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How easy to get into high finance in any NON-London area?

Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Dublin, etc etc etc.
Referring to any high finance job except IB.
There are a few asset mageemnt firms outside London but apart from that, the financial industry is very much concentrated in London.
Original post by Vallern
Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Dublin, etc etc etc.
Referring to any high finance job except IB.


Cardiff and Edinburgh are your best bets though there are a few asset managers in most major cities - those ones are either quant funds or don't take grads though
Reply 3
Original post by Vallern
Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Dublin, etc etc etc.
Referring to any high finance job except IB.


Well you do have big 4 accountancy and stuff that has lots of offices not based in london
Original post by anderall
Well you do have big 4 accountancy and stuff that has lots of offices not based in london


not high finance tho is it

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Original post by Princepieman
not high finance tho is it

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It's finance at the end of the day. This 'high finance' stuff is really just some sort of elitism.
There's quite a few M&A boutiques and private equity firms in Manchester.
Reply 7
Original post by Princepieman
not high finance tho is it

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I never said it was. It certainly holds plenty of opportunity, besides the vast majority of wannabes arent suited for it anyway.
Reply 8
Thanks for the answers! Nonetheless, is it easier to land a job in these cities?
Reply 9
Edinburgh has lots of fund managers! Baillie Gifford, Standard Life, aberdeen, walter scott to name a few and lots and lots of small boutiques for which you can cold call and get at least experience.


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Original post by Terry Tibbs
There's quite a few M&A boutiques and private equity firms in Manchester.


Could you name some, just out of interest?
Hi there,

I disagree with the statement that there aren't any high finance jobs outside of London.

Sure, London is the leading financial hub in Europe and most banks that have offices outside of London usually have their back office there, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any high power roles outside of London.

The answer will vary greatly depending on whether you are targeting roles within investment banking, sales & trading or asset management.

For investment banking you have for example GP Bullhound or Rothschild which have front office teams in Manchester and there are also boutiques which could be a good launching point like Camalex Corporate Finance in Liverpool.

For sales & trading the choice is limited if you are looking for "high finance" roles as most renowned trading floors are in London BUT you have very prestigious proprietary trading houses in Dublin like Susquehanna. These are great if you later want to move to a hedge fund or bank trading desk.

For asset management you have a LOT of choice outside of London with many big brands being located in Dublin, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

I can't say for sure but I am fairly certain that it is indeed easier to get an interview outside of London because they have less applicants. It does not mean that they will necessarily go easy on you though :-)

I hope that answers your question.

Jonathan
Founder of IBMentor
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 12
Original post by IBMentor
Hi there,

I disagree with the statement that there aren't any high finance jobs outside of London.

Sure, London is the leading financial hub in Europe and most banks that have offices outside of London usually have their back office there, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any high power roles outside of London.

The answer will vary greatly depending on whether you are targeting roles within investment banking, sales & trading or asset management.

For investment banking you have for example GP Bullhound or Rothschild which have front office teams in Manchester and there are also boutiques which could be a good launching point like Camalex Corporate Finance in Liverpool.

For sales & trading the choice is limited if you are looking for "high finance" roles as most renowned trading floors are in London BUT you have very prestigious proprietary trading houses in Dublin like Susquehanna. These are great if you later want to move to a hedge fund or bank trading desk.

For asset management you have a LOT of choice outside of London with many big brands being located in Dublin, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

I can't say for sure but I am fairly certain that it is indeed easier to get an interview outside of London because they have less applicants. It does not mean that they will necessarily go easy on you though :-)

I hope that answers your question.

Jonathan
Founder of IBMentor


I am very grateful by your long reply!! Since asset management is my career aspiration, do you happen to have any more information on other cities that might have prospects for grads?
Original post by Vallern
I am very grateful by your long reply!! Since asset management is my career aspiration, do you happen to have any more information on other cities that might have prospects for grads?


You are more than welcome!

I would suggest you do a simple Google search typing "Cityofchoice asset management" and it will provide you with plenty of names.

The major hubs outside of London for asset management are Dublin, Aberdeen and Edinburgh but there will be plenty of others in the major cities like Manchester or Liverpool.
Reply 14
Depends on what you want to do in finance, and whether you're willing to leave the UK. If you're interested in prop trading, Amsterdam/Switzerland have a few and it's generally easier to land a job with a prop firm in the US than it is with a bank in the US in terms of visa issues (as a UK citizen).
(edited 6 years ago)

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