Time to rank the bulge brackets 2019
GS, MS
JPM
BAML, Citi
Barclays, Credit Suisse
UBS
DB
Thoughts? Based solely on PE exits. Group comparisons are fine, but if you do your own rank do it as generalist offers please. NYC only.
Ok sophomore, relax
GS/MS JPM BAML Citi CS Barclays RBC UBS
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Jesus, Do you work for CS or something? I honestly can't see any legitimate reason to pick CS over BAML/C unless you know exactly the group you're going into and like the people there etc. Fine it ultimately depends on your individual situation but in a general sense, CS is a much weaker bank than BAML. It's like picking BAML over GS.
GS / MS JPM BAML Citi CS Barclays / DB UBS
Barc and DB on same tier is ridiculous, Barc is hovering between top 6 and top 7 and has been on an upward trend
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Think JPM is being underrated here - and I hate myself for saying this.
Looking at Coalition's league table for FY18, JPM comes top in FICC, equities, and IBD, placing first overall. Goldman comes third for FICC, third for equities, and second for IBD, for an overall standing of tied second with Citi. MS comes fourth, then BAML, Deutsche, Barclays, CS, HSBC (lol), and UBS.
Likewise, if you look at the FT's IB league table, JPM is ranked top overall, placing first for bonds and loans. Goldman is ranked top for M&A specifically, while MS takes first for equity deals.
Now, I know there's then the vague overlay of "prestige," but my honest take is that - in the UK at least - Goldman isn't as highly regarded as it used to be. That's not to say it's slipped drastically, however MS has certainly narrowed the gap and, personally, I think JPM now tops GS as the most desirable IB to work for.
In black and white terms, yes. But I think the whole "is GS better than JPM better than MS" is overdone: at the end of the day, if you work for any of these firms, you're very much at / near the pinnacle of prestige. I can tell you for free that no one is going to look down on you because you got MS instead of JPM - and if they do, you probably don't want to associate with those people in the first place.
A better way of looking at this shops, rather than a league table format, is by buckets. Something like: Top bucket - BAML, Citi, GS, JPM, MS; Tier two - Barclays, CS, Deutsche, HSBC, UBS, etc.
What is this, Greekrank?
GS, MS - best houses on the row, mixes with KKR/BX the most, hazing is rough
JPM - giant house off campus. didn't initiate some of their PC this year
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DB - doesn't do well in rush, will probably lose their house. low social budget for mixers
Get a job first and then argue rankings. PE recruitings pretty competitive anyway so honestly which BB you go to isn't going to change your life.
x2
I'm going to get MS for this considering 90% of this thread are college students, but the amount of conviction you guys have about 'rankings' and better yet specific groups is just absurd.
You don't know what you don't know. I'm not saying this to offend you, it's just odd from a 3rd person perspective. I say this because I think it has led to a culture here of "oh I only got an offer from Jefferies, brb going to cry myself to sleep."
FWIW, I'm a junior at a bank and my opinion doesn't hold much weight. I think that you would have had to be at multiple banks at the senior level to have a worthwhile opinion.