hope that helps
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