# Middle Market Investment Banks, Ranked Aced (formerly Exponent) publishes a public search API over its indexed pages; the guide is at https://www.aced.io/agents/agent-access. Source: https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/middle-market Source observed: 2026-11-05T00:02:55.771Z Last checked: 2026-11-05T00:02:55.771+00:00 Indexed: 2026-11-05T19:54:21.411+00:00 --- # Middle market investment banks, ranked We help candidates compare middle-market investment banking programs, compensation, recruiting status, work setup, eligibility, and application links. Middle-market banks advise mid-sized companies and private-equity firms rather than the largest corporates. Many specialize in a product or industry and hire by group and office instead of through a generalist pool. **2 of 12 ranked programs match · Last verified October 10, 2026** [See the full IB List →](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking) William Blair, Harris Williams, Baird, Lincoln International, Piper Sandler, and Raymond James are tracked but not yet ranked. ## Ranked programs ### 11. Houlihan Lokey — Tier 3 **Financial Analyst (Corporate Finance / Restructuring)** Houlihan Lokey financial analysts prepare and analyze financial information, run valuations, and build marketing materials for M&A, capital raising, and restructuring engagements. Applicants choose Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, or valuation advisory by segment and office. Its restructuring franchise and high deal count can provide early live-deal exposure, although the analyst class is smaller than at bulge brackets. | Detail | Information | |---|---| | Base salary | **$110k** | | Total compensation (estimated) | **$175k–$205k** | | Locations | NYC · LA (HQ) · SF · Chicago · Dallas · Houston | | Work setup | In office; New York analyst and associate postings are tagged in-office. No published days-per-week figure. | | Most sought-after group | Restructuring | | Eligibility: summer 2027 | Penultimate-year undergraduates graduating December 2027–June 2028. | | Eligibility: full-time Class of 2027 | Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or a quantitative major, graduating December 2026–June 2027. The New York posting prefers prior investment-banking internship experience. | | GPA | No published minimum. | | Applications | **Closed.** 2027 summer requisitions were posted from November 2025 and filled segment by segment. The last US 2027 undergraduate track was posted September 11, 2026 and was gone by October 1. No 2028 US window was open. | Houlihan Lokey’s own “By the Numbers” page cites LSEG for its No. 1 global restructuring-advisor ranking, based on 1,700+ restructuring transactions totaling over $3.5 trillion, and its No. 1 position in 2023 global M&A advisory by deal count, with 352 transactions. No US Corporate Finance or Financial Restructuring summer-analyst requisition appeared open. London’s 2027 summer-analyst requisition, closing October 17, and MBA summer-associate roles remained open. [Prep with Aced](https://www.aced.io/courses/investment-banking?src=ib-jobs) · [View open roles](https://hl.com/careers/early-careers/internships-united-states/) [Salary band, hiring status & why it ranks here — full Houlihan Lokey IB page →](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/houlihan-lokey) ### 12. Jefferies — Tier 3 **Investment Banking Analyst** Jefferies analysts build financial models and valuations, prepare pitchbooks and offering materials, and support M&A and financings alongside senior bankers. Candidates apply to a specific group and city, so the group is fixed at application. The summer program starts with orientation and training and feeds the full-time analyst class. | Detail | Information | |---|---| | Base salary | **$110k** | | Total compensation (estimated) | **$185k–$215k** | | Locations | NYC · SF · Houston · Charlotte · Chicago | | Work setup | In person; New York City analyst listings are tagged in-person. No published days-per-week policy. | | Most sought-after group | Houston energy (oil & gas) | | Eligibility: summer 2027 | Bachelor’s candidates completing their junior year and graduating December 2027–June 2028, across disciplines. | | Eligibility: full-time analyst | The 2026 New York M&A requisition required a bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, accounting, math, or a related field, graduating December 2025–June 2026. The window shifts each cycle. | | Applications | **Closed.** 2027 summer requisitions were posted group by group from December 16, 2025. The US summer 2028 listing was not posted as of October 2026; recruiting guides expected November 2026–February 2027. | Jefferies posts the same $110,000 base on full-time and summer-analyst requisitions. Each requisition is group-specific, and candidates get one application per recruiting cycle, so choose the group before applying. No US investment-banking analyst requisitions were open on Jefferies’ campus board when 61 listings were reviewed October 10, 2026. The 2027 US summer-analyst requisitions that could be opened—Private Fund Advisory, Municipals, and Latin America—were closed. Open summer-analyst requisitions were Asia-only; full-time analyst listings were in London and Frankfurt. [Prep with Aced](https://www.aced.io/courses/investment-banking?src=ib-jobs) · [View open roles](https://jefferies.tal.net/candidate/jobboard/vacancy/2/adv) [Salary band, hiring status & why it ranks here — full Jefferies IB page →](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/jefferies) ## Common questions ### What is a middle-market investment bank? A middle-market bank advises mostly mid-sized companies and private-equity-backed businesses rather than the largest public companies. Deal teams are generally smaller than at bulge brackets, and these banks usually lack a large balance sheet. Many specialize in a product or industry. On our list, Houlihan Lokey and Jefferies are middle-market banks; William Blair, Harris Williams, Baird, Lincoln International, Piper Sandler, and Raymond James are tracked but not yet ranked. ### Do middle-market banks pay less than bulge brackets? Not on base salary in these examples. Houlihan Lokey and Jefferies post a $110,000 first-year analyst base, the same as Morgan Stanley, Citi, and Bank of America. Reported all-in compensation is $175k–$205k at Houlihan Lokey and $185k–$215k at Jefferies, compared with roughly $165k–$225k at large banks in Mergers & Inquisitions’ 2026 report. ### Is Jefferies a bulge bracket or middle-market bank? It sits between the categories and is described both ways. Jefferies is not usually counted among global universal banks classified as bulge brackets. Three of four 2026 Wall Street Oasis tier lists reviewed place it at B+, alongside Guggenheim and below elite boutiques and bulge brackets. We list it with middle-market banks because it hires group by group, with each analyst requisition tied to one group and city. ### When do middle-market banks recruit summer analysts? Recruiting can begin early and proceed segment by segment. Houlihan Lokey posted its first 2027 summer requisitions in November 2025 and its last US undergraduate track on September 11, 2026. Jefferies posted 2027 summer requisitions group by group from December 16, 2025; guides expected its 2028 listings between November 2026 and February 2027. Neither had a 2028 US summer window open as of October 2026. ## Browse IB analyst jobs - [Salary guide](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/salary) - [Bulge bracket](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/bulge-bracket) - [Elite boutique](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/elite-boutique) - [Internships](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/internship) - [Recruiting timeline](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/recruiting-timeline) ## Salary & hiring by company - [Goldman Sachs IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/goldman-sachs) - [Centerview Partners IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/centerview) - [Evercore IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/evercore) - [Morgan Stanley IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/morgan-stanley) - [J.P. Morgan IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/jp-morgan) - [PJT Partners IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/pjt-partners) - [Lazard IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/lazard) - [Moelis & Company IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/moelis) - [Bank of America IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/bank-of-america) - [Citi IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/citi) - [Houlihan Lokey IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/houlihan-lokey) - [Jefferies IB](https://www.aced.io/jobs/investment-banking/jefferies) ## Interview guides - [Goldman Sachs IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/goldman-sachs-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [Centerview Partners IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/centerview-partners-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [Evercore IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/evercore-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [Morgan Stanley IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/morgan-stanley-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [J.P. Morgan IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/jpmorgan-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [PJT Partners IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/pjt-partners-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [Lazard IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/lazard-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [Moelis & Company IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/moelis-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [Bank of America IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/bank-of-america-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) - [Citi IB interview](https://www.aced.io/guides/citigroup-investment-banking-summer-analyst-interview) ## More job lists - [The FDE List: Forward Deployed Engineer jobs](https://www.aced.io/jobs/fde) - [The New Grad List: New Grad Software Engineer jobs](https://www.aced.io/jobs/new-grad) - [The Security Engineer List: Security Engineer jobs](https://www.aced.io/jobs/security-engineer) - [The Data Engineer List: Data Engineer jobs](https://www.aced.io/jobs/data-engineer) - [The Data Scientist List: Data Scientist jobs](https://www.aced.io/jobs/data-scientist) - [The ML Engineer List: Machine Learning Engineer jobs](https://www.aced.io/jobs/ml-engineer) ## Prepare for investment-banking interviews Practice investment-banking technical and fit questions, conduct peer mock interviews, and learn the frameworks bankers score. - [Take the IB course](https://www.aced.io/courses/investment-banking?src=ib-jobs-middle-market) - [Practice interview questions](https://www.aced.io/questions?src=ib-jobs-middle-market) --- [Read this page’s summary](https://www.aced.io/agents/api/public/v1/page-tldr?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aced.io%2Fjobs%2Finvestment-banking%2Fmiddle-market&trace=t_679ff9ab98f3) ## Ask a follow-up about this page Need a more specific answer? 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