Lets talk LONDON!
As a guy who grew up watching Bond, reading history, and watching more James Bond and reading history- well I’ve always been fascinated by London Town.
There are/were two international hubs of finance, New York City & London.
How do NYC and London differ in
-Groups
-Culture
-Exit ops
Yeah you’re right, NYC is the best in every category.
I beg to differ
Amerimutt moment
I think London is more conservative in fashion. Still suit up, no brown in town, etc. (correct me if I’m wrong)
I wonder what kind of deals they do in IB over there.
Conservative = class
Guys/girls in suits are hot
Facts
following
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Absolutely false. Most IB seats are usually taken by UG target kids. If what you were saying were true, the term target wouldn't even exist at the UG level. The rare few that make it from LSE, HEC, Bocconi, etc usually have stellar academic performances at their respective UG (hence why they were even able to get into those universities to study finance for PG) and I have yet to see people from UG universities like Westminster, London Met, etc at top banks, LSE masters or not.
Personally I think that IB seats are equally split (more or less) between: i) UG kids coming from UK targets, ii) master students from top schools in Continental Europe with one or more previous internships in their own country
..
Disagree, from personal experience. Not throwing MS or anythign cause its a fair assumption, but its more, Targeted schools have a stronger shot in the "sexier" programs (M&A, Lev-Fin), still a lot of routes in.
Well I wouldn't exactly call a 40k tuition fee something that "doesn't matter".
Not to mention, people from truly "no-name" schools do not even make it onto the masters programs you are talking about. In addition, high school grades are still used as a filter at many shops with often the min requirements set at ~ABB A-Levels or equivalent. Those grades would be enough to get into the worse courses at most semi targets. So your undergrad does matter, directly and indirectly.
This is the reality but they won't hear it. They think you can just go Wolverhampton and do LSE msc basket weaving to break into GS IBD LMAO.
Might be highly group/firm dependent, but speaking to US folks in my team that relocated across the pond, culture seems to be more laid back here in the UK (no need for analysts to be in at 8am before associates/VPs get in; pints at the pub on Fridays etc.).
On exit ops, the move to PE is not as straightforward as in the US (on-cycle is not really a thing) and it's common to see people make the jump even as AS2 or 3. Also MBAs are not really as relevant as in the US
Speaking as an American analyst in London IBD, some unique things are:
Would really emphasise that point on there being no set timeline for PE recruiting. Have seen people all the way up to VP level make the jump to buyside. Bottom line is that there is no rush to take the first offer that comes - people can afford to hold out for something that they really want (assuming WLB / burnout isn't an issue...)
The point about white (British) women in IBD is fucking my brain. You're completely right, I can't think of any. Seen them in S&T/ER but not in IBD.
On the languages point, how advanced would you have to be in another European language for PE recruiting?
Que bueno que hablo Espaniol. Agrego valor al equipo por poder comunicarme bien con los clientes de Barthelona y Madrid.
I often see people asking on here about good places to live in London relative to their office, and I think it's important to stress that in terms of standard of housing/safety etc there's significant variation not just between areas but literally from street to street - you often see a row of super nice townhouses right next to a rough council estate (social housing). Just because you see a property listed in Chelsea/Kensington/Hampstead etc doesn't mean it'll be in a nice or safe area irl. Just something to keep in mind for anyone moving over who may not have much familiarity yet.
Some stuff based on personal experience:
- salaries are significantly lower in Europe, even after the exchange rate is accounted for; worse for the rest of the continent but even London in the early years is nowhere near the numbers you'll see on WSO for the US;
- cost of living is more standardized; less extremes compared to the US, which makes personal finance skills far more necessary in NYC than anywhere in Europe; from taxes to groceries, gym, clothes and everything else, in America you need to know when to buy;
- overwhelmingly safer; London is actually one of the least safe cities in Europe and it's still nowhere near as bad as big American cities; this is entirely due to bad policies;
- comfier street culture for outgoing people; better amenities overall;
- London specifically has awful weather, 10 months a year; most of European/American cities are better under that aspect; it's really noticeable;
- Brit fashion is bad, worst girls in Europe, but tbh American girls are getting worse and worse.
The last point is surprisingly accurate lmao
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