Moelis vs PWP
If you had an offer form both of these two, which ones would you pick solely based off of potential exits/prestige?
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Moelis is much sweatier, but a better option.
Know people at both firms, and to affirm the comment above Moelis is sweatier, and not by a slim margin. The hours I hear of from some groups at Moelis first hand are flat out absurd and make it look like the Apollo of the sell-side. Not sure it’s worth your sanity. Analysts in the top groups at both of these firms get the same interview looks for buyside, it’s on you to convert after that.
Exit opps really depend on you specifically, I've seen the best analysts at both firms get highly coveted jobs. I don't think they will be substantially different at a bank level. Prestige is 100% subjective and depends on how you view it, but at a high level, they are roughly similar, maybe Moelis slightly edges it out strictly by brand recognition. Also, Moelis is not as sweaty compared to other banks as people make it seem. If I were you, I would make the decision based off the people you got to know at each firm, who you connected with best, and sector focus, which is really dependent on which office location you're offered at both.
No major difference between the two.
Pick the place you connected with more. It matters much more than the marginal difference (if any) between these firms
This is the right advice. Put yourself in the shoes of your exit employer (a PE shop or whatever it might be): you're competing with other top firms to get the very best analysts out of IB. These analysts are expensive and getting the wrong one can be even more expensive. You're going to leave no stone unturned within the class of firms that you're targeting (BBs and EBs) to try and maximize the quality of your hires. There's no room for splitting hairs between a Moelis or a PWP on vague notions of "prestige." As an employer you can't afford to do that.
And don't let the folks on WSO try and convince you that any culture/hours differences between these banks are meaningful at the firm level. They're not.
The one controllable factor in your experience is who are you going to be working with. That factor will make a difference in your development and in the quality (not really quantity) of your hours. So if there was any difference in the quality of the group you'd likely be working with, or gut-level "fit" with those you met, run with that.
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