What are you views on making the move from a consultancy to investment bank. I know its probably not the best move right now but it is something I am thinking about.Specifically, I am looking for the type of roles ibanks seek to fill from a consulting background

Unless you are quite junior and looking to join a grad scheme from zero there is little - if any - overlap between IB and MC; depending on your experience you would probably find more affinity within VC or PE.

I think he's quite junior. He wrote iBanking in the same way one might write iPod.

Saying iBanking is commonparlance these days, so poss not an indication of seniority. I am of course commenting on the basis that the original poster its refering to moving into actual IB banking (i.e. M&A and more specifically LBO etc) rather than operations (but even for middle and back office they want banking sector experience these days, so still hard unless you come from a IB specific practice doing somethike developing algorythmns for derivatives, trading platforms or suchlike).

Mars a day - you are quite correct I am quite senior and have been working in M&A (strategy) at Big4 for the last few years. I am looking for views/experience that might be broader than my current exposure.Congratulations to the iPod guy for being vaguely aware of the zeitgeist.

Two threads in a row ('Accenture v JPMorgan' and this one) I've read that there is no overlap in cosulting and IB - lets take M&A.From my limited experience so far as an analyst who has worked on Strategy projects and M&A projects I have to disagree. A number of strategy projects I've been involved with involve details financial projections. For example running DCFs on several scenarios, acquired by X, Y,Z, acquire horizontally or vertically, organic growth etc.Also assessing potential acquirers and looking for synergetic partners.Sorry this is a bit rushed as I'm snowed under but you get the idea. These are core M&A activities that you may well undertake in Strat.

Casio the MC and IB environments (and requirements) are very different; you could in theory make ther switch directly after MBA and enter IB from MC at that point, but you would get little credit for your MC experience: IB wants bankers who undertand how banking works and the approach is at odds with MC - MC is more lateral, and less detailed, while every comma, colon and decimal point in IB M&A is checked 20 times (at least). You get the idea. A move between MC and IB COULD be done directly after MBA but there would be little to gain, as you would lose credit for your MC experience. The sensible - and far more feasible move - is to move from MC to VC or PE, which although people call them IB are not IB per se. Although the models you use would be relevant they are not as robust as those used in IB. And besides, most in IB try to make the move to buy side after 3 or 4 years anyway, so why join the queue?Original Poster: there are still plenty of opportunties in banking, just not in IB itself at the moment - PE, VC and Hedge Funds are all hiring heavily, and increasingly HFs are becoming more aquisitive and behaving like PE anyway.

Here's a question.Currently analyst at a big 4 consulting firm. Potential to join a start up brokers on less money but potential to make sig. amounts. Am I mad to be considering this?

Prop bokers or Interdealer brokers?

interdealer

Then it depends on whether you are going in eyes open; the 'credit crunch' has obviously been good for the interdealers, as it enables the major banks to narrow theirn positions without showing them to the market, but exit options are minimal - you could make a move to the sales floor of an IB but this would not be guaranteed, and interdealers are held in only a little better regard in IB than prop traders. In either role you won't be a market maker and this will count against you. On the flip side, once you have generated your target revenues you will be able to claim a big chunk of what you generate thereafter - 40 or 50% is not unusual. The other aspect is can you sell?? Your business pipeline will be entirely dependent on winning and keeping the business from desks within ?IB, so you will be spending time and money on entertaining them in expensive restaurants, stip clubs etc to keep them sweet. My honest view is that you would be doing yourself a disservice to move to an IBD now - as an analyst you don't have enough experience of MC to determine if it is for you or not, and in a year or two you will have far more exit options available than from the same amount of time in IBD. Ambulance chasing will get you nowhere in life.

Firstly apologies for hijacking the thread!Mars,Thanks. I am fully versed in the broking lifestyle, the risks and of course the rewards. I also think i'd be pretty good at it based on the 'skills' required. Exit options are an issue but frankly i'm not an oxbridge econ grad so the sales desks at banks are a bridge to far for milkround applications. This is the next best thing.I have 20 months consulting experience so if it didn't work out, i guess the question is would that be enough to go back to consulting with my tail between my legs?

Are you the same guy that claimed you are "senior"?

Then I apologise for being patronising - it's often hard to judge levels of experience etc on this forum. 20 Months is enough - just - but would make me a little uneasy. 24 is better so you have 12 whole years, it just looks more cohesive and well thought out.

This thread has got confusing.

Thanks Mars,I may try to hold them off for a month or 2 as I agree 2 years is a little nicer on the CV.Appreciate the advice.To the above poster, no I just swanned in unanounced to this thread.