IB vs S&T vs AM
I'm applying for analyst roles and have 3 offers - ECM at an EB, AM (public equities) at a BB bank, and S&T at a top European bank (that isn't dying...). I'm very conflicted on which is best to take (I'm very interested in all the divisions). My internship was in audit (I know...) so my knowledge of the roles is quite poor. My connections/mentors are all in S&T (and very biased), LevFin or PE so aren't very well-placed to help, so I'd really appreciate any advice people have on what to consider when making the decision. So far the main things I have in mind are:
- Career progression / exit opps: people say ECM and AM have very little to none, and I'm worried about killing my career before it's even started. S&T seems to be mainly focused down the buyside which appeals to me. AM at the BB is the biggest name, and I'd be very interested in moving into their S&T down the road, but I'm not sure how likely this is; also don't really want to start all over again a few years into my career. Seems like I'd be choosing a career for life with ECM/AM, and I'm not ready to do that (as you can tell from the fact I made this post!!). I'm also very interested in moving across to the USA later in my career (I'm in Europe now), and the BB has the best reputation by far if I were to transfer to a different team within the bank over there.
- Comp: my offers are all similar enough base salary, but I'm guessing ECM has biggest bonuses (not this year but generally, or has my view been skewed by 2021?), followed by S&T (depending on how good you are), followed by AM? Not sure how they scale up as you progress. I know S&T is much more meritocratic than the others about this.
- Hours: ECM is 60ish, S&T is 50-60, AM is 50. All seem good, and I wouldn't mind any of them.
- Nature of the work: ECM is duller repetitive tasks, S&T is hectic, AM is slow-paced. I'm interested in what all of them involve, but I think I would enjoy the fast-paced environment more.
Thanks so much for whatever help you can offer!
What did you end up going for? Did you like it?
The AM internship - seemed like a better culture, more interesting work and good internal mobility down the line. I start in a month
What process did you undertake to find out about internal mobility? WSO research, contacts at the firm?
I spoke to the one of the directors of the team I got an offer for, and we spoke in a lot of detail about what exactly my career with them would look like (he was very generous with his time), before I decided to accept. In general, internal mobility across the AM division of BBs is very good - you just need to network a little, which is easy once you're on the inside.
Sounds great, thanks for the insight. Congratulations and good luck!
Which EBs even do ECM? Maybe Houlihan and Moelis? But they can’t underwrite IPOs or anything so they’re pretty limited it’s much more advisory
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