I am currently a rising senior at a top 20 University in the States. I'm a finance/comp sci major looking to get a job in Dubai (preferably in IB or PE) after I graduate in 2021. I was wondering what the IB/PE industry was like in the UAE and what some major differences were when compared to London/NYC (amount of work, type of work, salary, lifestyle)? I was also wondering what the top 10-15 firms were in the UAE? Thanks! Any info or advice would be much appreciated!
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The UAE is a very shallow market, and if you're at a top 20 school in the US I would urge you to look at banking opportunities in the US / UK before looking at Dubai. Unless you're a local (Emirati), you won't get hired into a PE role directly from school in the UAE, so not really worth discussing that at all. The PE market is also shallow, with no more then about 4-5 decent funds (2 of which are Mubadala and ADIA, the others being Gulf Capital, Waha Capital and NBK. Even calling the latter 3 decent is a stretch).
In terms of IB, all of the major banks (BBs) plus a few boutiques like Moelis have a Dubai presence. PWP had something in Abu Dhabi, though no idea if it's still around or what if any work they did out of there. All of these players have very small analyst classes in front office banking (3-5 each). Deal flow in Dubai / UAE is weak, and the Big 4 and domestic banks probably advise on more transactions in volume terms. Hours at banks are quite bad with sweat-shop culture and significant pitching / limited execution.
If you want to be in the UAE long term, you would be better suited to start your career in the US/UK and come in at a more senior level. The only upside of being in the UAE at that level is that you're paid tax free, though it's not a cheap city to live in at all (though real estate is taking a nose dive there, even more than in other countries, so can probably get a pretty cheap and nice place).
To give more context, I am considering the UAE because my parents live and work there (10+ years). Also, I'd rather not stay in the US as I would need to apply for a work visa (I'm an international student) which is a big hassle in itself. Would it be easier for me to transfer to Europe (specifically the UK) offices if I landed a job in a firm like Citi, DB or MS? I wouldn't mind the sweatshop culture for a few years too if the pay was good ($70k+bonus), I apologize in advance for asking so many questions which may have obvious answers!
It would be easier for you to transfer from Europe to the UAE vs. the other way around. That being said, I've seen a few guys move from the UAE to the London offices of their respective banks. The Dubai offices of larger banks just aren't regarded particularly highly / respected that much internally, so preference in terms of transfer will be relatively low.
Sweatshop culture while also not doing any deals can be pretty painful. It's one thing to be working 100 hours a week on 3 live deals, it's another thing to be sitting until 2am in the office working on a deck that is clearly not going to lead to anything.
Some even move to London at different banks from what they were working for in UAE.
Rothschild, JPM and Citi have great reps in Dubai and get quite a bit of solid deal work. Pitching actually isn't the majority of the work - banks are pretty selective on pitching for mandates. HL also recently opened office in Dubai and have won some pretty highly regarded mandates over the past few months. Would target these 4 shops.
I think Bank of America, Barclay & Standard Chartered are the most active when it comes to interns / analyst hiring ! Chekc them out ! But at the end of the day, the ME is ME, I would urge you to stick to USA as it’s viewed higher !
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