Comments on: The Investment Banking Associate: Senior Banker in Training, or Glorified Spell Checker?

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 15:00:46 +0000

In reply to Atanas. No. They're worse because they barely even use Excel anymore and instead focus on deals/clients.

By: Atanas

Atanas — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 10:44:45 +0000

Brian,

Are seniors (IB, HF, PE) better modelers than associates and how much?
My first guess would be not by much as they spend a lot of time with clients and the emphasis is on other skills.

Cheers

By: ISCO

ISCO — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 20:11:54 +0000

In reply to M&I - Brian. Thanks !!!

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 16:31:30 +0000

In reply to ISCO. The U.S. is definitely the best place for post-MBA Associate roles because that hiring channel is far less developed in Europe.

By: ISCO

ISCO — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 12:45:16 +0000

Hi Brian,
I really enjoy this article, which is really useful for me. However, I have confusion in deciding the post-MBA decision between London and NYC. Specifically, I have 3 years experience in London Big 4 Audit + 2 years in Big 4 TS, and I got permanent residence in UK meanwhile MBA (STEM) in US also provides 3 year opt.

When making decision between LBS MBA and Cornell MBA, though both of them are target school, I am worried that many Bulge Brackets IB provide less placements in LONDON (i.e. JPM, UBS, DB, Barclays barely offer MBA associate roles) , while NYC provides greater exposure to some extent.

Personally, I could embrace the cultures of both cities. From your perspective, which is the better choice in ensuring breaking into BB IBD ?

By: Chandrakant Dhondiyal

Chandrakant Dhondiyal — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 11:02:27 +0000

First of all I didn’t thought that the article going to be that good… I really appreciate how you simplfy everything.. Kudos to your effort

By: One_Mic

One_Mic — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 23:14:17 +0000

In reply to M&I - Brian. Thank you so much! I will be sure to check these out.

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 16:03:03 +0000

In reply to One_Mic.

Thanks. We’ve covered some elements of regional boutiques here:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/top-investment-banks/
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

In short, regional boutiques give you some advantages, but it’s not necessarily “easy” to move from them to larger banks, especially at the Associate level. They’re fine if you’re at a non-target MBA program or have other issues that prevent you from being competitive at larger firms, but otherwise middle market/elite boutique/bulge bracket firms are a better bet (or even well-known industry-specific boutiques like Leerink).

By: One_Mic

One_Mic — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 05:48:57 +0000

Enjoyed reading this article. Good for someone who wants to be a career banker. Any chance you would be able to make an article about regional/start-up boutiques and how to make the best of them? Are they a underrated ticket to the major players? Thanks so much!

By: M&I - Brian

M&I - Brian — Sat, 13 Jul 2019 23:04:59 +0000

In reply to Alex. Thanks. The VP and MD versions are coming soon!