Serious question, since I'm currently recruiting for FT at a few MMs and some small boutiques. I'm leaning towards MM since I think I'd enjoy working at a large bank more, but I don't want to discount the boutiques yet. I know WSO doesn't think much of no-name boutiques, but I really want to hear from people who actually work in one. Why did you decide to go the boutique route instead of going to a larger bank? Was it out of necessity, or did you like the environment and responsibilities you got? Do you think you made the right choice?
Trending Content
Career Resources
I worked at a no-name boutique but consulting so some things may not apply. My main reasons were:
The culture I think is much better; there is a pretty strong sense of banding together because you're a small group and have to collectively bring forward the entire firm. Sure, individual groups at MMs may have the same mentality but they focus on getting their group noticed within the bank and not at advancing the general name, revenue and reputation of the entire firm.
Starting salary may be lower at first but promotions are faster if you're good and 4-5 years in salaries catch up. But you'll feel like you've built up the firm in addition to getting the extra money which I think is an extra personal bonus
Responsibility. You can do more and more interesting work early on and you also get listened to more. 2 months in I got a potential client lead and acted on it; the firm MD came to the meeting with me and it was just us two with the prospective client. Mad props points for doing this stuff at a boutique. At an MM perhaps you won't get that same chance and if you're at the very low level you'll meet the prospective client with a larger team at which point they'll probably say 'we'll take it from here'. You'll still get credit but perhaps won't be able to act on it as much.
You can come back if you build the relationships well. My team saw I had an interest in finance and the company was based around strategy. They all mentioned (including the MD) that if I wanted to do a 1-2 year move to a bank to learn the skills my job would still be there for me after. Perhaps this was just my boutique but I think that a few with a modern mentality would do this.
Exit opps are great. This may not seem logical because an MM can be a better initial brand name but from my experience if in 3 years at the boutique you can expand the client list, venture into a new business area or have a serious impact on the bottom line larger firms will take notice. People from my boutique went to BBs, MBBs and PE funds because they were in an environment which allowed them to be rockstars. Sure, you can go from MM to BB but unless you really stand out they'll see you as 'another talented person looking to move up'. From the boutique you can be seen as 'the BD rockstar with loyal clients that will follow him and a person who knows more or less how to run a firm or at least part of it'