Top IBD Groups / Firms 2020 (Exits)

Hi Everyone,

I’ve spent some time doing extensive research, informational interviews, and coffee chats etc. I wanted to share my list of groups ranked by prestige / exits. If I left a firm off this list, it doesn’t mean that it’s bad just that I either don’t have enough info to make a decision or I’m not familiar with it but others hopefully can provide some color etc. 

Tier 1A: Goldman TMT, MS M&A, MS Menlo, PJT RSSG

Tier 1B: EVR M&A, PJT M&A, EVR RX, Most of MS, Centerview

Tier 1C: Moelis, Lazard, Guggenheim TMT, CS Sponsors, JPM M&A, JPM T and MT, JPM HC, MS HC, GS/JPM FIG, etc. 

Tier 2A: Lower BB M&A groups, Strong BB Coverage Groups, Rest of Guggenheim, BAML Lev Fin

Tier 2B: Weak BB Coverage Groups

Tier 3: DB, UBS

Tier 4: Jefferies, Rothschild, etc. (not really relevant for exits, deal flow might be good)

EVR M&A was moved down a little bit because it’s no longer generalist and experiences are not uniform across groups. I’d be surprised if at a 60 person analyst class the hit rate for top exits is as high as the smaller firms even if they are the same on a nominal basis.

Another thing to note is that School, GPA, notable EC achievements also matter a lot in recruiting. However, the top groups tend to be pretty prestige heavy on those fronts as well. If they aren’t super prestige heavy, there is a dichotomy where the kids with better resumes end up at the top buy side shops and the ones with slightly less branding end up at more MM PE type places.

Please discuss, thank you and have a great day!