What is generally the best group to be in?
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, the "best" group to be in depends heavily on your personal interests and long-term goals. Here's a breakdown of the groups you mentioned, focusing on the content and work rather than prestige or exits:
M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions):
TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecom):
FIG (Financial Institutions Group):
Healthcare (HC):
Consumer Goods (CG):
Which would I choose for long-term banking?
If the goal is to stay in banking long-term, TMT or Healthcare might be the most fulfilling choices. Both sectors are dynamic, offer intellectual stimulation, and are less likely to become monotonous over time. TMT is ideal for those who love innovation and tech, while Healthcare suits those with an interest in science and a desire to work in a stable, impactful industry.
Sources: Post MBA IB: deciding which group?, What are the best groups for JPM?, Best Investment Banks, TMT vs. FIG vs. Industrials BB Group Move, 20 Most Frequently Asked Questions - London Edition
You don’t wanna climb a mountain and be close to reaching the summit to only realize that you climbed the wrong one. Right now, while it’s fine to get opinions from other people, be aware that you are susceptible to other people dictating your perception of what’s “interesting” or “challenging”. And I mean this to not be brash but to let you know of that blind spot.
But my 2cents is to do your own research on the various coverage groups/product groups, reflect on them, and see which one you seem to gravitate towards naturally.
FIG is paradise
FIG is by no means my favorite group, but an interesting data point worth thinking about...
In the GFC, GS (although they still fired a meaningful amount of the workforce) moved all their best resources to the FIG group, to work on all distressed bank-related deals.
There are two main questions you need to ask yourself when picking a group
1. Which sort of companies do I want to spend the next 2-20+ years learning and thinking about. For me I wasn't enthusiastic about spending 80 hours per week reading about Industrials/ Mining companies, nor was I particularly interested by fashion/ make-up brands, therefore Consumer would be a bad fit even though both are strong teams at my bank
2. Is my bank good in XYZ team? You may want to go into Consumer, but if your bank is only bringing in mandates in TMT and Fintech, and the Consumer team just pitches all the time (=low bonus also) then you should consider applying for the TMT/Fintech team.
Thought we might use this thread to give a bit of a developed perspective on different sectors, note my experience is limited.
Did an SA in a mining group cause I thought I'd like the macro aspect and the actual companies just looked more interesting to me (geographies, the type of problems they face/prepare for, commodity markets, complex logistics/supply chains around some projects). Those aspects did exist but I also realised I would simply never really touch on them to any depth as a junior. Some pros and cons of mining specifically:
Pros:
1) Travel: there is a bit of business travel and it tends to be to much more interesting locations than for other sectors (note this depends on taste, I quite enjoy spending time in some of the geographies where you find mining projects)
2) Modelling: extremely large and complex models (relative to the banking average I mean, realistically nothing of anything done in this industry is rocket science), which can be a bit more interesting than some of the other bitch work. Con being that as a result of complexity you're not usually left to actually contribute too much to the model until you have some experience (in my team only assocs and up did the models, and VPs were very hands on)
3) People are less bullshit, this isn't really a tech finger in the air valuation where you have to constantly pitch a dream. The business attracts more "grounded" ppl in my eyes, and whilst not everyone was fun (very few ac but I think that was just my team), I didn't see the cliché of the showy banker selling his wares all over.
4) I'll say it again, the actual businesses are just cool. They have a very clear physical presence and operate on a scale that can be impressive. Their impact is visible around the world, fully understanding the different steps in the supply chain is somewhat fun, and I enjoyed the fact policy is likely to play an increasing role
5) not a pro or a con but just for info the vast majority of my team's flow was M&A, though it appears there's also quite a bit of debt raise going around the sector as well
Cons:
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