Boutique investing to Bulge Bracket IB

R

relinquo

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
I currently work for a boutique doing private commercial real estate investing (hotels, retail, etc...). I'm aiming for a serious promotion at the end of this year. If it doesn't materialize I'm considering applying for roles with BB IBs doing real estate related IB (M&A etc...) in order to gain a broader network, more transaction experience at the corporate level and some brand recognition.

The thing is, I will be applying to B-school next year. Should I try to make the transition to a BB IB, or are there any drawbacks to a move to another firm so close to attending B-school from a career and B-school app perspective?
 
no drawbacks doing M&A at a BB (duh!!) -- seriously, you are trying to get into the most coveted position in IBD. it won't be an easy transition for you because you are not a good fit in terms of skill set.
 
Go to B-school. Try to land a summer internship at a BB IBD. Apply for associate roles after you come out.
 
Dermot, how's the recruiting been going for you...saw you are trying to get into banking yourself on the chimp forum. (see my comments in the "transition from buy side to sell-side" post)
 
I'm an associate now, which is a post-MBA role. Have stock and limited leveraged co-invest options. I was promoted from analyst, based on my performance, without having an MBA. I'm going to push for at least Senior Associate/AVP (targeting Principal/VP), with a bump in salary/responsibilities and some carry by the end of the year if I'm able to achieve a couple of my goals this quarter.

We have a few people who have come from BB IBs (leverage finance, Coverage, etc...) who are at the Senior associate level (experienced post MBA people) and one or two from second tier IB who had focused on M&A (think, big universal type bank).

If my firm decides not to promote me, then I'll likely try to leave to a BB IB, within "ideally" M&A in the real estate sector so that I can leverage my current contacts and skills, but I probably would also pursue other product or coverage roles like leveraged finance, financial sponsor coverage or real estate coverage.

The move would be a) out of spite and b) to get further in my career.

I understand that the positions are competitive, what would be the point of applying if they weren't?

What are your thoughts on the move from my current role/firm to a BB doing IB as mentioned above?
 
i already replied to this and said that i don't think it is a good skill set match. the transition from banking to your position is considerably easier than the other way around. (i'm sure if you asked your senior associates they would probably tell you the same thing.) however, if you can expand on what you actually do, maybe i can give you a better idea what to expect as far as your prospects go. a lot of it depends on how you frame your skill sets, but the other thing is, without an MBA, i just don't know what banks would bring you in as an associate anyway. maybe firms operate differently in the UK, but that's also something that has to be considered, in addition to the skill set match...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 08:49AM by numi.
 
numi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dermot, how's the recruiting been going for
> you...saw you are trying to get into banking
> yourself on the chimp forum. (see my comments in
> the "transition from buy side to sell-side" post)


Numi, I saw your post in the other thread. I just started (yesterday) sending my resume out to various banks. So far I've restricted my search to tier 2 and niche banks; I will probably hit up the BBs today. Like you said, though, I think I've missed the boat at a couple of the BBs (JP Morgan, for one).

I know one or two people that may be able to help push my case a bit, but mostly I've been concurrently cold emailing various bankers. One told me that their bank only recruits Wharton grads, another, at a different bank, said I have a decent shot and gave me the email of the person in charge of recruiting.

Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Best of luck -- yes, persistence is definitely key. If you stumble across someone who seems willing to help, definitely keep his/her contact available even if he/she can't find you a job right off the bat. They are good people to know as they could potentially steer you in the direction of another firm if they can't hire you, or just give you good general career advice.

Not sure what happened at the bank that said they only recruit Wharton grads -- was it a smaller bank? Just curious. I didn't go to Wharton but I interviewed at all the bulge brackets while I was in college.

Better hurry, because unless you are on the West Coast, I think most of the banks have already done their preselects at East Coast schools.
 
Also, one suggestion for you -- in your cover letter, try really hard to show them that you want to banking and that you understand what it is...folks everyone very often apply to these jobs but don't really know what it's about or have compelling reasons why they want to do it (and most of these candidates are filtered out accordingly). That's probably the biggest way for you to differentiate yourself if you don't have anything that's meaningfully interesting about your background, and also because you didn't go to a target school.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 10:11AM by numi.
 
numi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not sure what happened at the bank that said they
> only recruit Wharton grads -- was it a smaller
> bank? Just curious. I didn't go to Wharton but I
> interviewed at all the bulge brackets while I was
> in college.

It was Evercore.

> Better hurry, because unless you are on the West
> Coast, I think most of the banks have already done
> their preselects at East Coast schools.

Trying my best to hurry!

> Also, one suggestion for you -- in your cover
> letter, try really hard to show them that you want
> to banking and that you understand what it
> is...folks everyone very often apply to these jobs
> but don't really know what it's about or have
> compelling reasons why they want to do it (and
> most of these candidates are filtered out
> accordingly). That's probably the biggest way for
> you to differentiate yourself if you don't have
> anything that's meaningfully interesting about
> your background, and also because you didn't go to
> a target school.

I was thinking about this on my subway ride to work this morning. I'm revising my cover letter right now actually.
 
Thanks for elaborating numi. I understand that it�s not a perfect skill set match, but will try nonetheless. It�s really a plan b at the moment, as it might not sense to move if I get the target promotion (money would be too good). This isn�t the first time I�ve heard someone say that the IB to RE investing transition is easier. I was even asked by a recruiter for a job at an opportunity fund if my modeling skills were up to par with an IB analyst! I told him that they were far superior as I do all the modeling for the RE deals that I�ve worked on.

What I do right now? Well, I started out as a spreadsheet/excel monkey a couple of years ago, then moved on to being a due diligence/transaction execution grunt on top of that shortly after. In the past year I�ve moved on to originating deal flow and negotiating deal terms, through my own efforts, which is why I think that I have a good chance at the promotion. The deals we work on are opportunistic in nature, i.e. highly leveraged with targeted returns in the high teens/20s range at least.

These deals range from the relatively simple to others that are more complex. For example, taking something with a relatively stable cash flow, but some clearly defined value added opportunity, leverage it to the hilt through senior financing and maybe giving a layer of mezz/preff equity to some institutions/family offices and keeping the equity. Basically, creating an option with a very high pay off to equity if you can add a little extra value.

Other deals are more interesting and involve more negotiating, e.g. participating in recapitalizations, acquiring large portfolios, buy assets with a business element to them (e.g. hotels), doing deals internationally, negotiating terms with various joint venture partners (e.g. development company, hotel operator, senior lender, and subordinate lender).

The real value added comes from getting the right terms, bringing the deal together, transferring risk to those who will pay most for it, etc� The deal making/negotiating part.

I�m not that involved with the capital raising process. I�ve only had a handful of meetings with some low level LPs/co-investors to discuss their current investment with us/specific deals.
 
I'm also thinking of setting up a couple of meetings with recruiters/headhunters when I'm in new york later in the year.
 
Also, deal size ranges between $50MM to $200MM in equity, leveraged 4-5 times.

In the long term I would like to head up a boutique firm doing complex and high risk/return RE/corporate investment.
 
Would an MSc from a top school like the LSE/Oxford help make me make the transition at the associate level? I am considering an MBA, but would, ideally, like to get some corporate level investing/transaction experience beforehand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top