How large is the gap in exit opps BBs in London?

Received a FT offer to start at industry group with decent deal flow history in European BB in London next year. I know some BBs in the lower half of the informal "prestige rankings" certainly place analysts into top PE funds but realistically is it an uphill struggle if you're not at GS/JP etc. in London? Would headhunters sniff around average analysts from some banks but only the stars from others? Thanks

 
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The exit opps in London is much less structured than here in NY / US. This is not necessarily good or bad, but different. If you are an analyst in the U.S at a BB bank (gs,ms,cs,ubs,jpm,citi,db...even upcoming ones like bac and wfc), you are pretty much guaranteed interviews at PE/HF shops. I was able to secure an offer after my first year, and luckily only spent one year in IBD.

Did you go to school in London and want to make a transition to the US? If so, this may be more difficult. I know a couple of kids who went to work in London offices, and spent 3-4 years as an analyst (fuck that shit.)

You should look to the MBA reports of LSE, OX, LBS, QU and see where the MBA's are recruited to. This should give you a baseline for the exit opps

 

If you get an offer from a respectable IB in London you should not have any problems transferring back to the US considering you are from the US and went to school in the US. But as always, it is always about making contacts and networking.

 

I can only speak of a German point of view (though Germany is much more similar to the UK than to the US afaik): There are definitely a lot of buyside opportunities and some of the guys I met during the early days of my studies already work there.

I think PE IS hyped the same way as in the US, but you are way more flexible, as you do not have to follow the "IB -> PE -> MBA -> PE" route and have a fair shot at buyside positions right out of ugrad studies.

In Germany, PE funds recruit both, Bachelor degree students and more senior guys, such as former Associate or VP+ staff from ibanks. There are also a lot of other well paying jobs out there which you want to consider after an IB stint, such as Consulting, Industry roles or even working at the Big4 in their CF departments.

The finance industry is not hyped that much in Germany as it is in the US in general. For example: I did not know that there were other banks in Germany except the two retail banks I was a customer of and Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank until I was 16 years old.

 

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