iambateman:
UBS Healthcare is a major sweatshop. Analysts get worked to the bone doing pitch after pitch

For a better quantitative experience with better skills learns and exit opps, stick with M&A or FSLF

UBS HC prob has the most prestige, but it comes at a cost

this man knows what he's talking about. M&A or FSLF.

 

Just wanted to know if anyone is familiar with the Industrials group at UBS? Please don't respond with things like, "Terrible Group." How would the experience at a group like this differ from say, Media?

  • Slams
...
 

I have some friends at UBS Industrials (they always go by "GIG" -- Global Industrial Group). Based on the people I know, GIG is a really collegial group (beer/pizza Fridays and a lot of friendships within the group). Probably ~80-100 in the group. A handful of their bankers defected to UBS from Morgan Stanley several years ago. Steadily building share for the last five years. As far as I know, their clients are mainly Fortune 500 and the MD talent is pretty evenly distributed (ie. solid across the board without depending on one superstar).

2007 has been Very good to them dealwise. GIG is divided into several segments (eg. airlines, chemicals, transport, etc...) and the different firms have extremely different capital structures. You could get a very diverse experience there.

Hope this helps.

 
justanotherbanker:
I have some friends at UBS Industrials (they always go by "GIG" -- Global Industrial Group). Based on the people I know, GIG is a really collegial group (beer/pizza Fridays and a lot of friendships within the group). Probably ~80-100 in the group. A handful of their bankers defected to UBS from Morgan Stanley several years ago. Steadily building share for the last five years. As far as I know, their clients are mainly Fortune 500 and the MD talent is pretty evenly distributed (ie. solid across the board without depending on one superstar).

2007 has been Very good to them dealwise. GIG is divided into several segments (eg. airlines, chemicals, transport, etc...) and the different firms have extremely different capital structures. You could get a very diverse experience there.

Hope this helps.

Sounds interesting. Joining a group like this will provide that "diverse" experience that you are talking about, but will you still gain good modeling experience you think?

  • Slams
...
 

Media : hardly 20 ppl in NYC, means less analysts, means your ass is on line if u screw up. At the same time, more opportunity to get exposed to senior people, more opportunity to learn.

GIG: many bankers, diverse experience, but known to be sweatshop, altho they are working hard to change their image. HUGE group, perhaps easy to get lost in the crowd, but then do you want to do that.

 

cruel_monkey:

Have you looked at FIG? I only know what I read in the news and in the WSJ and a bit from friends.

Negative: JPM has pinched two UBS FIG bankers in the past two weeks (Jiampietro and Warmstein). I know a VP in JPM FIG and they are just loving it.

Positive: The two FIG group heads (Sarkozy and Cryan) are still there. They (thanks to Moelis -- recently departed) just landed the huge Sallie Mae deal. Phil Gramm -- a board level UBS exec -- lends some FIG clout to UBS as well. You might recognize his name from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act (aka Financial Services Modernization Act).

Just food for thought. Maybe this will spark some conversation.

 

Thanks StreetLuck -- that definitely adds to my post. One of the guys I live with is with UBS, so I'm particularly interested in the subject.

Sounds like Industrial is getting a lot more credit these days. The analysts I've met from UBS GIG definitely speak highly of the place. Apparently the senior guys are particularly supportive and the staffers have done a good job of keeping the work varied.

 

You'll get a lot less modeling experience in GIG than in, say, M&A (obviously). But, according to analysts I know at UBS GIG, it is possible to (succesfully) request certain kinds of experiences in order to round out your skillset -- this apparently includes more modeling-intensive work. I know a staffer there (really cool guy out of Wharton) and he puts a lot of time into keeping his analysts happy.

Major caveat -- I've heard to stay away from the chemicals subgroup if you're looking for work diversity or modeling experience.

 

I know several guys from UBS Consumer. Very cool people -- they are convinced that they have the tightest relationships with their senior bankers of any group.

For a few years (under Blair Effron), Consumer chased huge, landmark deals (successfully - think P&G/Gilette). They have a new head and are pursuing more middle market deals now. Very strong group, as russia81 said.

 

these guys are pretty spot on with their assessment. UBS GIG in NY is a good group even though people leave that group a lot and the hours are grueling. You'll get good modeling experience and the group places decent into PE shops.

Media is hot in LA with Mahmood, but not in NY. I would choose GIG over Media in NYC.

 

So assuming... I was trying to decide btw finsponsors/levfin, M&A and FIG, which would you guys recommend for a well ROUNDED experience? I will appreciate it if yu can give me pros and cons for any recommendation! By the way I am more than grateful for the insight. You guys are awesome

 

im pretty sure there are a number of topics on this, but from what i hear UBS leads in HC but its a sweatshop (aka long hours, chained to ur desk, stern MDs etc) Media is on the rise and seems like a "fun" group. M&A/sponsors is also strong, and have potentially good exits. Tech is also decent, but stronger on the west coast. They work right next to the media group in nyc.

again, this has all been posted before... if anyone has things to add or other info it'd be appreciated, im sure.

 
Best Response

Pretty accurate

UBS M&A has great exit opps, Sponsors/LevFin are also great. UBS GIG is a supersweatshop but place crazy in large cap PE, especially Carlyle. Media is way better in LA. Tech is good on the west, decent overall. Real estate is ok.

tubs:
im pretty sure there are a number of topics on this, but from what i hear UBS leads in HC but its a sweatshop (aka long hours, chained to ur desk, stern MDs etc) Media is on the rise and seems like a "fun" group. M&A/sponsors is also strong, and have potentially good exits. Tech is also decent, but stronger on the west coast. They work right next to the media group in nyc.

again, this has all been posted before... if anyone has things to add or other info it'd be appreciated, im sure.

-- Interview Guides GMAT Tutors WSO Resume Review --- Current: Senior Analyst - Hedge Fund Past: Associate - Tech Buyout Analyst - Morgan St
 
tubs:
im pretty sure there are a number of topics on this, but from what i hear UBS leads in HC but its a sweatshop (aka long hours, chained to ur desk, stern MDs etc) Media is on the rise and seems like a "fun" group. M&A/sponsors is also strong, and have potentially good exits. Tech is also decent, but stronger on the west coast. They work right next to the media group in nyc.

again, this has all been posted before... if anyone has things to add or other info it'd be appreciated, im sure.

It seems like there's a new thread asking about UBS groups every day

 

Also interested in responses to this. Would really like if people could give specific information/details about certain groups they know about instead of just the usual "UBS M&A is strong."

 

Traditionally, UBS is known for healthcare and UBS-LA (although Moehlis left a year ago, still good). Other good groups include Energy (though mostly out of Houston), RELL (Hilton Deal), Power/Utilities (made up of former top Lehman bankers-including Metcalfe), LatAm, ECM (UBS traditionally is very strong in equities, however last year was off previous highs), and Global Industrials is pretty strong.

M&A and FSLF are usually groups that are highly sought after by SAs. However, the groups themselves are not one par with the industry leaders such as MS M&A, CS sponsors, or JP LevFin.

Media, Consumer Products, Retail ect are all solid groups with solid dealflow. I would recommend any of the groups in the first paragraph as the better, even if not necessarily the most sought after groups.

The two most up and coming groups are Power and Infrastructure. Power has hired most of the top Leh bankers on the power/renewables/utils side and had a record year last year. Infrastructure is smaller group, but growing pretty quickly. Both industries have strong future prospects so are "safe" choices. Hope this helps.

 
DCHockey1:
M&A and LFSF are the only groups at UBS with exit opportunities.

Please take comments like these for what they are: uneducated, unsubstantiated, nonsensical.

Surely, there are other groups at UBS w/ exit opportunities. These type of statements is really what's wrong with this board. Hopefully, the young and impressionable on this forum are wise enough to take all of these comments made as "statements of utter fact" w/ a huge grain of salt.

 

Ummm no. While that may have been the situation up until last summer, that is not the case now whatsoever. In fact FSLF kids are sitting on their hands...not a great way to bolster your exit op changes. Anyway, if you are referring to PE or HF ops, most have dried up anyway and who knows for how long.

Most of the industry groups above have steady dealflow, which is critical in a market like this. Who knows how much worse things can or will get, but remember in general people in product groups get cut before those in industry.

You can probably tell I am in an industry group. However, my group is lucky in that we do most of our techinical work in house, which is a huge benefit. Point of this, things have changed and the whole "sequence" of product group--> PE or HF may have changed. You can't go wrong at certain banks in certain groups, but with UBS I would recommend a top coverage group no matter what you want to do.

 

The only groups I'd really "avoid" at any bank right now are LevFin/Financial Sponsors.

Anyone who purports to "rank" different groups within a bank is going to be wrong, for a couple reasons:

1) What are you ranking the groups based on? Deals completed? "Star" bankers? Actually both of these are wrong, you should be ranking them based on the deal experience you get and how much you learn, both of which are impossible to quantify and impossible to predict.

2) Do you understand how frequently people switch banks? Finance might be the industry with the highest turnover anywhere... ok, maybe Corporate Law is up there too. Just look at how much UBS LA has changed in the past year for an example of this.

Anyone who has done serious buyside recruiting would laugh at the thought of "only certain groups within UBS having exit opportunities."

So how should you pick a group? Well, start with the people there because your banking team is super-important... if you can't stand the people you're going to hate it.

That's the most important factor... also talk to Analysts and see what kind of experience they've gotten, since they'll usually be a lot more honest than the senior bankers. But ranking groups based on "prestige" is almost laughable.

 

The Energy group covers oil and gas (exploration, drilling, services, and some transportation). Like many energy groups it is based mostly out of Houston. While, there are some energy bankers in NY, the bulk of the operation is run out of the houston office. This is a good group that has alot of established relationships with several key clients. If you want to work in Energy I would recommend working in Houston, if you have that option. This group had a very good year this year, and has always done well.

The Power group covers utilities, power technology, and renewable energy companies. The appeal of this group is that on one side you work with often heavily regulated and capital intense utility companies with steady dealflow(some M&A, but mostly debt offerings). On the other hand you get to work with smaller startup companies to on the renewable and power tech. side of the business (more M&A, IPO work. (They did the advisory work on the Verasun/US Bio deal, and are big in ethanol, but who knows how viable that is) Global Head of Power is a new guy that came from Leh, where he was head of Energy M&A. This group had a record year in terms of revenues, so it is definitely a hot place to be if you can get in.

Hope that gives you some color. I recommend both groups.

 

I will ask you to please show me the linkedin profile or some other type of evidence of someone from a group at UBS besides LevFin/sponsors or M&A going to a top PE firm. I learned this lesson by the fact that I'm in a different group at UBS. The only kids who got good PE interviews came from that group. And this is pretty much true everywhere outside of goldman and morgan.

 
DCHockey1:
The only kids who got good PE interviews came from that group. And this is pretty much true everywhere outside of goldman and morgan.

Definitely not true. I came from an industry group (not GS or MS) that had 7 analysts in my class. First of all, everyone got the interviews they applied for. Two of my classmates went to the same top tier fund, one of them had multiple top tier offers. I went to a 2 billion dollar fund (which was my focus) but was invited to interviews at top tiers (that I declined). We also sent one guy to a top tier distressed debt fund, and another to a 3 billion dollar shop outside of NYC.

If you came from a bulge and had any decent work experience, especially if MD's were willing to make calls, you got interviews.

 

I thought Power/Utilities was pretty strong - although you will get worked. One of our alums is a top guy in that group. Sounds like a pretty uptight culture IMO, but I'm sure you'd get some good experience.

 

I can personally vouch that Power is not an uptight group by any means, nor is it a "meatgrinder." In fact the top guys are all suprisingly down to earth, however associate level is a different matter. It should not by any means be compared to Healthcare or RELL in terms of workload. All four SAs from last year are returning as FTs (some may say due to the market, however they could have gone elsewhere in the bank) and I don't believe they will be taking any further FTs. The only way to get into this group is as an SA, Summer Associate, or Associate lateral. If you can get in, I would highly recommend this group.

 

What are you looking to do? If you want to jump to a PE firm, M&A and Lev Fin are your best bets, but I think Lev Fin is probably better since they really have the 2 years and out mentality. They actively try to get their analysts to other PE shops, not sure if M&A has the same mentality. LevFin is one of the worst for hours.

GIG has terrible exit opps but is very big and prominent within UBS IBD, I definitely wouldnt mention it as somewhere you should go.

Media is one of the few coverage groups that does its own modeling. Doing decently well and the best mix of culture and exit opps, IMO.

CPR is known to have cool people.

 

Thank you all for your reply. I apologize for a question without proper information. I asked this question from the perspective of summer associate position. What groups at UBS New York give a summer associate good experience and better chances for a full time offer? (I know that the term "good experience" is again kind of vague but there must be some groups to avoid as they make one's life miserable)

 
pathsofglory:
lol they don't even have an M&A group anymore. Got taken out a while back.

They still have an M&A group, mostly senior level guys though and only takes a couple analysts each year (as opposed to 10 or whatever before). Most M&A execution done in coverage groups now.

 

Avoid FIG, they were the last group to have a major round of layoffs.

pathsofglory is correct, their M&A group was dissolved last year.

Would encourage you to look for full time offers elsewhere.

 

I have a couple of friends working there. I wont say its a particularly reputed group within the bank or anything. neither are exit ops particularly stellar compared to groups like M&A and lev fin.....but it does sound like an interesting group. do what you are interested in man, because it sucks to be stuck in an industry where you have no interest in.

 
GameTheory:
Why does everyone insist on regurgitating random shit they hear on this messageboard? Definitely NOT one of the best health care groups on the street, pretty mediocre. But the culture is intense so if you like working lots of hours, by all means.

I wanted to say this as well..but I knew it would sound much more caustic coming from GT

 

Err...I ain't no veteran homes, GameTheory can take this one

In my humble opinion, I'd say the 'best' group for you is the group where you can work with people you get along with and do interesting/challenging work,. Don't get so hung up on e.g. Healthcare or FIG or Aerospace & Defense just because ppl on WSO say that a certain group is strong

How well you fit in with the group is one of the most important things - would you work in the 'best' group at the 'best' bank if your daily interactions were with complete assholes whom you detested?

P.s. I was at Baker Street Tube station last week for the first time ever...crazy

 

Stay away from Healthcare and GIG for sure. every analyst in both groups are super unhappy, and a bunch are quitting after the bonus hits the bank this year. consumer has a good lifestyle, but experience wise not the best, although the hottest girls in the bank are there. if you want the exit opps, go m+a or lev fin without a doubt. media is also a good group, where kids get modeling experience. chicago is mostly industrials i believe, altho they have a lev fin group there which is ok. ive heard good exit ops for chicago kids, tho in PE firms in the area (MM). In SF they have an amazing lef fin group from what i hear, very collaborative, and great exit opps.

p.s it feels so fking good not to spell check and use shorthand writing.

 

"Many of the cuts could be felt in Britain, where UBS employs about 9,000 people, and would deal a fresh blow to the City of London, where the bulk of employees work. Last week Barclays cut more than 5,000 jobs worldwide, many of which will be lost in the City." -From the article quoted

His post was about IBD (NYC). Like I said. I would feel safe going there.

 

Haha I know its a subjective question. Thats why I ask for "thoughts" in the original posts. I wanted to see people's opinion and what reputation on the street might be. League tables don't always give the entire picture.

 

From my info - the UK team is strong because of all their corporate broking mandates and the old SBC Warburg franchise...but I haven't heard many of their analysts going to PE, they prefer to stay on because the culture is so typically british! (i.e. less hours, more user-friendly culture etc...)

 

Delectus sint reiciendis et et et explicabo. Corporis occaecati eveniet ea eaque. Voluptas ea culpa et. Asperiores a quis placeat et fuga. Quasi ipsam at qui ratione.

Neque necessitatibus nesciunt sed molestiae. Vero impedit laboriosam qui cum voluptas velit. Rem rerum expedita corporis consequatur nobis.

Sit blanditiis qui architecto sint quis sapiente vel assumenda. Voluptatem explicabo dolores velit.

Blanditiis labore temporibus adipisci voluptatum id. Non et officia accusamus magni rerum sit dolore.

__________ Just my 2c.
 

Impedit adipisci consequatur excepturi impedit minima quo quia. Velit deleniti dolores sed facilis incidunt quisquam. Et quia rerum sunt perspiciatis optio sunt id. Blanditiis repellendus nemo rerum odio aspernatur consequatur. Dolores voluptatem rerum sunt voluptatem libero repudiandae.

Error est et dolores similique a. Excepturi voluptas praesentium magnam et ut tenetur est.

Quidem iste et molestias iusto facilis ipsum. Molestiae earum veniam praesentium aut et. Et esse esse molestiae ea earum delectus. Non esse debitis consequatur dignissimos dolore aspernatur. A cupiditate consectetur aliquid provident praesentium non. Quae laborum dolorem alias eum. Voluptates laboriosam illo id libero quidem.

Sit voluptatem dolorem est ullam et molestiae. Debitis expedita veniam et libero veritatis eaque commodi eius. Modi consequatur doloribus quo. Aut natus perspiciatis vitae accusantium similique a eaque. Amet rerum voluptatem corrupti et. Facere officiis esse porro est tenetur. Harum quia optio a praesentium repellendus.

 

Suscipit distinctio explicabo dolor voluptas fugiat incidunt. Praesentium sint laudantium tempora a nobis temporibus ut. Nihil rerum quae et doloremque non. Magni architecto est esse sunt ea reprehenderit aut. Dolorem accusamus alias et in sit non aliquam.

Et non quasi autem esse soluta. Cum quia tempore at tempore laborum veniam libero. Temporibus quisquam autem est accusamus aut ab provident repellendus. Et porro doloribus aut. Beatae ab nesciunt aspernatur recusandae omnis vel porro.

 

Sit omnis repellendus sit nihil et architecto. Dolor impedit unde et. Placeat et maxime enim voluptas.

Ut aut qui earum sapiente aut libero exercitationem. Asperiores sed accusantium quia sed a alias. Quia animi ex dolor enim. Eligendi ut in dolor non itaque nam.

Repudiandae sit voluptatem similique ex aliquid. Consequuntur facere velit placeat. Est ad natus ut ut eum quos et. Eius non consectetur incidunt excepturi dolor accusantium. Hic quae est eveniet repellat magnam sit aut. Qui reprehenderit quis tempore incidunt.

Officia voluptatem molestiae eum voluptatem omnis sed. Tenetur corporis quia in vel. Quidem praesentium error fugiat.

 

Qui dignissimos mollitia rerum id qui deleniti fugit. Nihil laboriosam non molestiae quidem est. Itaque sapiente beatae est vero ipsum. Nihil modi aut aut eum et.

Ullam assumenda distinctio asperiores maxime sit consequuntur. Ratione qui assumenda assumenda alias. Repellendus minima debitis delectus totam accusamus. Dolorem eos sunt rem dolores. A provident qui exercitationem molestiae vitae sunt consequatur.

Et porro iste perferendis voluptatem dolores sed aut. Quisquam possimus nihil voluptas harum. Ut sit qui in accusantium.

Sapiente expedita asperiores itaque aut. Omnis tenetur iure assumenda. Aliquam qui consectetur est beatae qui et qui sed. Ea reprehenderit repellat cupiditate enim aut. Aut qui eius et est quia a.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”