Investment Banking
Macquarie Group Application Guide
The Millionaires' Factory: an Australian-born, balance-sheet-driven powerhouse and the world's largest infrastructure asset manager, with a deep London hub at Ropemaker Place. Every stage of the process, the questions Macquarie Group actually asks, and the prep that gets candidates through, in one place.
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The firm
About Macquarie Group
The business today
Macquarie Group is a diversified global financial services provider with a unique operating model that sets it apart from both Wall Street bulge brackets and pure-play European boutiques. Founded in Sydney in 1969, it has built London into its deep-water corporate hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The firm employs over 20,000 people worldwide, manages more than £450 billion in assets, and runs its London operations out of Ropemaker Place in the City.
Macquarie does not fit standard banking definitions. It is neither a bulge bracket nor a traditional asset manager; it is a hybridised, balance-sheet-driven powerhouse. While it offers corporate finance advisory and market-making, it is universally recognised as the world's largest infrastructure asset manager. Its business splits broadly into an annuity-style side (Macquarie Asset Management and Banking & Financial Services) and a capital-markets side (Macquarie Capital and Commodities and Global Markets).
Revenue comes from five engines: advisory and capital-markets fees; asset-management base and performance fees; commodities and markets trading; principal and balance-sheet investing; and banking and wealth management (dominant in Australia). In the UK and Europe it competes with Rothschild, Lazard and Evercore in pure-play M&A, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan in commodities, and with Brookfield, Blackstone and Global Infrastructure Partners in its flagship infrastructure and real-assets domain.
The culture is summarised as Freedom within Boundaries: teams operate like internal boutique partnerships, with the freedom to back an undervalued asset or a novel trade using the firm's balance sheet, provided they stay inside strict risk and compliance frameworks. Strategically, EMEA is oriented toward the energy transition, digital infrastructure such as data centres and fibre, and private credit expansion.
Why people apply to Macquarie Group
The downsides are real. Outside the City and the institutional investment world, the public often confuses Macquarie with a high-street retail bank or an ordinary asset manager, so it lacks the immediate consumer prestige of Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley. And profit share cuts both ways: if a division underperforms or suffers capital impairments, bonus compression can be sharper than at diversified universal banks.
Candidates choose Macquarie for three pull factors. First, true principal strategy: juniors in Macquarie Capital work frequently on principal investments, gaining exposure to both advisory mechanics and direct private-equity deployment using the firm's own balance sheet. Second, infrastructure hegemony: if your goal is renewable energy, decarbonisation, utility networks or mega-infrastructure, Macquarie sits at the absolute top of the global ecosystem. Third, the profit-share model rewards commercial performance directly, with upside that can outpace traditional bulge-bracket pools in strong cycles.
The ideal candidate pairs high numerical comfort with a visible entrepreneurial streak. Macquarie recruits heavily from Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial, Warwick, Durham, UCL and Bath, but maintains a noticeably wider net for engineering, quantitative and environmental-science profiles, particularly in commodities and infrastructure. It actively prefers candidates who have run small businesses, managed university investment funds or completed niche analytical internships over highly standardised CVs.
Divisions inside Macquarie Group's Investment Banking
Macquarie Capital (MacCap)
Day-to-day
Executes M&A advisory, ECM and DCM, but uniquely combines this with direct principal investing into real assets, corporate infrastructure and private credit across EMEA. Junior reality is financial modelling, drafting investment-committee memos for balance-sheet deployment, structuring pitch books and extensive asset due diligence. Hours are intense but less prone to empty pitch-book cycles than classic bulge brackets.
Interview style
Heavily technical with a project-finance slant: accounting links, DCF for asset-heavy businesses, LBO and project-finance gearing, DSCR and LLCR, plus motivation and entrepreneurial fit.
Extreme difficultyCommodities and Global Markets (CGM)
Day-to-day
Provides capital, risk management, market access and physical and financial logistics across commodities, environmental markets, fixed income, FX and equities. Junior reality is structuring derivatives, monitoring trading books, managing risk-exposure metrics and building pricing models. Fast-paced, highly numerical and directly exposed to market volatility.
Interview style
Rapid mental maths and expected-value brainteasers, options and hedging mechanics, contango and backwardation, the clean spark spread and live market knowledge.
High difficultyMacquarie Asset Management (MAM)
Day-to-day
The largest infrastructure manager globally, focused on real assets (infrastructure, green energy, real estate), private credit and public investments. Junior reality is portfolio tracking, modelling macro-infrastructure assets, ESG analysis and drafting investor updates. The pace leans closer to a private-equity fund than a transaction-advisory shop.
Interview style
Asset-specific valuation: Regulatory Asset Base, yield-based appraisal, NAV for infrastructure funds and long-term contracted cash flows rather than public-market multiples.
High difficultyTry it now
Score your CV against Macquarie Group's sift
Macquarie Group talent acquisition screens thousands of CVs per cycle. Most are read in under 30 seconds. The candidates who get to interview have CVs that signal commercial relevance fast, in the format Macquarie Group expects.
What Macquarie Group looks for in a CV
Quantified impact
Numbers in every bullet: deal size, team size, percentage uplift, revenue managed. "Led a team" is filler, "led a 6-person team that delivered £400k of revenue" is a signal.
Named firms and deals
Macquarie Group recruiters skim for brand names they recognise. Name your prior internships, the deals you observed, the clients you worked on. Specifics beat generic descriptions.
Industry-relevant language
Use the vocabulary of the investment banking world: DCF, comps, LBO, league tables, deal flow. Generic "analysed data" reads as not-yet-in-the-industry; the right terms read as ready.
Tight, structured layout
One page max. Reverse-chronological. Three to five bullets per role. No long paragraphs, no dense blocks. The skim test decides the read.
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The application
How Macquarie Group hires
6 stages, real interview questions, the criteria that decide it, and the moves that separate offers from rejections.
The process, stage by stage
- 1
Online application
Opens late Aug / early Sep, strict rolling close (often by late Oct / Nov)Macquarie fills cohorts on a rolling basis; popular desks like Macquarie Capital can close within 6-8 weeks. Apply early and state your 2:1 or First clearly.
- 2
Online assessment (Talent Q)
Invited within 24-48 hours; 4-5 day completion windowKorn Ferry Talent Q is computer-adaptive with strict per-question timers and no negative marking. Early mistakes cap your maximum percentile, so do not gamble the opening items.
- 3
HireVue video interview
Invited within 3-7 working days of passing the tests; 48-72 hour window5-6 questions, 30-45s prep, 90-120s recording, and a strict zero-retake policy per question. Anchor your motivation in the balance-sheet model and infrastructure, never generic bulge-bracket scripts.
- 4
First-round interview
October through DecemberOne or two 45-60 minute interviews via Teams (or in person at Ropemaker Place) with an Associate and a VP/Director. Master project-finance technicals, not just standard M&A accounting.
- 5
Assessment Centre
Late October through JanuaryA full or half day at Ropemaker Place: case study, group exercise, technical and behavioural interviews, and a senior MD round. Expect a green energy or infrastructure case, and state your assumptions out loud.
- 6
Offer
24-48 hours (often the same evening)The wash-up runs immediately after the cohort departs, so offers move fast. Competitive packages with profit-share upside and an entrepreneurial culture.
What Macquarie Group asks at each round
Motivation
- Why Macquarie rather than a traditional bulge-bracket investment bank?
- Why this specific division: Macquarie Capital, Commodities and Global Markets, or Macquarie Asset Management?
- Why are you interested in infrastructure and real assets?
- What attracts you to the UK and European infrastructure market right now?
- Where do you see Macquarie expanding over the next five years?
Behavioural
- Tell me about a time you made a high-stakes decision with incomplete data.
- Describe a fundamental disagreement with a team member and how you resolved it.
- Give an example of a project whose scope changed midway through. How did you adapt?
- Tell me about a time you failed or made a significant mistake. What did you do next?
- How do you manage your workload when faced with multiple competing deadlines?
Commercial awareness
- Pitch me an asset or sector Macquarie should invest in right now in the UK or Europe.
- What are the primary macroeconomic risks facing the UK economy, and how do they hit Macquarie's portfolio?
- Explain current European energy-market dynamics and how they affect a commodities business like CGM.
- Walk me through a recent UK or European transaction Macquarie was involved in.
- How do regulators such as Ofwat and Ofgem affect infrastructure investing in the UK?
Technical
- Walk me through how a 10% rise in capital expenditure flows through the three financial statements.
- Why is the cost of debt typically cheaper than the cost of equity?
- How do you calculate unlevered free cash flow, and why do we use it in a DCF?
- What is the Debt Service Coverage Ratio, and why is it critical in project finance?
- Explain the Regulatory Asset Base and how it drives the valuation of a UK utility.
- What is the difference between contango and backwardation in commodity markets?
Curveballs
- Invest £1bn of Macquarie's capital today into one asset class you cannot sell for 30 years. Where, and why?
- A client wants a structure that is technically legal but violates the spirit of environmental guidelines, with substantial fees. What do you do?
- Estimate the total volume of water lost through pipe leakages in London every day.
- What happens to an infrastructure project's IRR if inflation doubles and all revenues and costs are perfectly inflation-linked?
- Convince me in two minutes that climate change is either the greatest commercial threat or the greatest opportunity for Macquarie Capital.
What Macquarie Group looks for
Entrepreneurial drive (Opportunity)
The headline value. Macquarie wants evidence you spotted an inefficiency, launched a project or ran something yourself, even outside finance. It actively prefers candidates who have run small businesses or university funds over boilerplate CVs.
Ownership of risk (Accountability)
The firm runs a decentralised risk model, so it screens hard for people who take complete ownership of their work, understand downside risk and never deflect their own analytical errors.
Ethical judgement (Integrity)
A protective mechanism for the firm's reputation. Situational questions test whether you prioritise short-term profit over long-term client trust and stability.
Infrastructure and real-asset interest
As the world's largest infrastructure asset manager, Macquarie expects genuine sector passion: energy transition, digital infrastructure, regulated utilities and the financial characteristics of long-dated, inflation-linked cash flows.
Numerical and commercial agility
High numerical comfort under time pressure, from adaptive psychometrics to mental-maths and Fermi estimation, paired with the ability to connect macro events to valuations and deal flow.
Understanding of the balance-sheet model
Candidates must grasp that Macquarie deploys its own capital alongside advisory work. Treating it as a pure-play advisory shop is the single most common reason strong applicants are filtered out.
The edge: what separates offers from rejections
Specific moves most applicants skip. None of them need talent, only preparation.
- 01Reference the balance-sheet advisory model explicitly: Macquarie deploys principal equity and debt alongside corporate finance advice, not just fees.
- 02Name a real platform or deal: the Green Investment Group, Corio Generation, the Last Mile Infrastructure buyout or recent North Sea offshore wind financings.
- 03Lead with infrastructure hegemony and the energy transition, not cross-border tech M&A, which signals you have mistaken Macquarie for a bulge bracket.
- 04Show entrepreneurial evidence on your CV: a self-started initiative, a society you founded, a fund you ran or a process you built beyond your remit.
- 05Map your answers to Opportunity, Accountability and Integrity, and prove integrity through risk-aware, ethical reasoning rather than slogans.
- 06Use precise sector terminology (RPI-indexed cash flows, regulatory floors, CfD strike prices, DSCR) to satisfy keyword screens and senior assessors alike.
Prep, stage by stage
Drill each Macquarie Group round
Dedicated pages for the four rounds Macquarie Group runs. Practise each round on Intervyo.
Psychometric Tests
SHL, Cappfinity, Watson-Glaser and more, in the exact format Macquarie Group uses.
HireVue
Real Macquarie Group questions, identical timer, scored on six competencies.
Live Interview
Conversational mocks tuned to Macquarie Group's style, with follow-ups.
Assessment Centre
Case work, technicals, group exercises. Full-day rehearsal.
Pay & culture
Working at Macquarie Group
What they pay
Graduate
£65,000-£70,000 base in Year 1 plus a sign-on bonus of around £10,000 (some market data cites a base closer to £55,000); total pay is lifted by a variable profit share
Internship
Pro-rata of the graduate base across the summer internship
Perks
| Firm | Comp | Hours / week | Exit options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs / J.P. Morgan | Premium base + structured/equity bonus | 80-95+ / wk | Global mega-cap PE, distressed debt, activist funds |
| Rothschild & Co / Lazard | Premium base; bonus tied to advisory fees | 75-90 / wk | Elite generalist PE, corporate development, hedge funds |
| Brookfield / Global Infrastructure Partners | Strong base + carry over time | 60-75 / wk | Direct real-asset investing peers of Macquarie's exits |
| HSBC / Barclays | Tier-2 bulge / UK-focused base | 55-70 / wk | Moderate; a step below the Macquarie infrastructure niche |
What working at Macquarie Group is like
- Known as the Millionaires' Factory, originally for its uncapped Australian bonus pools and still visible in London through profit share.
- An entrepreneurial philosophy of Freedom within Boundaries: teams act like internal boutique partnerships within strict risk and compliance frameworks.
- Flatter and less bureaucratic than traditional bulge brackets, reflecting its Australian heritage; senior directors are accessible to juniors who know their numbers.
- The world's largest infrastructure asset manager, with EMEA strategy oriented to the energy transition, digital infrastructure and private credit.
- EMEA headquarters at Ropemaker Place in the City; juniors are largely on-desk Monday to Friday during live deals.
- Hours of roughly 70-85 per week, intense during live deals but with fewer empty pitch cycles than classic bulge brackets.
- Annual reviews with mid-year checkpoints; consistent underperformers are managed out and top performers are fast-tracked to deal-leading roles.
- Active employee networks including Macquarie Pride, the Balance Network and the Unity Network engage directly with the graduate cohort.
Timeline
When Macquarie Group programmes open and close
By programme. Use these dates to plan applications across the cycle and submit early on rolling lines.
| Programme | Opens | Closes | Assessment | Offers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Week | Early September | Late November / early December | January - February | Offers by late February; conversions during Easter | An early entry point that can fast-track strong performers toward the following summer. |
| Summer Internship | Early September | Mid-to-late November (fills earlier on a rolling basis) | October - January | Rolling offers; conversions around August | The primary hiring engine; conversion to graduate roles typically runs 70-85%. |
| Graduate Programme | Early September | Late October | October - December | Direct spaces limited; mostly filled via summer conversion | Few direct seats, since most are taken by converting interns. |
| Off-Cycle Internships | Ad-hoc (spring / autumn) | Variable | Rolling throughout the year | Structured around desk capacity openings | Driven by specific desk needs rather than a fixed calendar. |
FAQ
Macquarie Group application questions
How hard is it to pass the initial CV screen at Macquarie?
The initial screen is highly competitive and largely automated. Applications that fail to meet the 2:1 degree requirement, or that omit numerical results from past experience, are filtered out early. Because Macquarie recruits on a rolling basis, the practical bar also rises as a cohort fills, so applying early in September gives you a structural advantage. Make sure your expected classification and any finance, engineering or real-asset exposure are visible in the first scan.
What score is needed on the Korn Ferry psychometrics?
Macquarie does not publish an exact cut-off, and because the Talent Q test is computer-adaptive a raw score is meaningless. Your performance is benchmarked to a percentile against a global corporate norm group. The practical threshold sits around the 75th percentile for competitive streams such as Macquarie Capital and energy trading, and closer to the 60th percentile for support functions. A single very weak section can sink an otherwise strong profile: a numerical score below the 40th percentile often triggers an automatic rejection flag.
Does the firm hire from non-target universities?
Yes. While target universities have high structural representation, Macquarie is less elitist than some classic boutiques. Candidates from red-brick or international universities are regularly selected if they show exceptional numerical skill and clear entrepreneurial drive. The firm runs active pipelines for engineers, sustainability scientists and language graduates, particularly across commodities and infrastructure, and uses contextual recruitment to review applicants holistically.
Can I reapply if I am rejected at the HireVue stage?
You can hold only one live application per academic recruiting cycle. If you are unsuccessful at any stage, including the HireVue, you must wait until the following autumn cycle to submit a new application. Your data resets for that subsequent intake. Use the gap to diagnose where you fell out of the funnel and fix that specifically, whether that is timed adaptive numerical practice or recording and reviewing your video answers.
What is the typical conversion rate from summer intern to graduate?
The conversion rate from the summer internship to a graduate offer typically ranges from 70% to 85%, depending on the desk's capacity and individual performance over the summer. Because direct graduate seats are limited, the internship is the primary route into a full-time role, so performance across the programme, assessed through formal reviews, is what determines the outcome.
Does networking with current employees help my application?
Yes. Referencing specific conversations with team members in your motivation answers demonstrates genuine initiative and helps distinguish your application from generic submissions. Networking will not override a weak CV or poor test scores, but it gives you authentic, specific detail to weave into a why Macquarie answer, which is far more credible than recycled website copy.
Is a finance degree required to work in CGM or MacCap?
No. Macquarie values STEM degrees, engineering backgrounds and environmental-science qualifications, particularly for its infrastructure and commodities businesses. What matters is demonstrable numerical ability, commercial drive and the ability to translate your background into financial reasoning through self-study, societies or relevant internships.
What is the dress code for the London Assessment Centre?
Formal professional business attire is standard for all formal interview rounds and the assessment centre: a structured suit, a tie where appropriate, and formal business shoes. The same standard applies to virtual blocks, recorded against a clean, neutral background.
How quickly do rolling cohorts fill up?
Popular divisions like Macquarie Capital can fill their interview capacity within 6 to 8 weeks of applications opening in September. Because assessment-centre slots are allocated on a rolling basis, a strong but late application can lose out to an earlier, comparable one. Early submission is the single most controllable advantage you have.
Do Macquarie's stated values differ across sources?
You will see two framings. The firm's What We Stand For pillars are widely cited as Opportunity, Accountability and Integrity, and these are the values most assessors reference in interviews. Some assessment materials also list a broader set, Client Commitment, Integrity, Fulfilment, Teamwork and Entrepreneurialism. Both surface in practice, so prepare around the Opportunity, Accountability and Integrity pillars while showing genuine client focus, teamwork and entrepreneurial drive.
How not to fail
Mistakes that cost candidates Macquarie Group offers
Specific failure modes the firm screens out. None of these need talent to avoid, only awareness.
- 01Generic bulge-bracket motivation. Focusing on advisory prestige without acknowledging infrastructure hegemony or balance-sheet investing. Generic answers that fit any City bank are set aside.
- 02Sacrificing speed on the adaptive test. Spending too long on one complex calculation tanks the Talent Q score. Make structured estimates and keep velocity, since early errors cap your ceiling.
- 03Monopolising the group exercise. Dominating or cutting off other candidates signals an inability to collaborate, which runs counter to the firm's flat culture.
- 04Neglecting downside risk in the case. Presenting only optimistic revenue projections while ignoring supply shocks or regulatory capital costs shows a poor grasp of the firm's risk philosophy.
- 05Using the passive We. Behavioural answers framed around the team obscure your personal contribution. The rubric grades your individual actions and decisions.
- 06Reading off-camera on the HireVue. The AI flags eye-tracking that drifts from the lens, and human reviewers can tell when an answer is being read, undercutting your communication score.
If you are rejected
What to do next
Treat a rejection as an operational checkpoint, not a definitive barrier. A rejection restricts you to one application per academic cycle, and your data resets for the next autumn intake. Individual feedback is rarely given for automated CV or psychometric rejections, but detailed verbal feedback is standard if you reach the final assessment centre.
Audit your metrics
If you were filtered at the CV or test stage, sharpen your quantified-impact bullets and practise adaptive numerical tests under strict time limits.
Fix the specific stage
HireVue rejection means recording and reviewing your answers and fixing your eye-line; technical rejection means drilling project-finance mechanics until you can explain them cold.
Complementary ecosystems
Target firms that recruit on a similar or slightly extended timeline, such as Rothschild & Co, Jefferies and Houlihan Lokey.
Specialist real-asset managers
Apply to infrastructure and real-asset houses like Antin and Brookfield, or intermediate infrastructure advisory practices, to keep multiple paths open.
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Intervyo is not affiliated with or endorsed by Macquarie Group. Process details are sourced from past applicants, the firm's published guidance and our own research; verify timings on the firm's official careers site before applying. Last updated 21 July 2026.
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