Is it possible to lateral directly from Wells Fargo to a tier 1 bank (GS/MS/JPM)?

How feasible is for a second year M&A analyst at Wells Fargo to lateral directly to a tier 1 bank (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan)? 

Or do you think that maybe I should lateral first to a second tier bank (Barclays, BoA, UBS, CS, Nomura) before doing the final jump?

Also, do WF analysts an associated have any chance to land an offer at a PE Megafund? 

11 Comments
 

I mean yea it is feasible to go from WF to any of the BBs but I would not recommend doing two jumps to get something like GS. Regarding MFPE, from what I understand, your likelihood is probably pretty low. Not impossible, just pretty low odds.

 
Most Helpful

From WF to GS, MS, JPM or elite boutique is perfectly doable and pretty common. 

From WF to EQT, Blackstone, KKR, WP... is very difficult but not impossible. 

If you want to lateral to a top tier Investment Bank sooner or later you will get your chance. My recommendation is to be patient and wait for the right opportunity to come rather than rushing into a lateral move to mid BB. It's not good for your resume to show you're switching companies every 8 / 10 months. 

Having said that, I am not sure whether leaving Wells Fargo for Nomura or UBS would be a step forward TBH. Wells Fargo entered the IB business very late compared to the rest of banks, but they are catching up quickly. For American companies they are probably better positioned than Nomura, while UBS IB is clearly in decay. 

 

Yes, used to work there and did it myself and have seen it many times, especially within the last year. Don't lateral twice, you can get to a top bank without doing that. 
 

I ignored inbound recruiter pings for a while because I was too busy/not interested but once you answer them The ball gets rolling very easily. Also, Nomura is a step down. Not sure if that was in there by accident but there’s no point of going there. If I were you I wouldn’t bother with UBS/DB/etc either. 

 

Very very feasible to go direct to GS etc from WF M&A. Don't waste your time/create questions about commitment by jumping twice.

That said if you're already a second year, you're going to get there having missed on cycle and even most of off-cycle, so your MF PE chances are pretty slim even from a top bank. Don't go to GS hoping Blackstone will come calling.

 

Ullam esse pariatur fugiat molestiae sed quam temporibus eum. Est omnis deleniti assumenda. Quae similique aliquam molestias. Quia cupiditate amet laborum eum rerum.

Occaecati facere eos laudantium rerum officiis natus voluptates. Harum aut ex sit molestiae tenetur ut neque. Nulla tempore suscipit et vel inventore architecto commodi. Dolores eius eius incidunt. Fuga vel ut voluptas quod magni ex corrupti.

Quibusdam perferendis quam id. Quas quasi consequatur id nemo et nihil et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”