Jefferies S&T vs IMC Financial Markets

I currently have offers at Jefferies S&T and IMC Financial Markets as a junior trader .Which one should I take.What is the difference between exit opps from S&T at a Prop shop and Investment Bank? Someone said if you are not good you could get fired from a prop shop easily..
Also is IMC among the top prop shops?

 
Best Response

This should be an easy choice, at least it would be for me. Jefferies and Credit Suisse are, imo, the two best firms to currently work for and in many ways I would say Jefferies is becoming or has become a BB here in the states.

With a position at J&co you are going to make the contacts necessary, and have a stable enough pay/environment/bonus to think about make career moves in the future. There is also more of a defined corporate ladder at a place like J&Co, which will provide for better exit opps 5 -10 years in the future.

I really do see them as emerging as one of the best iBanks to work for in the country, congrats on the offers. They have hired some talent because they did not take any money from the government, their ibanking division advised on the XTO buy out (they actually told XTO don't let it happen) and their S&T is growing.

The difference is I'd imagine you'd be doing Institutional at J&Co rather than prop correct? I'm unaware if they've broken into prop....if they are trying to do that now you can say that you were a part of a team that started a prop book at a large firm, another bonus for your exit opp if you are trying to go HF.

I think about J&Co rising to the top because they don't have the negative press of GS or UBS, they took zero government dollars, and they hired and paid out bonuses this past year. This should be an indication of the direction that the best MM firm (really no argument there) is heading and I would say that J&Co will be top five if they keep it up (and UBS AG keeps shitting on itself) and everyone I've spoken to at J&Co seem to think they will be able to retain their talent. This is mirrored in the performance of their stock as well, though it has recently stabilized.

Best of Luck. You really are talking about two very different environments.

 

really depends on what you want to do long-term and how you like the culture. i interviewed with imc, and although they are not one of the best prop shops, they are a very good firm. if you like the culture, can accept less job security, and like taking risks, imc would not be a bad choice. that said, i know very little about jefferies.

 
aeneous:
really depends on what you want to do long-term and how you like the culture. i interviewed with imc, and although they are not one of the best prop shops, they are a very good firm. if you like the culture, can accept less job security, and like taking risks, imc would not be a bad choice. that said, i know very little about jefferies.

Long term I want to enter a hedge fund.I feel Jefferies might better prepare me for that. But few questions : Is it like you can make more money at a prop shop if you are good? And how less of a job security are we talking about? bcoz this is the thing that is concerning me most.I have heard that junioirs get fired a lot from prop shops.Dont know how true this is for IMC. I am willing to take risks but dont want to be out of job after a few months in this economy.Sorry if I am being paranoid.

 

Take Jefferies beacause its a better bank and will probably set up with better long-term goals.

m.c. trader is kidding himself if he thinks Jefferies is BB. Its a solid MM and I don't see that changing in the future (unless they get acquired by a BB, but then they'll lose the name). It takes a strong international presence, established and diverse product offerings, and large capital reserves to be a BB. The time to make moves was during the crisis. Jefferies did extremely well, but now everyone else has/is recovering and they lost there window. UBS may still be in trouble, but should something happen to it you can be sure a BB will acquire its S&T division along with all its clients.

Congrats on Jefferies and it is a strong starting point for a career, just don't think you can be like Sidney Weinberg and start as the janitor of a no name Jewish firm and retire the senior partner of one of the most well respect Investment Banks on the street. (Sidney Weinberg made janitor in 1911, Senior Partner in 1930, retired as Senior Partner of Goldman Sachs in 1969) .

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

IMC is riskier, but could also be significantly more lucrative. Jefferies is more stable, but you are sacrificing upside potential, at least initially

These two positions are actually fairly different so make sure you take some time to think about your decision.

The Macro View http://themacroview.wordpress.com
 

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