Is Wall Street South Worth the Hype?

With major firms from Citadel to Point72 opening offices in Miami during the pandemic, there was excitement that Miami was on its way to becoming a hub for the corporate finance industry. Five years later, do you think the so-called Wall Street South has lived up to the hype?

What do you think of the lifestyle and culture in Miami compared to New York City? And what about the corporate finance industry itself -- are there a lot of opportunities? 

12 Comments
 

Unless you are the “Miami type,” Miami is kind of a shithole. Great place for a vacation, but I’d never live there. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

del del del del del del del deldel del del del del del del deldel del del del del del del del

 
Most Helpful

I don't think it will ever be a major financial hub, except for entities covering LatAm from there. My perspective:

  • Of the entities down there, most are satellite offices and are comparatively small. It's typically 1-2 partners on the downswing of their career who got tired of paying taxes and wanted to golf more. For juniors, that likely creates a different energy/learning culture relative to hubs, and has other cons for career advancement (i.e. lack of visibility to the majority of the firm)
  • Because of the above, there's no synergy to being down there right now -- few banks / research analysts / peers / operating companies are going to be in or coming through your area. Look at Andreesen going "all-in" on Miami, opening an office and heavily promoting the area, only to quietly shut it down 3 years later
  • Talent acquisition / retention to the area is hard aside from a very specific personality type (see the other comments on this thread). This is impossible to prove, but I think the "scammy" reputation of the area precludes the development of homegrown firms and reinforces the dynamics in #1/2. LPs do a lot of amateur psychology on emerging managers, and one who setup shop in Miami feels like they might be someone who coasts and/or runs off with the bag
 
Funniest

I wish reporters actually interviewed live human beings and not 16 years olds on a message board who are cosplaying as financiers. 

...but is it REPE?
 

I think West Palm Beach has much greater long term potential as a "Wall Street South" than Miami does, which as people have previously stated is much more LatAm/international money, crypto BS and satellite offices. There is a reason Stephen Ross has moved his operations down to West Palm Beach from NYC and is investing billions into redeveloping the city - just look at the City Place development project Related Ross recently finished to get an idea of the growth trajectory. 

Know a decent amount of shops, albeit mostly institutionally-sized family offices and hedge funds, that have moved operations down there. Originally this was usually just the principal/seniors wanting to hit 6 months + 1 day to satisfy Florida residency for the tax break, but seeing a growing trend where these guys are staying longer or have moved their families down there full time. Lot of capital floating around due to proximity to Palm Beach and the concentration of private wealth management & private client bank branches for most of the big players. 

 

Et odit quod animi pariatur ratione. Porro perferendis distinctio et tempora non fugit. Quibusdam dolorum velit perspiciatis ea animi. Quo soluta atque id non. Ut nihil debitis voluptas beatae. Explicabo inventore et quia officia sit vitae similique.

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 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 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 (77) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (71) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”