Consumer/Retail Group Rankings
Any opinions on best (rankings welcomed) Consumer/Retail groups for both BB and EB? Any other information on specific groups within a BB or EB (hours, pay, culture, etc) would be appreciated as well. Thanks!
Any opinions on best (rankings welcomed) Consumer/Retail groups for both BB and EB? Any other information on specific groups within a BB or EB (hours, pay, culture, etc) would be appreciated as well. Thanks!
| +267 | Why UBS Is the Worst Place to Start Your IB Career | 40 | 2d |
| +219 | UBS 2nd Year Analyst Q&A (2026) | 41 | 1d |
| +102 | What's your craziest "hardo" story? | 18 | 2h |
| +72 | UBS IB 26Q2 a Disaster! Advisory Revenue Down 23%, Capital MarketsDown 5% | 11 | 1h |
| +53 | Wolf of Wall Street vs. Reality: Anyone else feel scammed by the movies? | 19 | 16h |
| +50 | Suspended for a Year | 21 | 20h |
| +49 | Elite Boutique interview questions | 17 | 2d |
| +37 | so confused about 28 SA timeline | 30 | 11h |
| +34 | Lincoln International Return Offers | 8 | 29m |
| +33 | Rate my non-target resume | 19 | 5h |
Career Resources
would also love to see info on MM consumer groups
For MMs: HL HW / Piper LMM / Blair
Surprising to see Blair on the lower tier of that list, considering how strong they seem to be in other groups. Is it an issue of general deal flow?
What are the biggest differentiators between the groups (besides location)?
Where would Baird fall on the list? Specifically Chicago office
Blair is definetely a player in the MM, typical EV of $100-500mm and a few $1B+ mandates.
From talking to people in competitor firms, sounds like a lot of Blair's consumer deals were capital market oriented instead of M&A
Not true - have several WB Consumer Books on my desk and creds point to heavy M&A. Check their site: Ranir / Perrigo, Team Tech / Clearlake, Ferrara / Ferrero, PDC / CVC.
MS, GS and BAML are on basically every IPO. Mega M&A deals are all Centerview. Piper has a strong fitness banking practice (like orangetheory, etc) and consumer products. North Point Advisors is a pretty good M&A boutique (seen BBs lose to them).
^^^^ Barclays and EVR are also great.
EVR's on the list because they poached roughly half of Barclays' CRG senior bankers in 2018, lol.
Financo and Sawaya are obv. two other strong players. More of specialized MM industry boutiques than your typical MM bank.
For London?
I will be joining a CNR team in Chicago with BAML. What's the ranking?
Do you know the repuation of the industrials team at BAML in Chicago?
I heard they don’t execute, just pitches.
Consumer and Retail....you should be looking into the best distressed group then...
Out of SBs, but LMAO
Mega/Large Cap: Centerview New Age Food & Beverage: HL & Piper Jaffray New Age Consumer: Not sure that anyone dominates all verticals, though Piper strong here as well BBs with a generally strong presence: GS, MS, BAML MMs with a generally strong presence: Jefferies, HW, Blair, Baird, Lincoln (LMM)
Most of the shops will be strong in one or two verticals (F&B, restaurants, retail, consumer products, household products, etc.) and very few are strong across the board
Centerview for best overall large deals, HL & Piper Jaffray for Growth Oriented deals
This is 100% accurate.
Thank you!
Harvard undergrad to Morgan Stanley M&A >>>
Ratione non exercitationem ratione qui voluptatem sint. Dignissimos error quaerat totam harum et mollitia. Magni corporis saepe dolores. Autem dolores provident porro voluptate facilis ab nemo.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Soluta repellendus numquam sapiente nobis. Qui et recusandae quod animi at cumque aliquid. Sed esse qui molestias dolores distinctio. At illum eos est.