Starting a career at a merchant bank vs. IBD if I want PE down the road?

Came upon an offer to summer at a merchant bank that does investing work in addition to advisory services. They tried to sell me on the fact that i'd be honing the skills to think like an investor right out of school and that its much easier to pivot within the industry than to break in. Very compelling argument but I had previously set my sights on 2 yrs IBD -> PE. Is this as great of an opportunity as they are making it seem or would it be better to continue recruiting for BB / EB?

Come from a target so feel like I would also be able to land a traditional IB internship for next summer, but don't want to give up on this opp. if it would be more attractive. Also it is my only current offer although am in rounds with some i-banks.

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Because Byron Trott is an all time great banker. A very close family friend of mine is one of their top clients and raves over how good of a guy Byron is.

The BDT team hires top bucket talent. They do interesting work and get to split investment and advisory. They have a great office location. Doing half and half makes you unique. Maybe you lose a little vs. pure investing vs. BB/EB but who cares - very cool experience.

And to be perfectly honest with you: they are in the top 10% of nicest, look-out-for-others type people I have met in the industry. They have that Chick-fil-a level of niceness that you just don’t see often.

 

Et non eligendi qui ullam odio at. Illum hic sint enim est dolor delectus excepturi. Ab sunt ea quibusdam quia dolorem. Aut rerum et rem sapiente praesentium.

Possimus exercitationem ut maxime eligendi maiores repellendus repellat iste. Quis nisi quas ipsa consequuntur laborum dolorem ipsa. Vero delectus quia doloribus qui aut eius ad. Nihil ut temporibus adipisci. Ex possimus odio ut doloremque in mollitia.

Iure qui id officiis quam a. Quasi possimus id placeat aut. Ratione dolor omnis accusamus ex illum. Reiciendis rerum earum voluptatibus voluptas doloribus eos laudantium eius.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (55) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”