Choosing Between 2 Offers
Hi Guys,
Long time reader, first time poster. Everyone on this forum is great and was very helpful to me in landing 2 IBD offers, both in NY:
1) UBS IBD
2) Cowen IBD (tech group)
Need to choose very soon. Which seems more attractive? Pay is the same. Does anyone know approx year-end 1st yr analyst bonuses for these firms? I have no idea. I know it depends on many factors but what is an average 1st yr IBD bonus on the Street generally speaking? Anything else to consider? Thanks guys, appreciate the help.
UBS dude, it's a BB.
Barely is. I'd go for Cowen.
It is hard say which opportunity is best for you without knowing how you fit in with the folks in each group, and what you eventually want to do post-banking. It all depends on your situation. Prestige counts for a lot less than college students think.
What do you want to do post banking? PE, VC, Corp Dev, something else? Are you really interested in tech? If you want to go PE, are middle market or megafunds more appealing to you?
There's no magical secret league table that all us certified users just go check whenever people have a question like this. Each situation is different - provide a bit of context and it will help us give you a better opinion.
UBS is still a BB. Cowen is a sinking ship, moreseo than UBS. UBS still is amazing in Asia and the rest of the world.
"both in NY:"
Well I definitely like the culture at the Cowen group very much. UBS it's harder to say because the people who interviewed me at the super day (given the size) are probably not the people I'm going to be working with. As for what I want to do after the analyst stint--I'm not really sure. I'd like to have as many options as possible i.e B-school, PE, VC, promote to associate from within, etc. I think it's hard to say what you want to do before actually experiencing the 2-3 year analyst program. Will the UBS bonuses be much more than Cowen? I know this probably depends on my UBS group placement. Does the UBS brand open more exit ops? I know the brand is struggling a little now. Cowen also seems more adept to promoting from within which I see as a plus. Any further input?
Can you find out about your UBS group placement before making a decision?
Bonus is never determined before you've been hired. It all depends on your group and how well your group has done. Within that, people get different bonuses for their performance. However, if you're in a top group, chances are you're going to be doing well.
If you want a direct promote to associate and Cowen seems to do that more, go for it. You need to think about what you want, research the companies a little more, and decide which office culture may suit you best.
Go with the place where you will fit in best. If you liked the people at Cowen, go there. UBS is a BB so that does play a factor but being in a comparable position at Cowen with people you get along well with will make the next 2 years a hell of a lot more bearable
People you get along with is the #1 factor. 100 hours a week is a long time - you need to like your coworkers. I don't know much about Cowen's tech group (it could be quite strong), but I'd say if you don't have any clue what you want to do post-banking, perhaps UBS is the way to go just on brand. However, if you're reasonably sure you want to stay in banking and get a promotion to associate, sounds like Cowen could make that easier for you than UBS. Keep in mind though - I knew a lot of people who thought they would want to stick around for an associate promotion...until they actually starting working in investment banking.
When I wa starting out (and this was in the very late 90s), a piece of advice given to me was:
"There's a 'co' in Cowen for a reason"
I dare say a decade later the advice still applies
Not to say you shouldn't work there, but the likelihood of greater deal flow is much higher at UBS, and some groups there are still decent (power and utilities, in particular)
didn't ubs energy all leave to citi? I think so....
A good friend of mine in Houston is a banker for an energy boutique and his roommate worked for UBS. Worked significantly more hours than my friend and their other roommate who worked for BAML. Also heard bad things about them from my boss, says it's a sweatshop compared to other IB.
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