How FIG Teams Are Organized: Sub-Teams and Specializations

Introduction

FIG is not a monolithic group. At any bank large enough to have a dedicated FIG practice, the team is organized into sub-sector verticals that reflect the fundamental differences between banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and other financial institutions. These sub-sectors have distinct business models, accounting frameworks, regulatory regimes, and valuation methods, which means a banker who spends years covering insurance companies develops a meaningfully different skill set from one covering commercial banks.

Understanding how FIG teams are organized matters for two practical reasons. First, it helps you target your networking and interview preparation toward the right people and the right technical knowledge. Second, it determines what your day-to-day work will actually look like, because your sub-sector assignment shapes everything from the models you build to the clients you advise.

Most FIG teams organize coverage around four to six verticals. The exact structure varies by bank, but the following taxonomy captures the standard framework.

Depository Institutions (Banks)

The banking vertical covers the full spectrum of deposit-taking institutions: universal banks (JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup), super-regional banks (U.S. Bancorp, PNC, Truist), regional banks (Fifth Third, Huntington, M&T Bank), community banks (thousands of institutions under $10 billion in assets), and thrifts/savings institutions.

This is typically the largest sub-team within FIG because the sheer number of potential clients is enormous. The US alone has over 4,300 FDIC-insured institutions, and the ongoing consolidation wave generates a steady pipeline of M&A mandates. Bankers on this vertical spend their time on bank mergers (analyzing deposit premiums, TBV dilution, and regulatory capital impact), capital raises (senior unsecured, subordinated debt, preferred stock, common equity), and strategic alternatives reviews for banks facing succession or scale challenges.

Depository Institution

A financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and uses those deposits to fund loans and investments. This includes commercial banks, savings institutions (thrifts), and credit unions. Depository institutions are distinguished from other financial companies by their access to FDIC insurance (for banks and thrifts) and their regulation by federal banking agencies. Their unique characteristic, using deposits as a primary funding source, creates the spread-based business model that defines traditional banking.

Insurance

The insurance vertical covers life insurers, property and casualty (P&C) carriers, reinsurers, specialty and excess and surplus (E&S) lines writers, insurance brokers and distributors, and managing general agents (MGAs). This is often the second-largest FIG sub-team because insurance M&A is active across multiple transaction types: carrier acquisitions, broker roll-ups (which have attracted enormous PE capital), de-mutualizations, and run-off transactions.

Insurance coverage requires a distinct analytical toolkit. Bankers on this vertical work with combined ratios, reserve development analysis, embedded value calculations for life books, and insurance-specific regulatory frameworks (state-based regulation, Risk-Based Capital, Solvency II). The concepts and language are sufficiently different from banking that insurance specialists within FIG often feel like a group within a group.

Asset and Wealth Management

This vertical covers traditional asset managers (mutual funds, ETFs), alternative asset managers (private equity, hedge funds, private credit), RIA platforms and wealth management firms, and fund administrators. The M&A landscape is dominated by two themes: fee compression driving consolidation among traditional managers, and PE-driven RIA roll-ups creating aggregated wealth management platforms.

Valuation for asset managers is fundamentally different from banks and insurers. Instead of book value multiples, asset managers trade on AUM-based multiples (typically 1-2.3% of AUM), fee-related earnings, and distributable earnings for alternative managers. The key analytical question is always revenue durability: what is the fee rate, how sticky are the assets, and what is the organic growth trajectory?

Specialty Finance

Specialty finance covers non-bank lenders and financial companies that lack a traditional deposit franchise: BDCs (business development companies), consumer finance companies (Capital One, Synchrony, Discover before its acquisition), mortgage originators and servicers, mortgage REITs, equipment lessors, and auto finance companies. These businesses borrow in wholesale markets and lend to consumers or businesses, earning a spread without the benefit of low-cost deposit funding.

At some banks, specialty finance is a standalone sub-team. At others, it is folded into the banking vertical or treated as an extension of leveraged finance coverage. The analytical work centers on credit quality metrics (charge-off rates, delinquency trends), securitization structures, and NAV-based valuation for BDCs and mortgage REITs.

Fintech, Payments, and Exchanges

The newest FIG vertical covers payment processors (Fiserv, FIS, Global Payments), card networks (Visa, Mastercard), neobanks (Chime, SoFi, Revolut), BNPL providers (Klarna, Affirm), stock and derivatives exchanges (CME, ICE, Nasdaq, CBOE), market data providers (S&P Global, MSCI, FactSet), and rating agencies.

At bulge bracket banks, fintech/payments coverage may sit within FIG, within TMT, or as a hybrid team with joint coverage. The organizational placement varies because fintech companies straddle the boundary between technology and financial services. Exchanges and market infrastructure, by contrast, almost always sit within FIG because these companies are regulated financial entities with business models tied to trading volumes and market structure.

The FIG team structure differs significantly across bulge brackets, elite boutiques, and specialist firms.

At bulge brackets, the FIG group is large enough to have dedicated MDs, VPs, associates, and analysts for each sub-sector. Global bulge brackets (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS) also organize FIG regionally, with separate teams covering Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. An analyst joining Goldman Sachs FIG in New York might be placed on the banking team and spend two years primarily working on bank M&A and capital raises, while a peer in London covers European banking consolidation and Solvency II-related insurance transactions. The breadth of the client base means exposure to mega-cap transactions: Capital One/Discover ($35.3 billion), Global Payments/Worldpay ($24.25 billion), and similar landmark deals.

At FIG specialist firms like Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (a Stifel company) or Piper Sandler, the entire firm is essentially a FIG platform. These firms dominate mid-market bank M&A because they have deep, multi-decade relationships with community and regional bank CEOs and boards. Their research teams provide the institutional knowledge and industry coverage that supports advisory mandates. An analyst at KBW will work on a higher volume of smaller transactions compared to a bulge bracket peer, gaining broader deal experience but on less complex individual transactions.

Your sub-sector assignment within FIG has meaningful implications for your skill development and exit opportunities.

Bankers who specialize in depository institutions develop expertise in regulatory capital analysis, bank modeling, and deposit franchise valuation. Their natural exit paths include FIG-focused PE firms (JC Flowers, Warburg Pincus financial services, Lightyear Capital), bank corporate development, and bank equity research. The skill set is deep but relatively narrow compared to generalist IB experience.

Insurance specialists develop actuarial fluency, embedded value modeling skills, and knowledge of insurance regulatory frameworks. Exit paths include insurance-focused PE (Stone Point Capital, GTCR insurance), insurance company corporate development, and specialty insurance investing. Insurance is one of the most specialized sub-sectors within FIG, and the knowledge is highly valued because so few bankers possess it.

Asset management and wealth management specialists develop expertise in fee-based business valuation, AUM dynamics, and the economics of scale in asset management. Exits include asset management corporate development, RIA aggregator platforms, and wealth management PE (firms like Genstar Capital and TA Associates that are active in the space).