What comes to mind when you hear of companies like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley? Did billion dollar deals, intense competition, big pay-checks, and prestigious exit opportunities pop up? If so, then you already have some insights into the top-tier bulge bracket firms in investment banking.
These firms plus the four others in the bulge bracket banks category are the big players in the investment banking industry. This guide will help you understand more about these firms, including a brief profile of each, how to select the right one for your career start and tips for the interview preparation.
Bulge bracket firms are the largest and most prestigious global investment banks. They work on massive financial transactions, often worth billions of dollars, and have offices in major cities like New York, London, and Hong Kong.
The term "bulge bracket" comes from a time when banks advertised their services on tombstones. Not the grave ones though! These were just print ads for new securities. The biggest banks would appear in larger fonts, creating a “bulge” effect. That’s how the name stuck around.
The bulge bracket investment banking firms help companies merge or acquire other businesses, provide financing for those deals, and assist in public offerings when a company wants to sell its shares to the public for the first time.
The investment banking firms in the bulge bracket list share some characteristics. These include a large global presence, ability to handle the biggest financial transactions, a variety of IB services, and multi-billion dollar market capitalizations.
Deal Size and Balance Sheet
When you see a multi-billion transaction, a bulge bracket bank will likely be behind it. They have enough capital resources or large balance sheets to underwrite large securities offerings and provide financing directly to clients. That's why they get high-profile mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals and large capital market activities that smaller firms may not be able to support.
Their clients are fortune 500 companies, institutional investors, and governments. As you'd expect, the high value clients and strong influence in the market shows in their deal volume and returns. They consistently dominate in terms of M&A advisory fees and total investment banking revenue annually.
Global Presence
Another reason why a firm features in the bulge bracket list is having a global presence. These firms have offices in all major financial markets, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific with thousands of employees. Having a strong global presence allows bulge bracket investment banking firms to execute deals across multiple geographies and access a diverse client base.
That's different from other banks and regional investment banking firms like Houlihan Lokey, William Blair, and RBC Capital Markets. Such banks focus on specific geographic markets. They may have international offices, but have more limited international deal-making capabilities compared to the global reach of bulge bracket firms.
Comprehensive Service Offerings
Bulge bracket firms are also known for their all-round investment banking services, including:
The comprehensive service offerings is part of the reason why some large banks like HSBC don't make the bulge bracket cut. HSBC focuses more on retail and commercial banking rather than the full investment banking services. Other big banks like Wells Fargo and RBC also don't make it here because while they may excel in certain IB areas, they don't offer the extensive global investment banking services that define bulge bracket firms.
Reputation and Prestige
Each of the bulge bracket firms has a long-standing history and track record of successful transactions. This contributes to their prestigious status and ability to attract top talent and high-profile clients.
Their analyst programs are highly competitive with thousands of applications for each spot from top universities worldwide. They also offer strong exit opportunities to private equity and hedge funds. Such factors support their prestigious status.
As of 2024, there are eight bulge bracket investment banks: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Barclays, UBS, and Deutsche Bank.
You shouldn't really expect much changes in the list year after year as these firms are able to maintain their positions. It's also difficult for banks in other categories like elite boutique and middle market investment banking firms to meet the criteria for joining this list. Some of the changes we've seen in the bulge bracket list have happened due to the financial crisis and mergers and acquisitions. For instance:
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. comes up as the world's leading bank in terms of investment banking fees and revenue. It leads the "Big Four" U.S. banks, which include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, in all major financial metrics like market capitalization and total assets.
As for the global presence, JPMorgan is present in more than 100 countries and tops in investment banking revenue in various regions.
👉 Read the JPMorgan Chase Interview Guide to learn more about this company!
Goldman Sachs
In most years, Goldman Sachs follows JPMorgan in second place in terms of investment banking revenue. While it's small in market cap compared to JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs is well known for its track record in M&A services.
Some of Goldman Sachs high-profile transactions that show its expertise in handling complex deals include:
👉 Ace your interview at Goldman Sachs with this guide!
Morgan Stanley
If you'd like to focus on wealth management, Morgan Stanley would be a perfect fit. The bulge bracket investment banking firm generates more than half of its revenue from its wealth and asset management businesses. This department or section of Morgan Stanley manages more than $2 trillion in client assets and employs about 16,000 financial advisors. So, it's one of the largest wealth management firms in the industry.
👉 Read our Morgan Stanley Interview Guide and start your career in investment banking!
Bank of America
With offices in over 30 countries, Bank of America has a good presence outside of the United States. It focuses on M&A advisory, capital markets, and corporate finance.
You can expect to work in different industries that the Bank of America’s investment banking sector covers. These include technology, healthcare, energy, consumer & retail, financial institutions, industrials, real estate, and media & telecommunications.
👉 Find out more about the interview-process at the Bank of America
Citigroup
We can call Citigroup the investment bank for emerging markets even though it's still impactful in other regions. That's because Citi has been winning the Euromoney’s award for World’s Best Investment Bank in Emerging Markets for several years, including 2023 and 2024.
These regions are Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. So, Citi is a good one for firms trying to expand in such areas and professionals seeking to explore the regions as well.
👉 Read the Citigroup Interview Guide and find out more!
Barclays
Barclays combines investment banking with retail banking, corporate banking, and wealth management. If you're considering the firm, you might work on some high-profile M&A transactions across various sectors, including technology, healthcare, and energy.
Some of the deals Barclays has worked on include:
UBS
UBS used to stand for Union Bank of Switzerland, but it's no longer an acronym. Instead, UBS is now an independent brand in the financial services industry.
Like Morgan Stanley, UBS is well known for its wealth management services tailored primarily to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals including some of the world's billionaires. So, UBS has made a name for itself as the largest manager of private wealth all over the world.
After completing the acquisition of Credit Suisse in 2024, UBS solidified its position in the bulge bracket investment banking firms category.
Deutsche Bank
Some analysts and bankers tend to categorize Deutsche Bank as "borderline” while it has historically been classified as a bulge bracket bank due to its size and global presence. Their reasons include the decline in deal size and revenue. For instance, in some years like 2024, some elite boutique firms like Jefferies and Wells Fargo made slightly higher IB revenues than Deutsche Bank.
Deutsche Bank also tends to work on smaller deals than the top-tier bulge bracket investment banking firms like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. However, the bank has a strong presence in Europe and offices in over 58 countries. It has also established strong bases in emerging markets, particularly in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. So, it might be positioned well for growth in these fast-developing economies.
All the bulge bracket firms can be good places to start your investment banking career due to their prestige, deal exposure, and competitive pay packages. But one firm might be better for you than another depending on your long term career goals, sector focus, work culture, and exit opportunities.
Consider the following factors to pick the right firm to work for:
Did you know that acceptance rates across top bulge bracket firms range from 0.8% to 5%? That's pretty hard. So, to get into a bulge bracket investment bank, you'll need to prepare adequately for the interviews. This includes knowing the firm inside out, practicing behavioral questions, and doing mock interviews.
Here are more details on how to prepare to get into a bulge bracket investment bank.
Know the Firm and Role Inside Out
You shouldn't go for the interview at a bulge bracket firm without researching its history, culture, recent deals, and market position. Also, understand what differentiates it from other bulge bracket firms.
Make sure you also understand the specific position you are applying for, like analyst, associate, and its responsibilities. The preparation will help you tailor your answers to show how your skills and experiences align with these duties.
Technical Preparation
For technical preparation, try to master fundamental financial concepts such as valuation methods (DCF, comparables), financial modeling, and accounting principles.
It's also a good idea to stay updated on current market trends and major financial news. The interviewer might ask you to discuss recent deals that are relevant to the firm or industry during your interview.
Behavioral Questions
This is a big one in the investment banking industry. Prepare for common behavioral questions such as "Tell me about yourself," "Why investment banking?" and "Describe a challenging situation you faced".
We suggest learning and using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses in a way that leaves a lasting impression on the interviewer.
For the cultural fit questions, your research about the firm will help you tailor your answers to the firm’s culture and values. Be ready to articulate why you want to work there specifically, demonstrating that you align with their values.
Mock Interviews
To be among the few candidates that land investment banking jobs and internships in bulge bracket firms, practice using mock interviews. Do this with peers or mentors who have experience in investment banking. It will help you refine your answers and improve your confidence in delivering them.
But if you want to increase your chances of success even more, work with an experienced investment banking interview coach. They will give you more helpful feedback to identify areas for improvement than peers.
👉 Find the right coach to help you ace your interview!
