William Blair - Climbing the Ranks?

Noticed Blair has scrambled up the league tables this year. Given their pay is top of street and already occupy a pretty well respected place among MM banks, curious to see where they go in the future. 
 

What is the opinion around here? How about in comparison to HL/Jeff/Baird/Harris Williams/ Piper? 

31 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Blair analyst here. First of all, our pay is definitely not "top of street". I'd say we're above the street average, but I know that we pay less than most EBs/some MMs.

Blair's been doing well this year (as has most other firms) and we've definitely been on a roll, but I don't think our so-called "standing" will change too much. We're already one of the most respected MMs, especially in Tech, but truth is for PE placement we're not going to catch up to most BBs or EBs, and no matter how much we improve we'll still be a "top MM" like we have been (it's simply not our firm direction to "level up" from being a top MM).

It's hard to compare those firms. Jefferies doesn't even belong in the list, as they aren't really a MM. I'd say we're most comparable to Baird although Blair and Baird both have different strong groups (HC and Tech for Blair, Industrials for Baird). Piper's definitely the most unbalanced, as they have some great groups (HC, FIG, Chemicals) while I'd say their other groups are relatively weak compared to us. HW has perfected the sponsor relationship model, and they're great at doing what they do, but they're very narrow and the vast majority of their deal flow is MM sponsor sell-sides. 

 

Analyst at one of the top MMs with friends at others, here’s my take:

Blair is on a tear, every bank is this year but think Blair has probably grown more than most. League tables confirm that. Base comp top of street with competitive bonus (probably between BB and EB range for total comp).

Part of this is just industry tailwinds. Every MM bank has a strong industry or two (Baird industrials, Piper med tech, etc), and Blairs two are tech and healthcare. MM tech and healthcare have both absolutely gone bananas in the past ~5 years, so part of it is definitely that Blair was in the right place at the right time. They’ve also done a lot of hiring (from MD to analyst) to propel this growth.

I’d say that Blair has probably pulled away from the pack a bit in the top MM space- you’d be hard pressed to find someone who would take a HW, Piper, or Baird offer over Blair nowadays. Would argue Blair is the clear top MM at this point. Vs JEF/Gugg/etc, the different is Blair is happy where they are. They’re privately owned and print money, have a really valuable niche, and crush the ranges they target. They don’t want to do $10B deals and aren’t trying to get there. They’re happy as a top MM player.

As far as exits, like someone else mentioned, MF exits are hard and will always be hard, but Blair places really well at great MM and some UMM funds- again, top of MM placement, but not competitive with a BB.

 

MM is very group-dependent. Blair is the most well-rounded. So some strong groups within other MM will compete with them, but they are there across the board. 

 

Et et quisquam iusto dolor. Repudiandae in veritatis officiis voluptatibus illum quos ullam. Dolores maxime adipisci nobis perferendis animi nihil. Sed illum officiis itaque voluptatem dolorem rerum.

Distinctio similique quas ex. Ipsum aut quod sit deserunt unde ut provident. Distinctio quam sit a quod aliquid. Quibusdam dolorem illum quae similique.

Suscipit alias quibusdam ut omnis. Dolorem amet enim voluptatum vitae nostrum. Quaerat modi earum veritatis quo voluptas eos. Consequuntur et accusamus praesentium sequi molestias. Facilis in debitis ipsum illum corporis.

Doloremque saepe et iure laboriosam est tenetur ea et. Tenetur pariatur excepturi quae velit fugiat consequuntur. Ratione quae quas sint dignissimos beatae distinctio. Est et iusto impedit ducimus eos distinctio. Tenetur ipsum quis temporibus omnis quia soluta. Quos qui eum rem esse maiores autem iste. Aut eligendi quibusdam recusandae nihil.

 

Dolor iusto est exercitationem corporis. Repellendus fugit et sit. Officiis quasi aut aut necessitatibus. Voluptas nihil debitis sit voluptatem at porro. Recusandae fugiat quidem iste quae aut earum. Vel corrupti fugiat ut aspernatur alias dolores accusantium.

Provident animi ratione omnis suscipit qui. Error illo dicta odio aliquid doloribus illo neque harum.

Sint labore occaecati voluptatem cum velit temporibus facilis. Omnis veniam dolore soluta omnis ipsam architecto animi. Distinctio magni dolorum dolor sit. Est ut omnis omnis dolor voluptatum velit dolorem accusamus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”