From Boutique to Middle-Market to Bulge Bracket: Got Rankings?

“Can you please rank the banks?!! Please! Just this once, rank the banks!!!”

“If I buy you bottle service, will you rank the banks? It’s on me, really!”

No, no, and no. Ranking anything is my least favorite topic in the world – possibly because I spent the first 20 years of my life attempting to out-rank people to get into more prestigious schools and activities.

But I will acknowledge the differences between different types of banks, and that it’s more complex than the previous discussions of boutiques vs. bulge brackets.

If you’re looking for rankings, you should press Alt + F4 right now and end your suffering.

But otherwise, read on and learn all about different types of banks, from tiny boutique to bulge bracket and everything in between – and where you should work.

Equity Research: A Day in the Life, Pay, and Exit Opportunities – Got Hedge Funds?

You’ve broken into equity research by following the detailed advice from our interviewee, and now you’re about to start working.

If I had a magic 8-ball, I’d guess you might be curious about:

• What an average day in your life will be like.
• How much time you spend on modeling vs. reports vs. research.
• How much money you’ll make – at the entry-level and once you’ve become Chief Monkey.
• What the hours and culture are like.
• Exit opportunities and how you can leverage ER to get into top business schools.

Luckily, you won’t be so curious after reading part 2 of this interview – where we answer all of those and more.

A Day in the Life

From Big 4 Restructuring to Investment Banking: How to Make the Leap

“Help! I hate my accounting job and want to move into banking, what do I do?”

“What group should I transfer to if I want to get into finance?”

“My Big 4 salary doesn’t give me enough cash for bottles!”

If you’re at a Big 4 firm right now, you’ve had one of the thoughts above before – maybe multiple times.

We covered how to move from accounting to investment banking before, but this time around there’s a different twist - an interview with a reader who moved from a Big 4 restructuring group to investment banking.

Here’s how he made the leap, and how you can do the same: