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I would take Wells Fargo if it was me. It has a bigger support structure than RBC or Baird. Wells will continue to leverage its commercial relationships into IB deals.
WF
What region for each?
Thanks for the response guys. Generally speaking, would you say these firm's reputations are comparable?
WF. Group placement, culture, and exposure should always be prioritized over firm reputation. If you got a top group at wells, do it.
I'd say WF in general has a superior reputation (especially given their recent growth trajectory) -- the group and the location just back that up
Baird, hands down. WF / RBC is not nearly as active in sell-side M&A as Baird. And assuming you want PE, Baird placement is way better than the rest.
I don't understand why people are saying WF?
This. Baird is a much better M&A shop.
Tony is correct, Baird currently is a much better M&A shop but WFS is on a big growth trajectory and they are a BB firm. I've been speaking with a lot of their employees (in the Energy and Industrial groups specificially) and they're anticipating much more M&A deal flow. They've come a long way since acquiring Wachovia and I may be naive in saying this, but I anticipate a big upside in the future (especially if you consider their enormous balance sheet and cross-selling). And Warren Buffett. Nuff said.
And just to clarify, I do not work at WFS
Agreed on this. I spent 3 years at Baird in industrials - excellent firm with great deal flow and culture.
The only people saying WF are people who haven't worked in banking or work for WF. That isn't to say WF isn't a good place to be, but I'd take Baird if my end goal was PE, unless you absolutely hate Milwaukee.
Westcoast has no idea what he's talking about. WF isn't a BB (at least not yet) and everyone is going to say they anticipate more deal flow. I know several people who have worked in WF's energy group - doesn't take much to double your m&a deal flow when you don't do that many m&a deals.
I agreed earlier w/ Tony that currently Blair is a better bank and I stand with you in saying that Baird is a better path into PE.
I was just arguing that WFS may be an attractive place to be in the future. As you know, WFS started ~5 yrs ago. It would not be crazy to think that a bank w/ such a large BS like WF is poised for growth. They do a lot of JBR debt issuances, sure, and that's not attractive to most people, I get it, but my personal opinion is that they will grow
doesn't even know the difference between blair and Baird
Does it really matter if they (WF) grow though? You're not a shareholder; you're an IB analyst - 2 and out.
westcoast what the fucking fuck are you talking about?
Wells Fargo
I would take Baird. I heard Baird is a very strong MM M&A shop with its solid placement to MM PE.
If you're interested in healthcare RBC is rebuilding their group with some top bankers from the Jefferies group that was at UBS prior, so that'd be my pick. M&A Baird, Energy WF. Depends on preference.
Thanks again for the feedback all. It seems like Baird is the best choice from an exit opps/M&A experience perspective, but I am definitely not that excited about Milwaukee. Any comments on RBC (I might be able to change to a better office)? Is it more or less interchangeable with Wells Fargo?
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