BTbanker:
This is like saying Yale vs. Princeton. It does not matter.

There is one firm that rises above all the others though, and that's BX.

Spot-on.

These questions are like Boxers or Briefs. It all comes down to personal preference. In terms of prestige, BX is king.

"Come at me, bro"- José de Palafox y Melci
 

If you go with JPM, you might get stuck in Healthcare or Industrials (boring) and the general public will hate you.

If you go with Lazard, you will be in M&A/Restructuring and chicks won't hate you because regular people don't know what Lazard is. But people in the finance world will respect you.

Just joking.. but not really.

The difference is marginal and more dependent on the people in your team and the MDs running them (regarding culture, hours, learning experience, exit ops).

 
Best Response
lionwater:
If you go with JPM, you might get stuck in Healthcare or Industrials (boring) and the general public will hate you.

If you go with Lazard, you will be in M&A/Restructuring and chicks won't hate you because regular people don't know what Lazard is. But people in the finance world will respect you.

Just joking.. but not really.

The difference is marginal and more dependent on the people in your team and the MDs running them (regarding culture, hours, learning experience, exit ops).

you have no idea how Lazard is set up do you?
"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 
lionwater:
If you go with JPM, you might get stuck in Healthcare or Industrials (boring) and the general public will hate you.

If you go with Lazard, you will be in M&A/Restructuring and chicks won't hate you because regular people don't know what Lazard is. But people in the finance world will respect you.

Just joking.. but not really.

The difference is marginal and more dependent on the people in your team and the MDs running them (regarding culture, hours, learning experience, exit ops).

lol healthcare is awesome what are you talking about and I doubt most chicks heard of JP morgan either..

 

Lazard M&A is one of the best places possible to start out. Plus, it's a full time offer, that's the purpose of internships.....to help you get a FT offer. If you don't want to go to London, don't worry, LAZ will work you to death and you'll likely never see the light of day, let alone Pickadilly Circus.

Get busy living
 

I would go with Lazard since I think we are seeing the shift from the mega Investment banks to the smaller, boutique firms that don't sell every product under the sun, generating huge conflicts of interest.

Good Luck. You will love London

Peace Out
 

You are obviously missing a branch in your brain. Don't take any. Less competition for those who have common sense.

No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well.
 

I think you guys are being far too short terminist. Yes in this market Lazard is the best place to be working. If he was starting now, I would recommend taking Lazard. However he won't actually start work until Sept. 2010 and by then everyone expects the market to have picked up and they'll be much more M&A to share around. JPM Investment Banking had a fantastic 2008, top 2/3 in pretty much every product/region. You'd expect them to be able to leverage their relatively good position when the market picks up.

The results today were bad but better than expected. Dimon is consistently realistic in setting the market's expectations unlike Lewis, Pandit and alike. I highly doubt there will be more huge write-downs or trading losses.

I wouldn't say you'll have more chance of getting a FT time offer at Lazard. JPM SA count will probably be way down and if he managed to get the SA offer, he probably has a great shot at an FT offer.

Maybe my views are skewed because I work in London, but you would be mad to turn down a JPM offer for Lazard here. Probably due the fact that JPM is much more prestigious over here mind you...

I would say if you do take Lazard, take it because you want to work at an M&A boutique rather than a BB. Not because you may not get a job at JPM, traders may lose billions etc. If you want to work at BB, JPM is the place to be at the moment. My 2 cents.

 
Execution:
I However he won't actually start work until Sept. 2010 and by then everyone expects the market to have picked up and they'll be much more M&A to share around.

Funny, because I also recall people in late 2007 expecting the market to not worsen to this degree, and then Bear Stearns collapsed in March; and then, people expected things to pick up during the summer of 2008. What was the saying? "We're in the 8th inning of the ball game," and then well Lehman went down, Merrill got bought, and Morgan Stanley flirted with death.

It's safe to say noone knows what the hell they're talking about.

 

I agree, you should be more focused on BB vs Boutique difference. There is a world of a difference between Lazard and JPM cultures. You can pick Lazard because all of the (mostly in college) people on this thread are saying to do so, but its really a decision you should make based on what each bank has to offer you and what type of environment is most conducive to your personal preferences. Because if you go to a place you're completely miserable at, you may not get a FT offer, and even if you do, why would you want to take it?

Luckily its an internship so you're not locked into it. This is the exact benefit of an internship.

 
Marcus_Halberstram:
Luckily its an internship so you're not locked into it. This is the exact benefit of an internship.

This is a great point. Keep in mind that the internship will give you an opportunity to get to know the company, and if you don't like it you can always interview elsewhere when full-time rolls around.

As far as the timing aspect goes, I would place more emphasis on firm culture and the BB v. Boutique preference (as stated here previously). No one on here (especially the college students without experience in the field) can predict where the markets will be in the next couple of years--you should pick the place where you will a)fit in and b)enjoy yourself. Picking a company based on (perceived) prestige is the most evident sign of sophomoric naivete.

 

A family member of mine works at LAZ. I visited the office to meet with him and his colleagues (trying to network). When I arrivied, the people showed no emotion. It looked as though they really divide their personal and professional life.

When they talk to their colleages, they talk right to the point, hand over what they have to and don't say anything else. When they met me, they introduced themselves and got back to work (literally 30 second intro).

Now I took it as - wow, they must really not like me trying to get in the firm through networking - wow, they are straight up workaholics; I'd learn a shit ton if I got placed here.

I asked that family member why the atmostphere at LAZ was like that. He responded something along the lines of - "What are you talking about? Why is the atmosphere like what?" Apparently, he fits right in the culture at LAZ and finds those emotionless/no collegiate interactions to be the norm.

In hindsight, it really depends on your personality and fit with the firm's culture.

 

Wow, that's a big turn off :( Lazard was my dream place to work at, but work atmosphere is probably the most important aspect for me. Are there any elite/good boutiques with good & friendly atmosphere?

LeggoMyGekko:
A family member of mine works at LAZ. I visited the office to meet with him and his colleagues (trying to network). When I arrivied, the people showed no emotion. It looked as though they really divide their personal and professional life.

When they talk to their colleages, they talk right to the point, hand over what they have to and don't say anything else. When they met me, they introduced themselves and got back to work (literally 30 second intro).

Now I took it as - wow, they must really not like me trying to get in the firm through networking - wow, they are straight up workaholics; I'd learn a shit ton if I got placed here.

I asked that family member why the atmostphere at LAZ was like that. He responded something along the lines of - "What are you talking about? Why is the atmosphere like what?" Apparently, he fits right in the culture at LAZ and finds those emotionless/no collegiate interactions to be the norm.

In hindsight, it really depends on your personality and fit with the firm's culture.

 

JPM only gets M&A due to its ability to lend of the balance sheet. ALthough they do a lot of deals, the skillset you would learn from Lazard would be better. Everyone knows JPM finishes high in league tables cause they provide financing.

 

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