Can someone share how their MDs win M&A sell-side or IPO mandates? Any strategies and processes they use to do that? Insights on this would be helpful!
Trending Content - Investment Banking Forum
| +260 | Earliest you can get fired | 54 | 1h |
| +244 | UBS’s M&A BANKERS ARE DOING TERRIBLY. $200M EXTRA IS BEING CUT | 43 | 9h |
| +220 | Career Crossroads | 31 | 1h |
| +220 | Investment Banking is Divine | 38 | 1h |
| +214 | US 2027 SA IB worried about background check | 52 | 7h |
| +206 | Analyst: Why is UBS IB doing worse than peers?, UBS CFO: No Comment | 41 | 1h |
| +204 | Another $115bn Mega deal for these banks. Congrats! | 43 | 7h |
| +48 | Is UBS really that bad? | 19 | 1h |
| +37 | Is Houston SA 28 recruiting already over? | 32 | 59m |
| +22 | Sweat Group 2026 Discussion | 24 | 2h |
Career Resources
The way I have seen it: if at big bank (GS/MS/JP) lean on bank name and credentials
At boutique and other firms:
If good MD: leverage deep relationships aka their friends essentially give them mandates
If bad MD: make 50+ page decks and fill the appendix with random views and math to show value-add and pray the company/sponsor likes them
Most of banking is full of shitty MDs because not everyone can be best friends with Apollo PE partner or CFO
Harsh truth is everyone knows banks don’t actually provide unique insight/value: anyone in PE can attest to this, so baller MDs tend to be well connected and wanna-be baller MDs can’t really do much to get there since the relationships start in HS/college/MBA
My MD is terrible --- he has not won a single deal since I came here roughly 2 years ago. From what I know, he has only successfully pulled in 2 or 3 deals after 7 years as an MD. One of is a pretty big IPO.
You think that secures him a spot? No, he is a good friend of the bank's CEO, and that is also how he got the job not coming from banking.
assuming those 2-3 deals are big... that's not a terrible MD that's just average lol. How often do you think deals come in? This is coming from someone in a top group at a top BB
1. Have solid relationship - which requires constant maintenance, market updates, pitching interesting innovative ideas. This usually means the bank works for free on many ad hoc projects which do not get converted
2. Bring new ideas - show you know stuff others don't know - my boss always prefers those who bring new information
3. Transaction #
Earum deleniti eos quia nostrum tempora. Voluptas et est voluptate repudiandae. Delectus nihil ut laborum nulla animi.
Odio voluptatem adipisci id doloribus velit. Ducimus voluptas laborum veritatis excepturi laudantium.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...