^ Troll post.

  1. Harris Williams (Good MM bank where the seniors allegedly fight for your exit ops. Pretty good MM PE placement). I believe it is now part of PNC but you apply directly as if the two were seperate entities.

2 and 3: HLHZ and Jefferies I don't know about HLHZ but Jefferies is there mostly because of Lorello's healthcare IBD.

4 and 5: RBC and BNP Paribas Both international banks with a smaller presence here in the United States

  1. RBS: Got absolutely destroyed recently. No bonuses, low salaries, no exit opps, and probably going to die soon

  2. Piper Jaffray: No explanation needed.

This list is probably the best one you'll get without a bunch of sarcasm and jokes rolled in.

 
1styearBanker:
^ Troll post.
  1. Harris Williams (Good MM bank where the seniors allegedly fight for your exit ops. Pretty good MM PE placement). I believe it is now part of PNC but you apply directly as if the two were seperate entities.

2 and 3: HLHZ and Jefferies I don't know about HLHZ but Jefferies is there mostly because of Lorello's healthcare IBD.

4 and 5: RBC and BNP Paribas Both international banks with a smaller presence here in the United States

  1. RBS: Got absolutely destroyed recently. No bonuses, low salaries, no exit opps, and probably going to die soon

  2. Piper Jaffray: No explanation needed.

This list is probably the best one you'll get without a bunch of sarcasm and jokes rolled in.

Please

RBS' base salaries at least for juniors are way above their BB counterparts in London :) Of course there is still a big debate on their bonuses

 
debrwil:
Any thoughts as to where Lazard MM would fit in? I know it's relatively new (~2 years old?), but I'm curious about the MM group within Lazard specifically.

No it is not. Prior it was Goldsmith Agio Helms, which has been around for a long time. You may want to check your information before saying things that are not true. GA was purchased by Lazzard and changed their name to Lazzard MM

 
goalieman688:
debrwil:
Any thoughts as to where Lazard MM would fit in? I know it's relatively new (~2 years old?), but I'm curious about the MM group within Lazard specifically.

No it is not. Prior it was Goldsmith Agio Helms, which has been around for a long time. You may want to check your information before saying things that are not true. GA was purchased by Lazzard and changed their name to Lazzard MM

You may want to check your spelling. It's Lazard.

 

IMO, Tier 1: HLHZ (likely the top, but depends on if you're in corpfin, fas or restructuring) Harris Williams - Top MM M&A Shop. Great relationship with sponsors. Apparently great placement into MM PE. Jefferies - Decent dealflow, seem to be well positioned with Lorello hire and such

Maybe add RBC, I've heard pretty good things about them but know little about their dealflow.

I might put Piper over BNP and RBS, but i generally think it gets a little too bad of a rap on this forum.

 
chimpb:
IMO, Tier 1: HLHZ (likely the top, but depends on if you're in corpfin, fas or restructuring)

HLHZ restructuring is nothing like the rest of their business. They are MM everywhere else, but in restructuring they play with the big boys, Lazard, Rothschild, Miller Buckfire, Moelis, etc.

Jefferies is not truly middle market in Healthcare or Restructuring either.

 

With Lorello's hiring and generally avoiding exposure to the mortgage crisis, Jefferies has been hiring left and right and is offering very nice comp packages to laterals. I think they are at the top of this list and have the most near-term upside - you don't give Lorello that type of comp package unless you really have some big aspirations.

HLHZ has good restructuring but not much else. I'd put William Blair and Harris Williams ahead of them.

 
nontargetguy:
^ Obviously works at Jefferies. It's still a low tier bank.

Thought dorks like you had been weeded out for the most part on here, but i guess a few are still around. I don't work at Jefferies, and I form opinions on banks due to what's actually going on in the industry rather than old Leveraged Sellout posts. Go read the Vault guide again kiddo.

 
Best Response

Harris Williams, HLHZ, and Jefferies are a cut above the others listed. BNP, RBC, and RBS aren't really the same breed - they're more like wannabe BB's; large financial institutions that want to play in the IB big leagues, but struggle. HW, HLHZ and JEF are actually focused on the middle market, and do it well.

HW (and other MM banks like it that execute with a lot of MM PE deals - Edgeview Partners, Lazard MM, McColl Partners, etc) have excellent placement into PE because their MDs have personal relationships with Partners at many PE shops (both middle market and larger), and really go to bat for their analysts. I know analysts from the above listed "boutique"/MM banks that have landed jobs at places like GTCR, Tom H Lee, Carlyle, Polaris Ventures and more.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

For MM, I'd say HW, Jefferies, then HLHZ.

HW is a rapidly growing firm and I've heard nothing but great things about the company. According to their website they're looking to increase their international platform, they just opened a London office to be led by the previous co-head of european technology investment banking at Deutsche Bank. I've also heard the people are very intelligent yet modest and down-to-earth; a combination hard to come across in investment banking firms these days if you ask me.

Jefferies is a strong MM bank, haven't heard anything really good or bad about them lately.

HLHZ greatly differs across groups, so it depends which group you're in. Restructuring is one of the best in the world, but I heard they work ungodly hours. Same slave labor goes for their corp fin group (at least in Chi).

In my opinion, culture is the most important determinant when considering full-time employment. All of these companies are great, but have vastly different cultures. Just depends which one fits the individual best.

 

WF, like other large banks, does both large corporates and MM as an entirety (similar to banks like UBS, CS, RBS, etc.) so I don't think it was included here for that reason. Jefferies for Healthcare is not entirely MM either, nor is HLHZ for restructuring.

For my ranking, I think Harris Williams is underrated. Don't they place %-wise better than the rest of the shops? Maybe you won't get a megafund but it seems smaller PE shops are almost guaranteed. Also I thought PNC owns Harris.

 
PussInBoots:
Harris Williams has 100% placement record. That's sums it up :)

P.S.: what's up with people putting their future work place in signature? Is it a new d-bag trend or something?

What are the names of PE funds their analysts typically go to? could you provide some data points? thanks

 
SirBakealot:
PussInBoots:
Harris Williams has 100% placement record. That's sums it up :)

P.S.: what's up with people putting their future work place in signature? Is it a new d-bag trend or something?

What are the names of PE funds their analysts typically go to? could you provide some data points? thanks

Literally any MM PE. I am not sure about elite fund (Apollo, KKR, TPG, etc.). MDs of Harris Williams go to bat for their analysts. They also help with MBA apps, letters of rec., etc.

 

Middle Market bank means different things to different people. I think your definition is as accurate as anyone else's. Some people even split the middle market into "lower middle market" and "upper middle market," but at the end of the day it is the same thing. Note that, in general, middle market banks aren't different from those who work on large cap deals strictly in terms of deal size. MM banks typically give their analysts a very different type of experience. Deal teams are generally 4 to 5 individuals in size, the analyst spends far less time modeling and gains far more interaction with more senior bankers and clients.

Also, note that MM banks tend to be more specialized. Some banks provide solely M&A services, some focus on only a few select industries. They almost never have a large balance sheet that they can utilize to facilitate transactions.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Molestiae minus et quo maxime. Animi et ullam accusamus illum et. Provident aut animi corrupti saepe dolores veritatis debitis. Totam incidunt vel earum eius. Voluptatem nobis velit distinctio.

 

Et numquam omnis vel sit. Consequuntur nesciunt corporis sed dolor ducimus odit.

Assumenda corporis veniam fuga ut animi dolorem aperiam. Voluptates consequuntur nihil perspiciatis dolorum inventore. Ut veritatis voluptatem enim incidunt qui tenetur. Explicabo minus debitis facilis eligendi aperiam.

At quis voluptas ipsum voluptatem. Est animi impedit tenetur eaque odio. Ut veniam aliquam dignissimos. Voluptate blanditiis aut illum sint.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

Vel culpa doloribus quisquam et. Aut omnis nihil reprehenderit. Quidem quibusdam animi et. Dolores impedit est et ipsam deleniti eum cum.

Eveniet in perferendis fugiat ea. Est rerum repudiandae impedit deleniti vitae assumenda id provident. Rerum eos iure ullam est.

Aut sint fugiat aspernatur sequi molestias. Omnis veritatis et qui quaerat. Totam sed molestias excepturi nam dolores sit ut. Et voluptas repudiandae magnam tempora. Ratione voluptatum aperiam rerum nam et dolor. Sed aliquam maiores id aspernatur accusamus. Ut nihil sint veritatis pariatur qui.

Ut est cumque dolores ut. Quibusdam qui odit maiores quia dolore id beatae modi. Aut dolorem nostrum et quas. Sunt sint rem et in. Omnis molestias rem maiores est animi aut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”