Made a very difficult decision to forego Tier II BB Assoc. offer to stay at a lower Tier Public MM with guaranteed VP promotion vs. taking year back. Main considerations were: (i) fear of burnout repeating assoc. year at BB; do not want to have to jump to Corp Dev if I dislike it; (ii) 10+ years into bull market where in the event of downturn, newer folks climbing the curve at BB likely get axed more quickly, especially in a year where I'm vying for a promotion; (iii) stacked middle layer at BB with tons of VPs already and competitive assoc. class;
(iv) genuinely not unhappy with current role (wasn't looking), like people I work with and built significant credibility over years; loved by group head and rainmaker MD; (v) enjoy level of active client interaction on all deals / feel like a true adviser with small, but interesting growth equity stage clients.
However, was completely torn given BB was a goal since college, such a good group of folks on the team there, chip on shoulder never getting the BB opportunity and struggled hard to get into IBD earlier. There is also this obvious / known prestige factor in IBD that if you work at a lower tier MM you tend to be looked down upon, something I've fought against in every interview (this will never change) and hurts career. Obviously cap upside since much larger comp packages at Senior VP / D / MD level at BB.
Comp
MM - Guaranteed 175/175 with promo to VP next year at 200/200, with 210/225 following year
BB - Take 1 year back, 200/175+ this year, with repeat of senior assoc. next year at 200/200+, VP1 = 225/250+
Overall, comp will be a wash over 3 years given discounted stock purchase plan, tax advantaged profit sharing, and deferred savings plan. However, 5+ years down the road, the difference really scales if I were to make it as a Director: $700k+ at BB vs. Directors makes $500k+ at MM. Hard to model beyond 5 years because becoming MD seems close to impossible these days and we will go through a recession in the near term.
Personal
Age: Turning 29, so VP before 30 was a goal I always had
Financial: Forewent B School so savings comfortably sitting at 1M+ generating 40k passive income
Life Goal: Enough passive income to not "need" to work which should take 5-7 years on current path assuming I need $200k in passive tax free income.
Lifestyle has become more and more important in late 20s and as I think about early 30s, love travel, finding it harder and harder to take orders in banking which after 6+ years in the business is monotonous
Lifestyle
MM - 40-50 hours per week, delegate everything to 4 analysts and 1 associate in group. 4 weeks vacation per year that I actually take internationally.
BB - Can't imagine this being less than 60. Not sweatshop, free weekends, but hard to imagine it wouldn't be an adjustment
Deal Flow
MM: Personally will do 1-2 M&A Deals per year ($100 - $350M in EV); 1 Bookrun IPO per year; heavy co-managed IPOs
BB: Equity heavy but all joint bookrun (still not lead left), 60-70% Equity / Pitching; Potentially 1 M&A deal per year, but $1B+ deals
**Relationship **
MM: Very close relationship with rainmaker head of software who wants to do everything to keep me
BB: Obviously unknown at new bank but great team; generalist role
im not sure what the question here is- it sounds like you already ade the decision to stay
if you made it, trust your gut- you don't need validation from a bunch of people who likely don't even work in the industry
seems like you know your shit, and you made the best decision for you
just my 2 cents
The extra comp and redefining yourself at a BB doesn't make sense. Your current gig at the MM firm seems pretty cushy. I would probably stay in my opinion but you know what you are leaning towards.
Pretty impressed by that nest egg you collected within the timeframe of working. It seems that you're probably going to exit altogether within ~7ish years so that extra comp jumping to a BB doesn't really make sense since a portion gets held up in deferred equity anyways which you would probably throw away if you jump to a different industry that doesn't buy you whole.
Pretty spot on with the insight on a potential scenario of a downturn. Better to be in an environment where you're familiar with the important decision makers who you built up enough political capital with than at a new bank starting from zero and trying to establish yourself. Though I wonder whether a BB or MM gets more affected by a downturn.
As a vp at B.B., I agree with your decision mainly because you indicated you are “ tired of taking orders”. Starting at a new firm as a associate (even 3rd year) will require some level of crank for you because you’re trying to establish yourself for promo by end of year, you’re at a new place so you’ll have to learn how things work at a bigger company, going to BB will likely involve some new learning as well (larger more complex transactions). So given your lifestyle preference, you made right choice at current moment.
My recommendation - get promo to vp at your current place. Then try to relateral again to a better shop, but this time as a vp (don’t accept demotion). It will require some hustle to upgrade banks as a vp without demotion but it’s been done before. The B.B. reputation on your resume will be good if you ever want to do something outside finance later.
40-50 hours/week? I assume you're not in NYC?
Like others said, it seems like you already made your decision.
Just curious: How are you making $40k in passive income?
That’s his dividends, interest, etc on the 1 million he’s saved
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