Oil and Gas Investment Banking
Hello. I am currently in the process of deciding what MBA programs to apply to. I have past experience in oil and gas and have an engineering degree. My question is what MBA program(s) are the best to break into oil and gas investment banking? I'd appreciate any input/suggestions! Thanks.
Rice McCombs and SMU
Thanks for the reply. I've been doing some digging into all three and seems that McCombs comes out top. I'm interested in getting a position at either Barclays or CS. Which school, McCombs vs Rice has better ties to either of these companies? Thanks.
For Houston IB, Rice and UT are on equal footing. I believe Rice has placed slightly better by numbers the last couple years and McCombs slightly better the couple years before that, but they're pretty much equal. My suggestion is to focus on other aspects of the schools when making a decision.
I also suggest to not narrow down your target banks so much this early on - get to know the bankers in Houston first (once you start the recruitment process).
McCombs probably has a higher raw number but as a percentage your chances are better at Rice.
Best Place to Learn? - Energy IB (Originally Posted: 08/09/2017)
Pertaining to energy IB:
I've been in contact with quite a few banks both boutique and bb. The boutiques are hitting the ground running and trying to get me in the office asap and a couple are wanting me to choose a vertical to become a subject matter expert. As someone who eventually sees themselves in PE or hopefully a corporate executive - is it better experience to go a foot deep and a mile wide with experience (at a bb) or become an expert at E&P, Midstream, R&M, or OFS.
Thanks in advance for thoughtful responses.
Better to get BB in my opinion, BC you have higher degree of certainty about what your experience will entail (boutiques can be really hit or miss), and brand matters early in your career. I think a lot of people also discount the value of the network you get from BB -- you get to know a lot of other young ambitious people at an early stage in their careers... at a boutique, the network is obviously more limited.
Boutique or BB, don't expect to become an expert at anything except formatting PPT and Excel shortcuts (I dont say that in a demeaning fashion). You will pick up crucial finance, accounting and industry skills in addition to general business skills -- managing office politics, saying no without saying no, etc. -- but in IB you will not become a master of your industry. That being said, it is a great place to learn and a great first step.
Great advice. Much Appreciated.
Top 3 Oil & Gas to OIl and Gas IB ? (Originally Posted: 06/17/2011)
I have a quick question, the other day I found out that a good friend of my parents heads on of the major Oil & Gas firms in Houston, and I have an opportunity to interview for their Financial Analyst program. Hopefully using connections I would like to push for the in-house M&A team and get at least 1 year's worth of experience in there before rotating to the next assignment (Oil & Gas FAs are usually rotated through different departments every 12 months or so).
Realistically, what are the chances that I would be able to make the switch from OIl & Gas finance to Oil &Gas IB (as a 1st year analyst).
Plan is that after 2 years in IB that I'm got for a top 15 MBA, I'm an international student so I'd rather go to schools like NYU, CBS, Darden etc than Texas and Rice.
Very slim.
Not unreasonable, as long as your experience is relevant and other credentials aren't terrible. In fact, it would be favorable to hire you on with good industry experience rather than a newbie fresh from school.
Sometimes the O&G companies say they have better rotational programs than they really do, so just be sure you like what you're getting into and not being sold a story to drag you into what is really a shitty role. Doesn't hurt to write CFA while in the company too. I know if you spend too long in the O&G industry the banks may look at you like "how is this guy going to perform in our intensive banking indsutry when he's used to the easier hours and laid back lifestyle of O&G industry? What took him so long to want to leave?".
Would you burn any bridges by signing up for a stint at these companies and only doing 1 year when they likely plan for you to have a 2-3 year program there?
Not at all, My contact understands that i'm ultimately aiming to place into IB. Starting to prep for the CFA next month. I plan to attain a Level 1 before I graduate next year.
It will probably be easier to go from 2-3 years as a rotational analyst in corporate finance, to top 15 bschool and then an associate in natres IB. Some people were successful in jumping from industry to industry IB groups (like pharma to heathcare IB, etc.) Trying to get hired laterally will be difficult is my guess.
I'm actually trying to do the same. I've heard that it's hard but it is possible. I work for one of the supermajors so I'm hoping this brand name helps me land a gig at a boutique firm. I've been here for about 6 months, so I'm shooting for next years banking analyst class. I would suggest you start networking as much as you can. I've contacted some people at small and MM banks and they have given me encouraging advice.
If they place you in an accounting role then it might be harder for you to make the transition, I got placed in a role where I analyze financials of major and small-time oil companies across the world. Another thing, if you can get into an M&A team in the company then I wouldn't even consider banking, those jobs are sweet. I think they require that you have an MBA from a top school. I know at my company they only hire Rice and UT MBA's for those positions.
Either way I think networking would be the best thing for you right now.
Thats interesting that your contact knows you'll leave eventually but will still give you a chance. Corp Fin at major oil companies are competitive positions to attain. Obviously not as competitive as Ibanking, but nonetheless they require you to show interest and commitment to the job.
Either way good luck with your plan.
I think it's very plausible, although I know a few guys who have done the opposite. If oil & gas is where you want to be, working at a major and then getting an MBA can put you on track to executive positions and serious $$$. If you prefer to be in the IB industry that's understandable, and wouldn't think you would have that much trouble as long as you get some basic valuation and modeling experience.
Transition into Energy IB (Originally Posted: 02/23/2016)
Hey guys,
Looking for some advice/thoughts. I'm a petroleum engineer with 10 years experience at a major (upstream including a lot of economic modeling and A&D). Given the current current oil prices, a lot of investment banks are starting up/expanding operations in Texas to take advantage of potential deal flow this year.
I have a strong interest to transition into IB. I don't have an MBA or any formal education past my engineering undergrad. Sent a couple resumes out for positions but no replies. Is it basically a lost cause? The job descriptions list skills which I have minus the the last one "IB experience highly desired".
Appreciate any advice, thanks!
Anyone?
I have two years experience scheduling natural gas and before that work in the mid office doing pricing, I am wondering as well if it is possible and how about I might transition into energy IB.
Your best bet would probably be to try and join the A&D team of an energy investment banking group
Have you heard of someone in there late 20s switching from a front office role like scheduling. Would a bank be open to hiring someone into an analyst role with some working experience that is not right out of school.
I'm sure there are VPs and MDs out there that would love to have someone with true technical petroleum education and experience working for them as an analyst (largely due to the ego boost), and anything is possible..
However, the skillset of a petroleum engineer really wouldn't help that much with energy IB. It would allow you to skip the O&G section of the learning curve (which is already pretty limited at the analyst level), but does nothing to help with modeling / formatting / knowing where files are saved / capital markets understanding, and broadly speaking, ~30 year olds are more resistant to 100 hour workweeks than 22 year olds. So there's really not much of an advantage to being a PE as an analyst in IBD. It's not like you'd necessarily be a good analyst because you understand the technical mechanics of what happens in the wellbore. For those reasons, I'd imagine most groups would be reluctant to bring in an experienced petroleum engineer as an analyst when they have tons of smart 22 year old undergrads without families or responsibilities that they can abuse instead.
You said you had 10 years experience, so I assumed you were early to mid 30s, but then you said you were late 20s. If that's the case, MBA could still be an option, and MBA -> associate level investment banking is a very viable path.
Attend McCombs or Rice Jones and come in at the associate level.
For both posters, industry knowledge is nice, but you don't have any transactional experience. The people that I've seen making the jump from industry > IB without prior IB background have always had some background in M&A, either via Corp Dev, or perhaps industry specific consulting that often acted as transaction consultants (not TAS, but technical or market consultants).
I recently had several rounds of interviews for an energy IB analyst position. I'm 26 and have almost 4 years of petroleum engineering experience - majority of my experience has been heavy in the property evaluation/reserves reporting role. The transition can definitely be done. I would highly recommend networking through linkedin...trust me.
Looking to move into energy investment banking from risk management consulting (Originally Posted: 04/19/2013)
I currently work in a risk management consulting function in power and natural gas, and have passed CFA level I exam. I have done some valuation work and I am interested in moving to energy IB. How hard would it be to get into IB? Would boutique/MM be easier to get into than BB?
Thanks in advance!!
Try Simmons, RBC, BMO, and TPH. They might appreciate your background more than the traditional BB
I am looking into Simmons, TPH, and RBC. Are there any other banks you would recommend?
Evercore and Gulfstar could be worth talking to. Evercore runs very lean though and might not be in the market for experienced hires.
Winning Squared, if you don't mind me asking, are you in energy IB?
PM me
Oil and Gas professional in I-Bank (Originally Posted: 12/21/2010)
Do I-banks hire people with years of oil and gas/energy background and a MSc Finance degree (Not Ivy league, but reputable), but no real world financial working experience? For their department that deal with oil and gas/energy related investment?
Monkey's evolution
Yes, provided you can show you know the finance aspects. Also, energy PE firms will also hire industry specialists (either as consultants or as investment professionals that aren't expected to do as much finance, but have a general understanding of it).
Thx Alexpasch
So how do I look for a job in an I-bank or those PE firms after grad.? Apply their internship?
On campus recruiting would have been your best bet... At this stage networking is probably your best shot.
That bad huh, maybe I should change my plan to look for a job in one of the big oils instead? So who are some big players in the I-banks industry that deals with oil and gas / energy stuff?
been posted a lot in last 3 years... use search
keep in mind you are trying to get a job that everyone at UT, Texas A&M, Rice, TCU,SMU, UH, Tulane wants... along with all the ivy league.... commodities have been a hot field the last few years
I have a list of 2010 m&a league tables if anyone is interested...
Monty09 please PM me for it Thx
use search first buddy... trust me..it will amaze you
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