SA Decision: MS S&T v. DB S&T v. CS FIC
Hi guys,
I'm deciding between offers at three banks right now: MS S&T, DB S&T, and CS FIC, and I have only a week to decide. I was wondering if I could have answers to the following:
1. In general, which one is more prestigious for S&T? I know that this very desk dependent and people say prestige shouldn't matter, but since I don't know which desk I would want to be on, knowing the general strength of S&T at these banks would be helpful.
2. What desks are each of these banks known for?
3. At which banks do most summer analysts tend to receive offers? I don't want to be in a place where I competing against 150 SA's for 50 seats.
4. How do the cultures differ at these firms? My impression is that CS and DB are a bit more "chill", but also, does this tend to matter?
Thank you in advance for any insights.
MS is by far the most prestigious.
MS will give you much better exit opps, which you will be thankful for after 2 years
MS is only prestigious in equities. DB clearly dominates them both in FICC and rates market share. Depends on what desk you want to join. Either way, you should take CS off the table
I also significantly prefer DB's culture to MS's. In my opinion MS falls in the lowest tier amongst the BBs for culture in S&T
DB dominates them in FICC minus the fact that they are shutting commodities down
I didn't really like the DB culture, but they have a very strong S&T platform. Yes, the MS brand name is the biggest pleaser, but in S&T it's Equities and Commodities (which is being sold). I did like the CS culture.
I think market share, while useful, isn't a foolproof indicator of which firm would be the best to join as a junior. For example, Barclays had huge "market share" in FX surveys last year, but at least for certain FX products they might not be the place to be.
Equities: MS slightly ahead of CS. Haven't heard much about DB. Rates: Heard all 3 are respectable, not sure of exact order FX: DB does most volume, CS is well-respected Credit: No idea Securitized: Heard all 3 are respectable, not sure of exact order Commodities: MS has traditionally led but they are getting sold off as someone said
Culture varies across individual desks even within the same firm.
I was under the impression that MS had pretty bad rates predictions and lost a lot of money here. At least from what someone told me.
If you're interested in distressed/high yield I've heard CS is one of the best places to go.
Overall though if you have no idea what you want to do I'd say DB > MS > CS.
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