Vault’s Verdict

Guggenheim Securities is looking for intellectually curious, hardworking, personable, positive self-starters who are eager to learn and have strong technical knowledge. For students, the firm runs a very valuable internship program. Interns get hands-on experience on live deals, great training, and excellent mentoring and networking opportunities. For its full-time junior bankers, Guggenheim offers extensive growth and learning opportunities, including significant early responsibility on live transactions, client exposure, great training and mentoring, and an apprenticeship culture that places an emphasis on developing and cultivating junior bankers.

Although hours can be long and unpredictable and it can be difficult to use all your vacation time, Guggenheim’s senior bankers are considerate of juniors’ time and allow for downtime. As long as you get your work done on time (and it’s of high quality), your free time is your own—there is no face time and no ‘busy work.’ Meanwhile, compensation is incredibly generous. Salaries and bonuses are above the Street average, bonuses are mostly paid in cash (stock portion is small), strong performers are rewarded well, the benefits package is very solid, and there is a free on-site gym.

With respect to DE&I, Guggenheim has been making a significant effort around female recruitment, mentoring, and training, and has seen entry-level female diversity increase as a result. The firm also places a strong focus on military veteran recruiting and retention and has a highly inclusive culture in general. As for the firm’s business outlook, Guggenheim has been growing rapidly, capturing market share, making key senior hires, and working with industry-leading clients. Employee morale is strong, and Guggenheim is well positioned to continue to thrive.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“Guggenheim relies on a Super Day to interview, and in order to receive an offer for a Super Day interview, it’s important top extensively network with current employees to show interest and stand out. The ideal candidate is very smart technically but more importantly friendly, positive, and eager to learn. Guggenheim places emphasis on how well a candidate would be able to thrive in the IB environment and learn from older analysts vs. those that already know everything there is to know about finance.”

“The firm uses technicals for a base level of understanding to make sure a candidate can move on to the next round, but the key is cultural fit in the following rounds. Team members need to be intellectually curious and have a positive attitude to make sure they have success at the firm.”

“We often do our full Super Days in a single shot—a long day for the interviewer. First round in the morning is technical, later part of the day is more behavioral and technical split. We are seeking candidates who check the technical box but generally fit the kind of people we look to hire here at Guggenheim—hardworking self-starters who are motivated to learn and do good work but don't take life too seriously and know when it’s appropriate to be social.”

“Looking for smart, hardworking, charismatic people who are team-oriented and intellectual. A pretty big importance is placed on critical thinking: Can you see the big picture? Can you ask questions? Can you collaborate rather than just knowing how to do the model well?”

Interview Questions

“Highly technical accounting case studies. Multi-step valuation questions that escalate in complexity. For instance, starting with ‘What is an LBO?’ and ratcheting up to ‘What is a situation where a dividend recap wouldn’t make financial sense?”

“Technical questions are relatively by the book. Behavioral questions can be more out of the box, but it depends on the interviewer.”

“Walk me through a DCF. Walk me through an LBO. Overview of a dividend recapitalization, P/E multiple analysis, calculation of Enterprise Value, some brainteaser type questions.”

“Tell me about yourself. What do you know about Guggenheim’s recent activities? M&A case studies. Q&A regarding valuation methodologies.”

Intern Experience

“The best aspect of my summer internship was that I was staffed on live transactions and was given meaningful tasks as a member of the deal team. Also, I found the team’s training to be very thoughtful and informative. In addition to the general training before hitting the desk, the restructuring team hosted their own weekly training sessions where we covered recent deals, market trends, and various skills. Lastly, the mentorship was amazing. We all were paired with mentors in other groups that provided very insightful advice.” 

“We got out of the office a lot and were able to connect with both full-time bankers and the other interns on a more personal level. We also did a lot of live deal work and were given feedback on real outputs that would eventually make their way into presentations.”

“Great mentorship and ability to own workstreams and get hands-on experience. I liked how they staffed, and the internship gave me a realistic expectation of what being a full-time associate would be like. I wish it were longer—just as I felt like I was getting the hang of things, the internship ended.”

“Some of the best parts were the exposure to industries and clients you care about and the opportunity to work with a great group of people. I loved getting to see how industries I care about actually work. I’m very interested in energy and climate tech, and by being on calls with management teams from clients in those industries, I started to understand how those companies perceive themselves, what they view as the biggest challenges for the industry going forward is, etc. It’s near impossible to attain this same level of understanding by taking courses or reading news articles; by being exposed to top companies in the industry, you really come to understand the sector. The people are also amazing and incredibly supportive. Full-time teams understand that you are new to this kind of work and bring you up to speed at a manageable pace. I worked a lot with my colleagues and really enjoyed getting to know them over the summer.”

Career Development

“The firm does a great job at cultivating talent. They provide senior exposure to juniors and help them learn about the firm culture from very senior members of the bank. Out of all the banks I have worked at, Guggenheim places the most emphasis on teaching juniors the right way to do things and educating them along the way.”

“Significant senior banker time invested in developing, training, and mentoring team. Individualized career paths. Mentorship/apprenticeship model throughout to make progression from one role to the next more successful. Ongoing and regular feedback. Designated performance captains help define and progress career path. Senior team is supportive of exit paths. Meritocratic firm—if you want to succeed and you put in the effort, you will be matched with enthusiasm to make sure it happens for you.”

“Guggenheim places a tremendous amount of emphasis on career development, both formal and informal. The firm’s culture is deeply rooted in one of mentorship and investing in people and investing early. Given the size of the firm, there is also an emphasis on tailoring training and career development with individual needs.”

“A lot of trust is given to the juniors early on. This allows people to learn very quickly and build confidence. Client exposure early—we like to get our new analysts and associates in front of clients. We aren’t as global as some larger banks, for people who want a broader geographic exposure.”

Quality of Life

“There is an appreciation for hard work and empathy when working longer hours enough to ensure make up for it with some downtime. There is also an open discussion about morning routines, allowing employees to go to the gym, for example, at a reasonable hour. And social engagements are encouraged for team bonding. However, there is the potential that you have to work during holidays and not being able to rollover vacation.”

“Our time is valued and there’s no ‘busy work.’ Seniors are thoughtful about which tasks they pass along to prevent us from working on low-value projects. Tightknit culture where you feel support from your peers. Hard work is appreciated, and feedback is common.”

“It’s simple: you are treated like an adult. When there is work to do (and there is plenty) you are expected to get it done without question. But as long as you get the work done on time and you execute it well, your free time is your own. There is no face-time culture. You can build a sustainable career here in an industry notorious for burning people out.”

“We are able to work remotely on Fridays, which is really helpful for work/life balance. Additionally, we are able to work remotely before Thanksgiving and between Christmas and New Years, making people able to spend time with their families while still working. We do not have protected Saturdays or holidays. Employees take roughly half of the allocated vacation days, and during which it is possible that they will have to work.”

Salary and Benefits

“We pay very well, higher than the Street average. Strong performers are taken care of. While pay is linked to revenue, it’s not a precise formula, but it’s a very fair, thoughtful pay structure.”

“Street average base compensation, above average bonus compensation, average dinner and weekend compensation. Great travel expense budget and internal funding for coffee chats, etc.”

“Pay is at top of the Street always and very solid—large cash component and very good solid benefits package.”

“The big picture: How well are you compensated for your talent level compared to peers? I think the firm gets it right. If you are really good at your job and work hard and deliver, you get rewarded. It’s a competitive industry, and I know what my B-school classmates have gone through vs. my own experience. I’m very grateful. Benefits are solid. 401(k) match is norm. Bonus is mostly cash, and they are making the retention portion of it more manageable for senior bankers, from what I understand.”

Wellness Efforts

“The gym in the Guggenheim building is free for employees and has exercise programs available for participation. This encourages wellness. We also have seasonal events with treats to offer a quick break during the day. There are also charity and donation events to help maintain connectivity with the community. “

“The firm is very cognizant of well-being of all bankers (analyst to MD) and strives to improve banker quality of life.”

“Guggenheim offers access to a suite of wellness programs for every employee that includes physical fitness, mental health, and family planning and/or management.”

“The firm is very active in promoting and engaging health and wellness for its employees, including and especially with the company’s gym (at the New York office). There are often firm-wide fitness competitions.”

Diversity and ESG Initiatives

“There are a lot of efforts being made, especially around female recruitment, mentoring, and training. The firm has seen entry-level numbers increase as a result, though female representation remains low in some groups. Recently, the firm promoted several diverse MDs to SMDs, which was good to see.”

“The firm does a great job of encouraging diversity, as seen through its recruiting channels and management. Recently, they created IBelong (Black, Hispanic, and LatinX employee network group) that I have been active member in.”

“Guggenheim has a diverse workplace and is highly inclusive. As an LGBTQ+ identifying employee, I feel highly included and engaged, although they seem to be a little behind some of the bulge bracket banks in terms of formal networks.”

“Guggenheim offers a transition support program for military veterans (Veteran Transition Assistance Program) and provides various resources (mentorship, classroom, networking opportunities, etc.) for disabled/transitioning veterans interested in finance. There are also tons of charity events year-round—some in-office, some off-site. We are constantly doing food drives, clothing drives, climate charity events, etc.”

Business Outlook

“Guggenheim has been and continues to grow and scale very rapidly. We are working with industry-leading clients across a number of highly visible situations. The firm itself is focused on hiring the right people who fit our culture and lean into our growth. We have very smartly positioned ourselves well at certain moments in M&A trends, making key hires/acquisitions in restructuring, private equity advisory, and middle market banking to support our always ongoing large cap efforts. We have an extremely well-rounded set of advisory offerings that position us well irrespective of market timing.”

“Guggenheim has significant deal flow momentum with high-quality deals and a growing practice area focused on middle market opportunities. People here are proud to be Guggenheim employees, and we benefit from a strong brand name in the market when pitching new deals.”

“Guggenheim has continued to grow over the past few years, and I am thrilled at the market share we are capturing and the caliber of deals we are working on. Employee morale is high, and I feel like we can compete with any bank on Wall Street.”

“The firm has captured significant market share in the past downturn markets. It has hired well and is posed to further thrive as the M&A market begins to heat up in 2025. We are going from strength to strength, and I believe we are on track for big things.”