S&T SA Analyst Offers: GS HK v. MS FI NYC v. BAML NYC

Which one of these would you take? Assuming you get along with everyone (yes, assume I'm "that guy"), and don't have a preference for location. Prestige is out the window; I just want an opinion of where you would start your career at just due to the overall strength/mkt. share of the desks at those firms above.

 
Best Response

There's just absolutely no way you can write off location preference and prestige altogether. Even though prestige isn't all that important in S&T, if you ever do decide to leave your trading then having MS or GS on your resume will help you more than BAML. I've heard MS isn't awesome in FI, but if you know you want to do FI I would take that over taking my chances at BAML. I'm guessing MS is rotational, I know BAML is.
As for location, that should be even more of a factor. Are you of Asian descent? Do you think you would like living in HK vs. NYC? How is that not an extremely important consideration?

My take is if you like HK over NYC then take GS obviously. If you prefer NYC and want to do FI then go MS even though I think they're known for being great in equities. If you figure out the desk/rotation you're getting at BAML is way better than the one at MS then take BAML over MS assuming you choose NYC. Location should be the first deciding factor here IMO.

 

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