Capital markets versus other corporate practice areas Forum

[Anonymous User]

I have never done any work in capital markets and am wondering if anyone can provide any insight as to why capital markets is more interesting than M&A, banking, and other types of corporate practice areas. I imagine that working with disclosures and helping companies do IPOs or otherwise issue securities allows you to get exposure to a wide variety of clients in a wide variety of industries, but I think the same thing can be said for M&A and the other practice groups. Do some of the bigger differences arise as a result of having to know statutory law since you have to conform disclosures to the federal securities regulations?

[Anonymous User]

It sounds like you are starting with the assumption that it is more interesting, which is certainly a matter of debate (and many would argue it's less interesting than M&E or finance work). I think perhaps the most interesting thing about capital markets is that you can become somewhat of an expert on so many different industries based on your experiences drafting risk factors, listening in on calls, etc. This is great for all the cocktail parties you won't have time to attend until you're retired.

To be honest, I think the advantages of cap markets vis a vis, say, M&A, revolve more around quality of life and predictability than increased levels of interesting work.

[rawrpalooza]

It sounds like you are starting with the assumption that it is more interesting, which is certainly a matter of debate (and many would argue it's less interesting than M&E or finance work). I think perhaps the most interesting thing about capital markets is that you can become somewhat of an expert on so many different industries based on your experiences drafting risk factors, listening in on calls, etc. This is great for all the cocktail parties you won't have time to attend until you're retired.

To be honest, I think the advantages of cap markets vis a vis, say, M&A, revolve more around quality of life and predictability than increased levels of interesting work.

Can you or someone else speak more to this notion? I've heard similar things about tax in regards to its higher level of consistency and predictability. Is it because you're just working on a piece of it and then you're done, and then handing it off to the M&A team to "quarterback" it?

I am definitely interested in M&A (and will certainly dip my toes in it next summer), but the potential for fire drills/up and down hours make me a little nervous about it.

[Anonymous User]

It sounds like you are starting with the assumption that it is more interesting, which is certainly a matter of debate.

Sorry, I phrased that poorly. Let's just say I'm interested in a certain firm and they're really strong at capital markets.

[Anonymous User]

I did an M&A and capital markets rotation and ultimately chose capital markets. They are different animals and I would never argue that one is more interesting than the other. To me the determining factors were:

Responsibility as a junior. If you are competent you can essentially run capital markets deals after a year or so. There are a lot of nuances that you will need help with, but once you have the process down you are in the driver seat, especially when the market is hot.

I prefer the collaborative approach of capital markets to the zero sum game of M&A. In a debt or equity deal, everyone is just trying to serve up a marketable set of offering docs that complies with securities laws. There is negotiation over the lot of points, but in the end nobody wants to stand in the way of a deal. I am friends with a lot of the attorneys I frequently work across from.

I didn't find M&A to be more “intellectual" than capital markets as many M&A people claim. I'm sure many will disagree, but there are a lot of nuances in capital markets deals that take similar amounts of thought to M&A deals.

The one downside to capital markets (in my view) is ridiculous expectations from clients. If there is a window in the market it can go from just chilling to all hands on deck in a matter of minutes. I pull more true all nighters (literally every couple weeks this year) in capital market than any of my M&A friends. Even had true back to back all nighters for one deal. M&A can also get rough, but it seemed like most people could expect a few hours of sleep most nights. I'm sure this varies by firm and based on the market though.

[Anonymous User]

What's finance work like compared to M&A or capital markets? Like for instance, what cahill does?