Looking to go to investing banking post mba. From what I read everyone seems to prefer BBs in general especially at the analyst stage. Is this the same leaving an mba? If I want to make a career out of banking and possibly stay till MD, are EBs or MM banks potentially a better option than BBs?
From what I hear EBs and a lot of others (Gugg/TPH/HL) will pay a higher base salary after school, usually higher bonus, the bonus is also cash, and I’m told the journey to MD is more meritocratic and the compensation at the MD lvls is a few split structure. I still feel like most mba candidates are gunning for BB.
Just wondering if I’m missing something obvious or do people still take BBs for the prestige and exit ops even post mba.
Thanks
Edit: Is the BB MD compensation much higher than EBs/other banks I listed (Gugg/TPH/HL/Jeff)? Just curious if this is a reason as well.
I don't have anything to add, but am interested to see the replies from more seasoned people here....
Following, also: hominem & any other Post-MBA IB/Ex-IB folks
bump
Interested...also, some of the schools publish what companies are hiring their students. Guess you can get a sense there, but the question still stands obviously.
Current post MBA Associate - the key here is that most post MBA associates don’t stay for more than 3-5 years. With that, having the BB on your resume provides more brand recognition later on in your career versus working at an EB that most non-finance professionals have not heard of.
Most people that don't work in finance have never heard of PJT, Lazard, Evercore, or Moelis let alone Qatalyst, Centerview, LionTree, or several other EBs. Most people pursuing a banking gig at the MBA level didn't directly work in finance before and probably won't be in finance for more than a few years, so their focus is on broad names with some casual prestige. There is an argument to be made that a role at a BB is better to move into a corporate finance / strategy role, too, which is probably the most common exit for post-MBA bankers.
Whether or not those choices are justified or best for you is another matter. It seemed to me, in NYC at least, that people seemed to self-select a bit into EBs or BBs.
A lot of post-MBA associates are coming from non-finance backgrounds, and working at a BB grants them exposure to a variety of products and coverage groups that most EBs or MMs don't have.
You're not missing anything. Your overall intuition and questions are on the right track.
First I would distinguish pretty strongly between EB and MM. Every situation is individual but EB is generally going to be better; higher pay most of the time with a higher % in cash, and also the pure advisory environment is a little more stable than a full-service MM like Jefferies where the bank can screw up something on the balance sheet or trading side and that affects everyone. Not a huge consideration but you add all these things up and I'd say EB is pretty reliably a better deal than MM for a career banker.
EB vs BB is a closer call. Yes you're right that EB's tend to pay a bit more and a somewhat higher cash comp. But on the flip side, hours tend to be more consistently rough in EB's as well. All in all, these aren't huge differences. Any EB or BB job is going to be long hours and high pay in the grand scheme of things.
I also think MD pay shouldn't be a big factor for you because your ability to make MD will depend on your ability to win client relationships, and once you have those client relationships you'll have a lot of ability to sell to the highest-bidding bank. MD's make more in BB because of the opportunity to be a full-service bank for the client and collect financing fees etc. But if you build a strong client relationship at an EB then (i) you're already doing quite well and (ii) you could maybe bring that relationship over to a BB and make it more lucrative, so its more important that you just make MD somewhere.
So your real deciding factor should be the specific situation at each bank . . which group you'll be joining, who you'll be working with, how top-heavy is it, etc. I would take a strong group at Bank A over a weaker group at Bank B every time, regardless which one is EB and which one is BB. You want good deal flow to build your skills and credentials so that you can bring more credibility to client relationships around the upper VP level when people start judging your ability to do that.
For prospective associates, I think the most important question is whether or not you want to do M&A. If you do, then it probably doesn't make too much a difference if you work at an EB or top BB M&A group. You will get exposure to great deals and good bankers in both places. Your success will probably depend a lot more on how well you fit into your group culturally, whether there is headroom for you at the time you are looking to get promoted (not something you can predict anyway), etc.
However, if you know that you don't want to do M&A or just aren't sure, then BB would probably be the better way to go. As a coverage banker, you will get exposure to everything under sun. At a BB, as well, I know of a handful of people who started in banking but moved into different areas of the firm like equity research, capital markets, etc. I certainly did not know what I wanted to do for the rest of my life when I was still in bschool, so I think there is some value in this optionality.
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