Living the good life for now; when do I need to uptier to a "prestigious" bank?
So here's my predicament:
- Been working at small, lifestyle boutiques since I graduated college
- Currently an Associate 2 at $130K Base with last-year's bonus coming in at $80K in LCOL cities (ATL now CLT)
- Very good resume in terms of deals; enough M&A and sole-agent or lead-left capital raise deals worked start to finish to fill up a resume with >$100M deals
- Feel that at the Senior Associate / VP level is when comp and long-term career path / opportunity truly starts to diverge between LMM boutique banks and name-brand MM / BB banks
- Main angst is that I will hit a wall as a Senior Associate and have a tough time finding a VP role at a boutique that grooms me to have a long-term career in banking with a platform that has permanent staying power
Essentially my thought process over the last couple of years has been that at the junior level, I don't want to deal with the bullshit that comes with working at a hyper-institutional, NYC HQ bank. I don't need the hours, the redundant middle-management, the high cost of living and the cut-throat culture at the Analyst/Associate level where pay isn't divergent enough that it makes a difference. At the same time, I don't think the types of boutiques that I work at really have a long-term runway for a 20+ year career in IB. The MDs are all old-school guys and there's only one VP, who is underpaid relative to street (probably makes $300K if I had to guess). The comp isn't what bothers me so much as the prospect of getting to VP level and hitting a dead end with no options to lateral except for another dead end boutique. At what point do yall think I need to start thinking about lateraling to a larger platform in order to enjoy more late-career optionallity and a longer-term runway of success? Is going from LMM boutique (that does legit deals) to one of the Stifel/Cantor/Harris Williams of the world at the Senior Associate/VP level incredibly tough?
Thank you in advance!
Why would you leave? The reality is MDs at lower MM boutiques can make a lot and in cash, no restricted stock or deferred comp bullshit. Look around on the IB forum and there’s been a lot of comments about the transition from regional boutique to true MM being a rough one.
My fear is that there isn't really a path to promotion at the regional boutique I'm at. The MDs are all boomers who know each other from decades ago and I don't think we've ever promoted anyone past VP. Like many boutiques, the game-plan is more oriented towards having a fixed group of MDs and then a dugout of junior dudes who can crank out the work.
Can you start to originate? I’d have an honest conversation about that, identify a few conferences you want to go to and ask for them to pay if you feel you’re up for it. What’s your banks lower bounds in terms of size? I think if you’re consistently bringing in revenue and you’re more than covering your salary it shifts the conversation.
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