<p>I am looking to break into Investment Banking, but I have no interest in being in New York. would like to be in either Houston or Miami. I am having trouble finding information on IB in these areas.
Is it as difficult to break into IB in these areas as it is in NYC?
Are the same colleges that are the top schools for Wall Street seen the some elsewhere, or are there other schools that banks in Florida and Texas recruit from?</p>
<p>In general, Target schools are Target schools. That said, regional boutiques and banks will definitely have feeder schools that are more in the general locations - plus they often can’t compete as effectively as top BBs and, as such, use regional schools to enhance their candidate pool (although there are generally plenty of students eager to break in with not nearly enough slots). </p>
<p>In Miami, I’m not sure what you’ll find, but besides NY, you will surely find a number of boutiques, regional banks and satellite offices in San Fran/LA, Chicago, and, at least for Energy and Power, Houston. The key will be to find the shops and reach out to them (if you are coming from a strong local school, you should definitely check into the alumni database as well). </p>
<p>Breaking into banking is always difficult, but if you’ve got a decent alumni network, can make some contacts, have a strong resume, and have a solid skill set, you will definitely have a shot. Persistence and patience, as always, are key.</p>
<p>IBanker</p>
<p>Thank you. Does the same apply for West Coast schools, or do they look more for Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkley, etc.?</p>
<p>Those will definitely be primary feeder schools, but other strong west coast schools can probably creep into the mix as well for regional banks and boutiques as they are often not as inclined to travel across the country</p>
<p>Miami isn’t really a big finance scene. A bunch of wealth management branches, a couple of hedge funds and PE shops. HIG Capital has a main office in Miami and Sun Capital Partners has a Boca Raton office. Houston, likewise, isn’t a big financial hub. Energy is the most predominant play there.</p>
<p>San Francisco, on the other hand, runs all deals west of the Mississippi. All tech deals are done from the SF office. Some shops (JPM) only do pitching, but the major players like GS, MS, and CS execute from the SF office. These three have great exits into tech PE and megafund PE.</p>
<p>Regional banks of my acquaintance recruited regionally.
For example, for Florida a shop like Raymond James will recruit at places like Vanderbilt, & other “good” schools in Florida & the South.</p>
<p>Regional midwest banks recruited at local flagships & top regional privates, Etc.</p>
<p>Most of these places do not have many jobs though. They do not run the “2 year analyst” drill like the big NY shops .</p>