Starting on debt side at a pere 100

Would love to hear some opinions of starting on the debt side of a large repe shop doing everything from vanilla first position mortgages all the way to pref equity and construction loans. I would presume this is a good starting point as deal flow may be quicker than equity, opportunity to see more deals thereby learning strategy side more quickly. Would this be better than doing cmbs originating at a BB bank? Some friends I know who do that seem to do very little analysis, don't even adjust assumptions in models just check to see if certain credit metrics are hit. Is this accurate and does this set you up well to switch to equity side if I wanted to do this in a few years?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I'm a huge advocate for starting on the debt side regardless. Have some bias behind that, but whether its at a PE shop, Lender, Broker, etc, debt gives you tons of volume which is crucial early on in your career. I can only really speak to the brokerage/lender side, but you'll definitely still see volume on the REPE side, just likely fewer transactions completed. I would shy away from trying to figure out what shop is the best place to start (REPE, BB, Brokerage, etc) and focus more on the sector of the business, ie. Debt, IS, Acquisition, so on. Personally, you can't go wrong with Debt, and top 100 PE will likely give you the same exit ops as CMBS at a BB.

 

Ea totam est est in quod ullam vero. Omnis sit ut adipisci sunt. Cum non iste et inventore quis vitae. Mollitia excepturi commodi consequatur totam odit aut aut accusantium. Asperiores aut harum aspernatur dolores voluptas tenetur doloribus non. Ipsa et dolores voluptatem libero dolores quae doloremque.

Iure accusantium blanditiis perspiciatis qui. Omnis et odit magni et sunt. Sit exercitationem molestiae voluptatem libero earum cupiditate et. Sequi dolorem vero optio et incidunt. Reprehenderit voluptatem enim voluptates ad alias.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 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

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”