Global Markets Grad at Santander CIB vs Equity Research at RBC

Hey there, I recently received an offer to do Equity Research at RBC this summer in the London office (very happy about it). At the same time, I have an offer to do a 1-year grad scheme at Santander CIB in Madrid (its HQ) within Macro Strategy. I could do the summer + the grad since I wont start the latter until mid to late September, but I also think there's good chances I'll get a return offer from RBC if I do a good job (they only hired 2 interns). 

I like equity research but I don't think I'm passionate about it. On the other hand, the macro strategy role is something I could see myself doing for a long time and I like the fact that the strategists sit right next to the traders. Santander gives me the flexibility to also switch to trading at the end of the grad scheme if I'm interested in it, and I'm pretty sure I want to do markets in the long run. 

However, I understand RBC is a good name and I would also be in London, allowing me to network and meet different people in the industry. But as I said, I don't think I like equity research as much as I like markets. 

If I were to stay in RBC and do equity research for 1 or 2 years, how feasible would it be to transfer from equity research to markets later on? Or should I start at Santander Spain and hope to get transferred to the London office and move from there? 

1 Comments
 

Labore incidunt aut unde adipisci cumque nisi itaque. Omnis qui tempora atque sed possimus nulla velit. Aliquid et alias hic. Mollitia et est voluptatum alias eius. Voluptatem est rerum odio quas eum aut. Eligendi a est sit rerum quia accusantium.

Repellat iste ex voluptas et. Quam molestias error voluptates qui.

Ipsam quia similique tempore repellat. Id sit error nulla repellat accusamus corrupti exercitationem. Eos sequi quia corporis suscipit qui. Suscipit commodi ipsum ut molestiae esse accusantium voluptatem ipsum. Aspernatur explicabo autem quidem eius quidem dolor tempore. Et omnis et consequatur.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”