Why does JPM have a better reputation than MS in London? (IBD)

Yeah, basically I think everyone would agree that GS and MS are the best M&A houses in the US (among the BBs at least). Why's that JPM is frequently ranked above MS in London?

The most often London IBD ranking I've seen is something like:

Tier 1: GS, JPM Tier 2: MS, CS

I mean, MS tier 2? On the same level with CS? C'mon...

Any explainations and insights would be highly appreciated. And by "ranking" I mean reputation at buyside firms.

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Best Response

Are you basing this on JPM EMEA or JPM Cazenove (UK coverage)? If UK, JPM UK coverage is JPM Cazenove. Cazenove used to be one of the British powerhouse IBs. JPM bought 50% of it in a JV, then acquired the whole of it. Outstanding client relationships and industry + region focus rather than just one or the other. From the guys I know at JPM Cazenove, it still operates very much so as Cazenove while having the financing capabilities and global reach of JPM.

 

From what I hear from my friends working in London, the general consensus seems to be that GS/JPM/DB are the top banks in terms of deal flow. Of course when it comes to prestige MS will join up by default

 

All JPM EMEA (although I have a friend who did research at Cazenove for a bit). On the IB side, Cazenove is only UK mid-market focused so quite a difference in terms of mandates and the team composition (smaller local deals with an all Brits office at Cazenove vs. large international deals staffed like the UN at JPM EMEA). Anyway, I don't know enough about Cazenove to intelligently talk about any difference between the two, but given the difference in mandate, it's probably fair to assume that people at Cazenove have it better.

 

I remember that about a year ago I was speaking with a recruiter about options to move to the buyside and he was saying that the American banks are considered top notch for buyside with the European ones being second tier. Anyway I haven't registered anyone in London considering MS as second tier to JPM...

 

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