Finance News

When most out there decide they want to do investment banking, they usually go after the big names: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

But sometimes going to one of these places is not a realistic option. If the hiring market is bad, if you have no previous finance experience, or if you are making a career change, it will be all but impossible to start at the top.

If this is the case, you should consider the boutique investment bank. The term is used differently all the time, but generally refers to both “middle-market” banks that have an international presence but just work on smaller deals than the brand names, as well as to true boutiques that might only have 1 or 2 offices.

The Main Difference Between A Bulge Bracket And A Boutique

People usually say the size of deals makes the difference. While Goldman Sachs may advise on $100 billion acquisitions, a boutique will usually stick to deals under a billion dollars and often far less than that. That may sound like a lot of money, but it’s almost nothing to huge companies.

Other commonly cited differences are working in smaller groups at a boutique, getting more responsibility, and doing more than just crunching numbers.

These can be true, but I don’t think they’re 100% correct. The main difference, in my view, is that boutique experiences are much more random than those at bigger banks.  Read more... (487 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)