Tech Groups in SF

I'm a non-target student but I'm interested in IB covering Tech and from my understanding all of that happens in SF. I'm in the Mid-west right now, but I'm willing to make a few trips out there to secure something for the coming summer.

Would it be possible to get an updated list of tech groups that operate there - BB and boutique? I'm mostly concerned about work experience, I just want to learn as much as possible there. Thanks.

18 Comments
 

I'm in commercial banking but it seems to me the majority of ib in Frisco is all tech

 

I was asked directly to come out of my eternal slumber to weigh in on this thread... but it's way too fucking general. OP, if you have specific questions about the Tech M&A scene in SF (either banking OR corp dev), I can answer those to the extent of my knowledge, but I'm not going to just list a bunch of banks for the fun of it.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

If you want to pursue tech in SF, wouldn't it make more sense to accept the offer that's in SF? You'll be closer to the markets and it'll be easier to network or lateral into wherever you want to be.

 
Best Response
  • GS - lot of left lead IPOs, very strong sellside m&a deal flow, weaker buyside due to smaller balance sheet
  • MS - lot of left lead IPOs, super strong sellside m&a due to IPO relationships, strongest internet / software franchise across the bulges, weaker buyside / sponsor deal flow due to smaller balance sheet
  • Qatalyst - best tech sellside m&a bank; super high profile stuff like linear, homeaway, nxp, netsuite, etc.
  • DB - weak equities deal flow, average sellside but strong buyside / lev fin shop, mostly hardware deals (avago is a big relationship that has put them on some notable buysides the last few years)
  • JPM - consistently 3rd behind GS / MS on equities, pretty good sellside and buyside creds, arguably 2nd best software bank after MS
  • BAML - pretty good all around, get some decent equities creds, couple big sellside m&a deals here and there, strongest buyside / lev fin tech group due to the size of their balance sheet, great sponsor relationships
  • Citi - average in equities, weak m&a pipeline on bigger transactions
  • CS - decent all around, but just had a bunch of senior tech bankers leave to Jefferies so i would be pretty weary
  • Centerview - just established a menlo office behind handler and the other ex-UBS tech banker; pretty weak tech practice (despite doing the solera sellside) overall and i'm not sure how well they'll be able to compete since the sellside is already oversaturated by qatalyst, GS and MS

qatalyst, MS and GS are the top groups from a deal flow perspective.

 

Evercore's positioning is probably average. on one hand, they just struck two impressive creds in $5bn+ sole sellside for brocade and $2bn sole buyside on tesla / solarcity. and i've heard positive things about the MD that led the brocade deal. but both of those were very niche situations; in brocade's case, it's an old legacy company with weak coverage by bulges (MS barely devotes resources to this space anymore). and in tesla / solarcity, tesla's a quasi-tech company and it was an all stock deal. rare situation where a bulge doesn't need to come in for the financing.

the real fees are on the sellside and that's already too saturated. GS, MS and qatalyst have a monopoly on it and i think its going to be extremely challenging for Evercore to either 1) devote the amount of resources that GS / MS do to covering the space, or 2) bring over a big enough tech hitter.

 

it's definitely not the strongest brand to have on your resume for buyside recruiting, so you've got to be a bit more proactive because headhunters will place you in a tier 2 behind the leading tech platforms. at the end of the day though, if your VPs / directors have good relationships with sponsors and they tell even an associate-level person at a megafund that you're strong, that trumps any headhunter and will get you an interview 99% of the time.

to Citi's credit, they've made some good hires recently. they just hired an M&A MD from deutsche (blanking on his name) that had a reputation of being excellent on the more complex stuff (the cash-stock election structure in avago / broadcom for example). so it could be a good platform for learning at a junior level despite the sacrifice in brand

 

Any comments on Barclays' Menlo Park office? Am curious, and most info on them on this forum are outdated. I'm guessing they're more of a player on the financing side for sponsors (since most sell-side mandates are dominated by GS/MS/Qatalyst?)

Array
 

Illum non reiciendis soluta deserunt delectus voluptatum aut similique. Fugiat repellendus repudiandae voluptas. Enim aut velit iure et. Quasi quae sequi est asperiores odio et quae. Quaerat suscipit commodi voluptas atque deserunt aperiam.

Laudantium ut exercitationem a. Facilis illum nihil dicta voluptatibus.

Magnam iusto et aut vel molestias est quis. Debitis sunt magnam dolorem voluptates.

Id omnis qui alias autem vel. Velit earum impedit quam officiis dicta eligendi deleniti ut. Dolor ut tempora velit nulla autem ut distinctio eum. Impedit molestiae quo vel. Voluptatem fugit est tempore quis. Sequi sint debitis ipsam eaque et voluptatem sunt laboriosam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”