Interning in London next year. BB. Choice between LevFin & DCM. Not interested in PE. Equally interested in both. Like getting 7hrs sleep. Is this possible? What are hours like in each? Normal day? Cheers.
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If not interested in PE and want to get some decent sleep then take DCM.
Hours are more predictable, get to do issues for some big well-known companies and you will actually be able to have a bit of a life as DCM guys are market hours based - so in the pub on Fridays by 6pm etc.
Rough hours: DCM 8am-7pm, LevFin 9am-11pm (could occasionally be worse, up to 4am like M&A)
Just if I may add - it depends on the bank for LevFin and the desk within LevFin you sit at (Orgination/Syndicate/CapMarkets).
Most DCM groups start at 7am. If summer is quiet and less IG new issues, would expect you to wrap up around 7-8pm, up to midnight on a bad day (or at the begining when you're note 100% familiar with thte tools)
Also thanks Zlatan & Pan European. Appreciate the responses. Is there significant variance in hours across the different desks? Or is it just type of work? I’m leaning towards DCM just because of hrs and no PE interest. Have a good weekend guys.
This may be valid for the US but not for London. In London, DCM starts at 8am or even a bit later (i.e. 1 hour+ later than S&T) You may need an early start if you have deals on the day. And your day can easily end at 6pm for at least 3-4 weeks during the summer as the market is shut. Even in busier times a DCM junior hardly stays past 8pm.
Cheers for this bro. Appreciate it. Didn’t realise DCM hours were that good, was expecting minimum 14hr day standard. I’m not really fussed for PE, feel like something people do because they’re told to. Is the more interesting work actually worth it for LevFin hrs? Have a good weekend.
Longer hours worth it in my opinion. Even if you don’t want to do PE, the modelling skills from Lev Fin. will open more doors in the future. Also if you like being intellectually challenged, you will be done learning after 6 months in dcm..
I don't agree with the above. If you're at a big bank where LevFin is more of a Capital Markets group (which it sounds like it is), you will not necessarily be doing all the modelling or LBOs, this will be done by the financial sponsors group within M&A. And you will simply be doing High Yield, loans and mezzanine stuff. So in that instance, i think DCM would be the better choice.
Otherwise, I think it comes down to the bank/team. If they're known for being strong in European LevFin (eg. Deutsche). If not, take DCM.
I spent a summer in DCM in at a large balance sheet bank tier 2 city in North America (Chigago / Toronto / LA), the bank was top 3 for investment grade primary market on the league tables. My hours got better with time, first because you get used to the (repetitive) work and do less mistakes and August can be really quiet on primary markets.
If I had to choose i would actually do LevFin to get some more modelling experience and get exposed to more deal complexity/diversity during the internship. Not going to lie, I found DCM very repepetitve and felt like I was doing the same type of market update slides over and over updating databases and there was no modelling involved (even for full time analysts/associates and above). DCM is not bad career wise because: - hours are better than IB; - you get exposed to clients early on in your career, some DCM groups are on/very close the trading floor, which is very fun; - Pay is in line with IBD groups (and bonus structure is generally not bad if you're bank is active enough)
Cheers
Big thanks to all those who replied. Really appreciate it. I am leaning more towards DCM just for hrs and reasonable comp. Will speak to the bank next week and get this sorted. Thanks.
I think LevFin is more suited to the credit arms of private equity. As you said, you're not really bothered about transitioning. In that case, it's a long term career play, and, if you find yourself being more productive in a less intense work schedule, then DCM is a great option. I've seen DCM get some hate on WSO (Not on this thread), but it is still a good group where you can learn a lot and grow quickly in the group.
DCM for lifer, LevFin for leaving
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