FT Associate Choice - Evercore vs Lazard vs GS vs JPM
Title says it all. Trying to choose for full time associate position between Evercore generalist, Lazard consumer, GS consumer, and JPM media & comms all in NYC. I've pretty much ruled out JPM and Lazard (due to culture, people, reputation, and lower rankings/ prestige) and am only considering between Evercore M&A generalist and GS consumer team.
I intend to stay in finance for the foreseeable future. GS is GS (although it is a consumer team, not a traditional "top" group like TMT), but what really is the reputation of Evercore for those in finance? I gather it is a, if not the top bank on the street. Would be great to hear folks' thoughts.
You would be in a great spot at either. It's really up to fit at this point IMO. Which team do you like more?
Liked people at both, but GS guys looked like they wanted to shoot themselves.
lmao
Depends on you, really. Any advice I give is my own perspective. I know people at Evercore and, at least relative to the industry, seems like they have a good culture. I'd prefer going a generalist route if I were in your shoes so I could try out different industries and find a group I fit better with. The downside to the generalist life though is that you won't build bonds with a specific group, and will be at the whim of the firm's staffing needs as well, so might end up doing something you dislike. I'm also biased because I wouldn't want to do consumer. It's all a give and take. Goldman I think would probably suck, but it's also Goldman. Evercore pays better at the junior level IIRC, but that IMO isn't really a great reason to go to one firm over another.
The GS discount is not worth it.
What's the actual range of delta in pay for Assos given the GS discount?
$50-100k afaik - others please confirm. Incl. sign-on bonus would be make difference even more dramatic given GS pays none.
Are these lateral positions or are they all doing ft hiring right now?
Weird to cut out Lazard if you’re interested in consumer given you are left with a generalist platform where you may never see a consumer deal or a massive discount for the Goldman name and not close to the best consumer group at a BB.
Personally, I would take EVR for compensation and training reasons.
Not 100% sold on consumer tbh. I think generalist route is the best to get a better sense of fit. Is this sense of "prestige" of GS as a whole overblown and really doesn't make a difference especially if you're comparing to the likes of Evercore, once you're in the industry?
GS Consumer is top of street for C&R alongside CVP and if your priority is to get on the biggest consumer deals, GS is the play.
However, Evercore generalist isn’t anything to scoff at. You’ll make more money and from what I heard, 2/3rds of the groups in Evercore are better culture-wise than GS C&R (and GS C&R is already one of, if not the best, culture group in GS). If you’re not sure about Consumer or if you value pay, choose Evercore.
It really boils down to priorities: if it’s money/flexibility within banking: Evercore. If it’s flexibility outside banking and building a more impressive resume (aka bigger name deals) for an exit: it’s GS.
In terms of building skills and the actual experience, it’s a wash. You get to do coverage and execution for both and there are superstars and shitty seniors in both platforms.
Cross out GS, not sure why you'd take the discount after reading your post. I'd go EVR from the people I know there, the range of TEV they work on and last but not least...the comp.
+1 vote for GS (or at least trying it out for 2-3 years first) - As an associate you should be thinking about your career in longer horizons. (1) In case you leave banking in 3~5 years, GS is the better brand name that is recognized from all industries. (2) Moving to an EB at ASO2~VP level (once you realize you want to do banking for the long haul) should be relatively easy coming from GS. (3) GS would also provide you more options to move to different groups (capital markets, asset management, principal investing/PE groups etc) if IBD is not for you.
This is a good point. Yes GS discount is real but it opens more doors outside of banking thanks to its brand name. If you can't take the pay discount at GS anynore, you could always move to an EB after couple years.
You could even have a shot at a firm like Evercore! Man, amazing exits!
I think ppl very much underestimate how easy it is to lateral to top shop like Evercore
What about the step back in year (ASO3 back to ASO2) that happens if/when you move from lower BB's to a GS/JPM/MS or an EB?
Agree. Moving from GS/JPM/MS to an EB at the ASO/VP shouldn't be a problem. Maybe it's harder if you come from a lower-tier BB or MM, but top from BBs it can be done easily. That said, you might be surprised though that not many leave for EBs at ASO3-VP level. I think BB->EB laterals are most common at MD-levels.
To boil down simply - if you plan to stay in finance Evercore no question. If you want to leave finance in the near future, go GS
Pay gap only grows with time (both total pay and the fact EVR is cash)
GS is great if you want the prestige when exiting to a corp dev role or something. Some corporate organizations might not be as familiar with Evercore. But in finance not the case
EVR isn’t all cash either at the associate level but the cash portion does exceed cash portion for GS. From what I gather, if you’re not top bucket at GS, EVR cash bonus is greater than GS total bonus
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