Top Financial Sponsors Groups?

Team Oasis -

Question. Which firms have the best stand-alone financial sponsor groups that are not necessarily part of a leveraged finance group? Background details would be very helpful as well. I am sure the usual suspects, GS, MS, JPM, etc come up but I am looking for the extra level of detail, i.e. someone who worked there or know someone who works there.

22 Comments
 
Best Response

GS sponsors wasn't all that awesome the last I heard. I got the impression they were pitch heavy - model light. I think this has improved, but it is still far from their best grup.

I would say CS sponsors has been pretty dominant historically, but I don't know how they hve been the last couple of years.

MS sponors is good, but again, not their best group.

JPM has one of the best on the street, but SLF is more modelling intensive according to my memory.

Not in sponsors, so I am just going off of second hand info. It's a hard sector to evaluate just because deal flow has slowed so much.

 

CS Sponsors is probably still the highest-regarded sponsors group, and a top group on Wall Street in general.

GS FSG is decent but not top-notch, in part because sponsors sometimes view GS as a competitor due to PIA.

At MS, FSG is probably the second-most sought after group among incoming analysts after M&A.

The sponsors groups at BAML, Citi, and JPM seem good, but I can't speak from personal experience.

I recognize the OP is probably a first-year analyst by now, but in general if someone is not interested in working in PE, I wouldn't recommend a sponsors group as his/her top choice. You'll get a better and broader experience in a good industry coverage group that does its own M&A (e.g., any of the GS coverage groups, MS CMG, etc.), or in an outright M&A group or boutique.

 

Very curious about this question as well

If someone can elaborate further on the hourly requirement of the financial sponsors groups as well, that would be appreciated.

Also, is there a lot of modeling done for this group?

 

From my understanding CS has a strong reputation- possibly the best on the street from the BBs?- because it's very aggressive with how it uses leverage. I have heard good things about BAML and JPM Sponsors as well, from current analysts. I also 'believe' MS Sponsors is pretty good based on the people I talked to in that group during OCR, but I am not 100% sure.

 

BAML and JPM will hands down be your best bets for top tier sponsor deals. Even with its smaller balance sheet, you do see quite a bit of GS with the top tier sponsors too. Add in MS. I've personally only ever seen Jefferies once on one of my deals and they were far from lead left. CS is decent, but my view is they do a lot of very mid-market heavy sponsor deals. I do see them on a fair few top sponsor deals but never as lead lefts.

 

Quasi cupiditate dignissimos aut nihil vel ut. Culpa earum aut fugit. Iusto ut totam fugiat voluptatum officia sit.

Neque cum temporibus voluptas ullam. Dolores quis debitis similique distinctio illo dignissimos et. Optio est pariatur dolorem nesciunt quis.

Nobis reiciendis asperiores facilis et natus. Quia ex quaerat eos ullam. Qui quia reiciendis quibusdam.

Libero cupiditate doloremque suscipit dolor adipisci eum et. Accusamus nemo magni unde eveniet eos deleniti aut. Occaecati asperiores consequatur aspernatur et id enim omnis. Dolorem libero aut architecto.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

Sunt atque officiis est dolor qui sint sapiente. Fugiat voluptatum minus sed aliquam sunt vel atque consequatur. Blanditiis sed sed nisi qui incidunt iure nostrum. Aut libero tenetur neque sunt rem fugiat. Et dolor et doloribus doloribus libero enim. Deserunt illo voluptatem ipsa corporis. Quia quaerat rerum maiores eum.

Eveniet omnis vitae veritatis doloribus eaque. Nam occaecati aliquid illo vel velit consequuntur. Inventore repudiandae est asperiores fuga.

Non modi fugiat earum voluptates repellat. Maiores ducimus commodi consequatur aliquam. Voluptatem et reiciendis quia est. Et optio vitae est.

Commodi qui ut quas error. Illo illum odio aut laboriosam non. Est voluptatem hic id. Culpa aperiam culpa quia dolores fuga quaerat. Voluptas exercitationem dignissimos qui quo qui.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”