Take a MM offer or do a MSc Finance for a shot at BB?
I hold an offer at an MM boutique (only has an office in London, team of ~50 people). Pays £60k with bonuses in line with market.
I also hold an offer for an SA at an American BB. I’m not sure what conversion rates will look like this year. They also told me they’d want me to do a masters so I graduate in 2024 along with the rest of the summer class.
What should I do? I tried recruiting for BB/EB FT and didn’t get anything
Thanks for taking the time to read this! :)
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Cost of masters + loss of earnings from a year by not working + risk of not converting = not worth it. Take the MM offer. You’ll earn, you’ll get experience on your CV and you’ll probably be able to lateral after a year anyway.
Do you have experience in the lateral process? Would really appreciate some more info on this
Absolutely the MM. You can very easily lateral after a year to BB, EB, whatever.
Chancing it on SA conversions, a year of missed salary, and MSc cost is just not a good idea, especially in this economy.
Is making a lateral move actually easy? I assumed the competition would be quite tough
Is it common to lateral after a year? And don’t our contracts have non-compete clauses that make lateral moves difficult?
Thank you
Lateraling after a year is very easy and very very common. Do a search on here but happens all the time from MM to BB, and the competition isn't too bad because few people with 1 year of IB experience really want to move banks. If your MM bank is fairly well known you should have no problem.
In the US there are definitely no non-competes as a junior, I'd be surprised if any in EMEA for an analyst job. Even at MD level you are required to take ~90 days "garden leave" aka your old bank pays you to not work for a bit before you move banks. The only stipulation is your signing bonus ($10k in US) has a 1 year clawback, but if you leave before 1 year you just ask the new firm to pay it.
Hands down take the MM and lateral (if you still really want to by then). As someone who went from a MM to BB to BB I know the process somewhat, and actual experience trumps a masters degree. In addition, if you do a Msc now and the market tanks over the next couple years you're going to be out of a job, so there's that to take into account as well.
How reputable was your MM?
The place my offer is at is a boutique similar to Arma Partners / Gleacher Shacklock
It was a local firm, not very prestigious or anything, similar to what you are describing. As long as your lateral to a bigger firm is in your same market, it doesn't matter. Things get tricky if you want to move to a different geography and are at a local boutique.
did you lateral in London? If so, do you have any insights on the process(timeline, networking...). Thanks!
Am at a UK focused MM right now, have to say while the process to lateral is okay, there are very little roles right now. Recruiting has been particularly soft given market conditions. Hopefully with your timeline shouldn't be an issue but worth the consideration.
Do you think it would be worth going for the BB summer analyst offer instead? Historically they have a very high conversion rate
I agree with the above and historically a move after a year at an MM in London (if a reputable one, i.e. HL, Arma, Baird etc.) to BB/EB is super doable. But given the shift in market conditions lately, the market for analysts has really dried up and there won't be as many opportunities in a down market. Something to consider but shouldn't make it a deal breaker imo.
I might be wrong, but wouldn't it be a good opportunity?
Fewer roles in the UK means, fewer analysts with 1 year IB experience, so after 1-2 years if the market gets better, OP will have a competitive edge with his rare experience!
MM
/endthread
Take the MM for now and learn as much as possible. I'm biased but believe EB/MM banking gives you a more hands-on banking experience than BB's. You may also work on more M&A at a MM than a BB where you may be working on slower deals, or providing revolvers.
Not worth the time, money or effort to do a Msc finance for another chance to recruit. Take the offer and lateral or recruit for something else
It’s not for a pure chance though. I hold an offer for a US BB summer analyst programme and have a good shot at converting
bump
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