Bulge Bracket

EDIT: I just had a call from the head of HR who said nothing could be done. They could offer me nothing. When I told them about the bad PR, that it meant applicants could never trust a signed contract with JPM she merely repeated that they could do nothing. Long time lurker here doing my first post....

03 Feb 2022

Hey guys, I have a little bit of free time - hence I though it'd be a good idea for a quick Q&A. Some background: Immigrant from Latin America, moved to U.S. ~10 yrs ago Went to a non-target in the Pacific Southwest w/ a finance major (okay business school) Sophomore internship: non-paid gig...

16 Jul 2021

PE MF vs BB IB right out of undergrad is a no brainer. But what about PE MM vs BB IB ? Pay slightly better in BB IB, lifestyle slightly better (depending on firms, could be significantly better) in MM PE, so I guess it all comes down to exit opps (or more precisely post-analyst years opps). I...

01 Dec 2021

Open to questions of any nature related to Investment Banking / Advisory fields as well as general finance industry. Background: - BS in Mathematics (Russia) - MA in Economics (Russia) - 6 months in leading Russian, state-owned investment bank - 8 years in European Bulge Bracket bank, including...

30 Jul 2020

I received an offer to work for a large bank (GS, MS, JPM) as an analyst once I finish my senior year of college. I want to negotiate as I don't want to leave anything on the table, but everything is standardized across the bank (base salary, sign on bonus, PTO, etc). Where can I negotiate / what...

15 Aug 2022

Shit I know you guys have seen posts like this many times. Anyways, there is too much information out there and everyone seems to be making things up. First of all, when is BB IB recruiting for summer analysts? I've seen people say may, others say september. I'm not sure if it's too late for me to...

16 Aug 2022

Hi, hoping to see if anyone has insight or access to information that sheds insight on the top healthcare groups on the street? Are there certain firms that outperform in this area over others? I understand there are various verticals and sectors in Healthcare and some firms may outperform others in...

02 Jun 2020

I am at a mid-tier BB looking to lateral to another BB with a very strong TMT group. Currently in a great retail group but am staying on A2A and looking to change sectors. From research i've done it seems like this is the consensus in terms of deal flow (M&A) and street reputation. 1.) GS 2.) JPM/MS...

11 Sep 2020

What things would you consider items that constitute a bad group culture versus just being the "culture" of Bulge Bracket investment banking? 1st Year Analyst I am sure this list can go on and on but I am going to stop here. I think that this is 80-90% bad culture and sweatshop/crappy group and...

12 Feb 2021

Okay! So who's taking UBS's BB spot? BNP Paribas, Wells Fargo, Nomura or RBC? (Other?) Your opinions are valued! May the best bank win!

24 Oct 2021

Hey everyone, feel like we haven't had a good ol' argument/friendly discussion in a while. What would you say is the current tier list of investment banks in 2016 based on overall brand strength? If you have real balls, rank them with no ties (1a, 1b). Ranking the Bulge Bracket and Elite Boutique...

08 Apr 2018

Any opinions on best (rankings welcomed) Consumer/Retail groups for both BB and EB? Any other information on specific groups within a BB or EB (hours, pay, culture, etc) would be appreciated as well. Thanks!

19 Feb 2020

Everyone knows that you need to come from a target school with a high GPA to become a person with the job title "Investment Banking Analyst" at the Bulge Bracket Investment Banks like GS, MS, Barclays and etc. But I am wondering what OTHER jobs can a recent finance graduate from a non-target and...

06 Mar 2022

Hi Guys, I would like to ask, does the need for Visa Sponsorship in the UK put me into disadvantage when applying to investment banks in London for Summer Internship? I currently have Student Visa that allows me to work without sponsorship. I am not planning to lie on my application when the...

01 Aug 2021

How bad did you manage to mess up on your first few interviews? Anything silly you uttered without intending, or did you choke completely? Share your experience fellow bankers and aspiring bankers.

11 Oct 2020

Hey everyone, I'm currently a rising sophomore at a target school (Ivy). I finished my first year with a 3.8 GPA, and have two internships for this summer. One is at a global middle market investment bank, and the other is at a small search fund. I'm planning on applying for sophomore BB SA...

15 Jun 2021

WSJ just reported that BofA is planning to change the marketing name of its investment banking unit "Bank of America Merrill Lynch" to only Bank of America (Securities) and reduce the wealth management operations' name to Merrill. How will this affect the reputation of the bank and its ability to...

03 Mar 2019

In the world of college sports, top athletes from high schools all over the country compete to join the best programs for 2 to 4 years. Just like college sports, banking takes the absolute cream of the crop of their pool, sometimes less than 1% of those who want it, simply because there are not...

01 Aug 2019

I have heard mixed thoughts on this from senior people. Some seem to say they don't care about your GPA once you have interned at a firm/got the job...and it should not be included on your resume after you graduate...some say it should be included on your resume after you graduate? There is no...

03 Jun 2020

Hello! I was hoping that someone could shed light on which group would provide me with the best learning experience for exits into PE? Will any of these groups pigeon hole you? As in if I am in TMT, will I not get to work on bigger deals because of the nature of the industry compared to Industrials...

13 May 2020

For some context, I'm currently a sophomore at a good academic school but a non-target for IB, and am an incoming IB SA at a top BB for sophomore summer (think GS/MS). Having navigated the sophomore internship process, I just wanted to offer some thoughts and advice regarding recruitment and the...

04 Oct 2021

Hey there, all you cool cats and kittens, it's NetworkingNinja here, and it's story time. Background: East coast non-target. Third-year analyst at a west coast LMM PE shop. Below market pay, demanding hours, all-around toxic culture. Needless to say, I'm looking for new opportunities, especially...

30 Jul 2020

I have spoken candidly in the past and will gladly do so again, about my misadventures in the world of marriage. It's a world many foolish men enter, but few ever leave financially unscathed. Today, we look at yet another nail in the coffin of this once noble and righteous institution. One year ago,...

04 May 2017

Hi Everyone, Just wondering if anyone has any insight on RBC's PU&I group? I have heard they are pretty good, but also see them posting the analyst role literally every 30 days...What is going on over there? Are people lateralling to better opps after a couple months or are they just flat out...

01 Dec 2021

Hi! I wanted to see if anyone knows how to get or view rankings of each particular industry group at each Bulge Bracket. We are always discussing which groups are best at each firm, is there a database that logs all this information or where we can see concrete results like Bloomberg or something?...

25 May 2020

obviously most people here are IBD or bust, but for those of us happy making a decent living and prioritize work and family time, what are some of the better roles in the BO and MO? the only real BO/MO role i am familiar with is Trade Support so i am interested in knowing what else is out there. i...

07 Jan 2018

I have signed an offer for a top tier BB's research division (think GS/JPM/MS) as a lateral hire and my background check was already completed. But I just got this other offer from another top tier BB (GS/JPM/MS) but it's with their trading division (which I definitely like more and and the role...

22 Jul 2021

Great news. I finally landed a spot in DCM for the leveraged finance team of a very prestigious BB on the street. I literally started from the bottom, working my way up, and have been working at a mid-size to small boutique firm for the past year and a half. My old firm was super short on staff, so...

16 May 2017

A2A at a BB with ~5yrs of experience in Healthcare Investment Banking coverage. Current focus towards the Biotech/Biopharma subsectors. M&A focus; transaction experience across all common product groups. To preempt, I do not have a medical degree but do have a natural sciences background.

13 Nov 2017

Hey, I am currently a senior analyst working in Risk at a BB outside the US (London, Hong Kong, Tokyo). Within a month, I will be internally moving to a team that sits between S&T and IBD working on Structured Finance, Mortgages etc. I have been very interested in Real Estate and this is a role that...

16 Jan 2022

I've noticed that UBS/DB both get so much shit from all over this site, but it seems like when I talk to folks who work on Wall Street and at several different BBs, they always talk about how they're still very respectable firms with good culture and people - great places to start a career for an...

04 Dec 2020

Both industries are interesting and have a lot of developments happening within them. I know that Technology and Healthcare go hand in hand often - does this mean that the Healthcare group will cover a healthcare technology company or would that be covered by the Technology group, does anyone have...

01 Jun 2020

I joined WSO a little less than two days ago. I want to post my in depth detailed story of how I made it to the BB I am at now. Hopefully this will help inspire a few people or at least show them that you can in fact make it to a great firm coming from basically nothing. I grew up in a decent...

19 May 2017

Hoping some of the older guys can provide guidance here. I have the chance to accept an analyst offer for a CMBS Originations role at a BB in NYC. Eventually, I would like to pursue an Associate role in REPE. Will taking a job in CMBS alter my chances of receiving an offer at a MF or top-tier shop?...

14 Aug 2020

Curious as to if most BB analysts leave after their 2nd or 3rd year for PE. Is it better to leave after your 2nd or 3rd, does it matter? Are most full-time analyst programs 2 or 3 years? I seem to see mixed things on this, I have seen many analysts stay 3 years then leave, or stay 2 years an leave....

30 Jul 2020

I just got a summer analyst position at a BB bank and I'm extremely happy with the position. But I was wondering how it compares with smaller prop shops in terms of comp and lifestyle. I know, for example, a first-year at Optiver can make 300k. And this is in Chicago, where the cost of living is...

24 Feb 2019

Hey guys, I'm a rising sophomore at a target school (Ivy). Finished freshman year with 3.8 GPA, currently doing both an IB and search fund internship this summer. I've already started looking for sophomore SA programs at local boutiques and MM firms, and plan on starting the networking grind soon....

22 Jun 2021

Hi all, This has been something that I've been wondering for a while. If a VP at a top BB or EB like GS / MS or EVR / PJT / CVP, and they've grinded up since 1st year analyst, do you guys still think it'd be near impossible for them to find a decent PE role as a senior associate at a 1~3bn PE fund?...

17 Sep 2020

HEAR ME OUT. I've got an Investment Banking SA position for summer 2022, and a graduation date of May 2023. I'm wondering if I can also accept a FT Management Consulting job by graduating early (Aug 2022), and post-IB SA summer, I start working within Consulting FT. If I like it better than IB, I...

04 Aug 2021

Hi all, I worked at a large firm in M&A for over 2 years and switched to a much smaller firm. Been here about 1.5 years now, I'm doing well and got promoted and everything but want to get back to a big firm. I have traction with some BB and elite boutiques (my main targets) and have an interview...

24 Apr 2018

People often tell me it's better to work at JPM Markets or Citi Markets than GS Securities because of the difference in the balance sheet and revenues, but I feel like this figure isn't normalized with respect to how many people work at each bank... If one bank made 10 times the revenues of another...

02 Mar 2019

Hey all, just wondering where associates/2nd year analysts typically exit to from shareholder activism type IB groups. I know activism defense advisory is offered by some BB and EB banks and was curious if most stay in IB or eventually try to land at an activist fund or in PE.

26 Jan 2018

Hi guys, I'm wondering where realistic places are for me to end up in London when I apply to IBD in the next few months. Here is my profile: LSE Master Accounting & Finance 2021-2022 Grew up in London, went to a German school and got 3.5 GPA equivalent (1.8 Abitur) (native German & English)...

21 May 2021

This is for IBD in the US (NYC specifically) and as of November 2014. Bulge Bracket & Large Banks: Tier 1a: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Tier 1b: J.P. Morgan

09 Nov 2014

Could somebody please make a bulleted list of all of the bulge bracket banks and include the core competencies for each bank at what they're best at? This would be to everyone's benefit who wants to learn the "scoop" on each of the big players

30 Jul 2018

Why would anyone in their right mind switch from BB Analyst --> MF PE Associate? Why not just go A2A? Everyone on this forum talking about how MF PE is 2x worse than IB for work/life balance, similar pay at junior levels, and very little chance of making partner or getting that coveted spot at the...

14 Apr 2022

Hey guys - long time reader / occasional poster, made a new account for purposes of this Q&A. Learned a lot from WSO as I was navigating the recruiting process, so hope to pay it back. Happy to answer any questions about the process / networking / the job / anything else that I can be helpful with....

02 Nov 2015

I'm looking to generate some ideas for the next few years as my bank only promotes some 30% of Analyst level salespeople to the associate level. Everyone else either moves around the bank to other groups/areas in the front office or goes to the buy side. My question is, what roles would be available...

21 Jun 2019

I've heard great things about UBS's culture and global presence, especially in LevFin/TMT/Industrials as well as FX/Rates on the floor. However, in the league tables they seem to take a big hit across M&A, ECM/DCM, and S&T. Even banks like RBC, BNP, SocGen, HSBC, and so on, tend to have an edge on...

17 Jan 2021

Hey guys, I have only been on this forum a couple of times, but I formerly worked in M&A at a bulge bracket. I have been out of the business for a couple of years now (my choice) and I just wanted to give you guys some advice about the financial industry (this was inspired by Greg Smith) Some...

02 Jul 2012