Middle Market & Boutique Banks

Middle Market, Boutique and Regional Investment Banks

Middle market investment banks typically focus on transactions smaller than those of their bulge bracket counterparts. Boutiques are niche firms that focus on a particular industry or product offering.

Though the transaction range of each investment bank is not clearly defined, middle market banks can typically be subdivided based on their desired transaction sizes, or sweet spots. Upper middle market banks may focus on transactions from $500M to $1B while lower middle market banks may focus on transactions between $20M to $100M. However, as deals become scarce in a tough economy, firms may “drop down” to compete for deals below their typical sweet spot.

Compensation at upper middle market firms can match or come very close to the Street. However, compensation at smaller regional firms can be significantly below Street. The upside at these firms is more of a work-life balance. Don’t expect to work 9-to-5 though. However, beware of middle market and boutique firms that attempt to work you like the bulge bracket banks with far less pay.

    Examples of middle market investment banks include:

  • Houlihan Lokey
  • Piper Jaffray
  • Robert Baird
  • William Blair
  • Stout Risius Ross
    Examples of boutique banks include:

  • Sandler O’Neil
  • Keefe Bruyette Woods