Best Response

As great as I think Moelis, Raich, Mahmoodzadegan and pals are, I don't think you can give a straight shot answer on whether Moelis & Co. is necessarily better than the top BBs. Personally, I think it would be great to go to MoCo, but I think the answer will have a lot to do with personal preferences. Here are a few thinking points, maybe this will spur some discussion. (All positive statements, nothing normative here, so if anyone posts a point-for-point rebuttal I'm going to be sick)

If you join Moelis & Co NOW: - You will (probably?) work in LA (they have an NY office and I heard about a Boston office) - You will only be doing M&A and PE-related work (this is great for some people, but others may want to see other products) - You will be working at a small (albeit badass) firm and face all of the pros and cons that come with that. For example, most of your non-banking friends will not have heard of the place you work, nor will have recruiters at Some smaller or foreign companies. - I'm not sure how deep their bench is at this point, but if they do not do deals in a sector that you really enjoy, you could feel like you're missing out.

So far, their bench looks like this (at least according to their website) Moelis - Needs no introduction Raich - Former co-head of M&A, UBS Mahmoodzadegan - Former global head of Media, UBS Crowley - Former head of High Yield Cap Markets, UBS. Going to cover housing materials and homebuilding clients at MoCo. Woo - Former head of UBS LA office. I believe he was big in LevFin and hotels. Momtazee - Former head of Broadcasting banking, UBS. Banked NBC Universal. Wadler - Former DLJ guy. Can't find much information on him but he did the Bell Sports (as in the bike helmets) for DLJ so I'm inclined to say that he is a consumer banker.

 

They just presented on campus and I met Crowley. He says he works out of his own house. They don't even have a website up. Sure, they are connected, but the lack of infrastructure makes me wonder what kind of work I'll be doing as an analyst...

But I guess if you don't start for another 8 months that maybe it will be better established by then.

 

are you serious?? MOELIS & CO would be the the BEST opportunity primarily because you would be able to work next to the TOP bankers in the industry at such an intimate level. I honestly believe one would be foolish not to work there...

 

I think everyone's made some valid points. However, class of 2008 wouldnt start for another 8 months, so I dont think infrastructure would be an issue. I've also heard that they've run a few lateral analyst hires out the door, but I think that primarily has to do with the fact that theyve already inked something like 10 deals, and so at the beginning, it might be difficult for those lateral analysts. Still, a year from now they should be well established and have both their offices grown out.

I guess once again it comes down to personal preference of a boutique over a bulge bracket, although this firm has a name comparable to any boutique or bulge.

One other factor is that I remember someone saying that, esp. if you work out of new york, you might have the chance to work on the private equity side too since they just closed like a 2 billion dollar private equity fund.

It should be interesting to see how they progress going forward.

What do people think about compensation prospects for moelis analysts? If the deals are there, which they probably will be, will Moelis 2008 analysts get top tier bulge bonus numbers, or not?

 

"Moelis" doesn't have quite the iconic ring that "Perella" does, but my personal bet is that that will change over the next five years. Will Moelis & Co make for a better analyst experience? Based on how good the UBS LA kids had it, I'm betting that this will be the case. Given Moelis's DLJ/UBS cultural background vs. Perella's MS background, it's probably safe to say that Moelis & Co will feel much more new school.

Still, Perella Weinberg has a way deeper bench.
- Two former heads of MS's entire global IBD (Abdel-Meguid and Perella) - a former head of MS's middle eastern IBD (Nosseir) - the former COOs of MS IBD Global and Europe - a former CEO of GS International - a former Global Head of MS LevFin (Kourakos) - a former co-head of MS Global Industrial - a former global head of MS M&A Europe - a former global head of ML M&A and ML Europe - William Donaldson (as in Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette) is an advisor

The list could go on, these are just some highlights. Also note that Perella is a lot bigger in general (ballpark 80 at the VP to partner level is my guess). Contrast this with my Moelis & Co roster from above (and I have no idea how many non-partner MDs and other bankers they plan to bring in at the start):

" So far, their bench looks like this (at least according to their website) Moelis - Needs no introduction Raich - Former co-head of M&A, UBS Mahmoodzadegan - Former global head of Media, UBS Crowley - Former head of High Yield Cap Markets, UBS. Going to cover housing materials and homebuilding clients at MoCo. Woo - Former head of UBS LA office. I believe he was big in LevFin and hotels. Momtazee - Former head of Broadcasting banking, UBS. Banked NBC Universal. Wadler - Former DLJ guy. Can't find much information on him but he did the Bell Sports (as in the bike helmets) for DLJ so I'm inclined to say that he is a consumer banker. "

 

One interesting thing from the presentation I remember was when he was comparing Moelis to the other boutiques like Greenhill, Lazard, & Perella, both the associates and Moelis argued that the No. 1 difference was that Moelis himself was much younger and could be an aggressive and more energetic CEO. Don't know how much serious of a consideration that is, but it was pretty interesting to hear that.

 
baloogafish:
Coming from a southern school (Texas), how could I get in touch w/ working at MoCo? I assume that they only recruit from Ivies and West Coast schools, as of now

They made an offer to someone from UCSB for the Class of 2008.

 

You gotta realize UBS LA in it's glory days was the biggest sweatshop on the westcoast. Citi although a bulge bracket fits more of the westcoast lifestyle.

Not to say that us westcoast guys/gals don't work hard, most analysts have better lifestyles than their eastcoast counterparts.

Plus Navid Mahmoodzadegan used to kill his analysts. The associates in media at UBS didn't follow him. One went to Oak Tree the other stayed at UBS.

 

Paulsonator333:

They're wrapping up recruiting. They already came to our campus, and supposedly their LA recruiting was closed, because they had 6 people already accept offers (wharton, harvard, princeton is what we were told), and I believe they are only recruiting for their NY office now. I would guess that you would probably be better off in NY anyways, because you would do more PE and not with any of the UBS LA guys that people say kill analysts.

They still don't have a website up though besides their MDs names, so infrastructure seems to be an issue. They are already a few months in and have already sealed a bunch of deals... I read an article that said they will get 14.4 million in advisory fees for their role in the Hilton hotels deal... that is a ton of cash for a firm that size to get from one deal. I don't think they'll have any problem paying bonuses come December.

 
They're wrapping up recruiting. They already came to our campus, and supposedly their LA recruiting was closed, because they had 6 people already accept offers (wharton, harvard, princeton is what we were told), and I believe they are only recruiting for their NY office now.

False. My brother is interviewing at this very moment in the UCLA career center for the LA analyst position.

Employer:

Moelis & Company Division:

N/A Title:

Investment Banking and Private Equity Analyst Description:

Investment Banking and Private Equity Analyst (3-Year Program) Location: Los Angeles, CA or New York, NY

Company Overview: Moelis & Company will be a new relationship-based investment bank that will provide advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and other corporate finance transactions. In addition, Moelis Capital Partners, an affiliated entity, will manage private equity funds. Over time, the Company expects to expand its investment banking product offering to clients beyond its core advisory and restructuring businesses, as well as raise new investment funds with investment strategies beyond traditional private equity.

The Company is being founded by Ken Moelis. Mr. Moelis has had an impressive 25-year career on Wall Street and is viewed as one of the top investment bankers in the industry. Mr. Moelis was most recently President of UBS Investment Bank. Prior to this role, he was Joint Global Head of the UBS Investment Banking Department. Under his leadership, UBS transformed itself into the fastest growing bulge bracket investment banking franchise and M&A advisor globally. In the past year alone, Mr. Moelis has advised in three of the largest LBO transactions of all-time: Hilton Hotels ($26 billion), Harrah’s Entertainment ($27.4 billion), Sallie Mae ($25.6 billion) and Univision Communications ($13.7 billion). Prior to UBS, Mr. Moelis was Head of Corporate Finance and Co-Head of the Los Angeles office of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Joining Mr. Moelis as founders of the Company are Navid Mahmoodzadegan, Warren Woo and Todd Wadler. Mr. Mahmoodzadegan was Global Head of Media Investment Banking at UBS and was named top media “rainmaker” by US investment banking and private equity magazine Dealmaker in 2006. Mr. Woo was Global Head of Financial Sponsors, Hedge Funds and Leveraged Finance at UBS. During his tenure, he built a leading US middle-market financial sponsors business. Mr. Wadler was a managing director in the Financial Sponsors and Leveraged Finance Group at UBS.

Key Highlights of Position: • Unique opportunity to gain experience in both investment banking and private equity • Reputation of the firm driven by successful, high-quality track records of its founders • Unparalleled exposure to the firm’s highly talented and experienced industry leaders • Entrepreneurial culture designed to create an exciting and enjoyable work environment • Opportunity to assume a high level of responsibility Location:

Location

City New York

State New York

Country United States

Location

City Los Angeles

State California

Country United States

Position Type:

Full Time Approximate Hours Per Week:

80 Job Function:

Financial/Accounting/Actuarial For Part-Time and Workstudy Positions Application Instructions Additional Position Information Salary Range:

competitive with wall street Desired Major(s):

Mathematics / Economics, Mathematics, Business Economics, Accounting (minor) Desired Start Date:

July 16, 2007 Duration:

2 or 3 years Travel Percentage:

 

I realize that. However as a new firm, Moelis does not have an established presence at UCLA, or at any school, to worry about maintaining a relationship.

I've also heard through the grapevine, from a reliable source, that there are some analyst slots open. I wouldn't advise my own blood to interview otherwise.

 

Any opinions on possible bonus numbers for class of 2008 analysts with Moelis (relatively compared to other firms), given the people involved, the deal flow in their first three months, and historical precedent with similar firms (i.e. perella weinberg)

I know this is kind of just throwing random numbers out in the air, but I just want to see some opinions...

Also, moneytree: Do these positions include LA slots? I understand that they were coming to UCLA and your brother interviewed, but it is possible that although the description stated LA and New York, they were only recruiting for New York. Did they mention that to him during his interview?

 

well you always have to bind your own books at a boutique/middle market. you probably have to make and bind your own pibs...

dont worry though, you get good at it soon. when i was at my middle market, i can print/bind/flip 30 descmems in under 90 minutes. would i ever want to repeat this experience, even if for a firm with as many prestigious bankers as moco? the answer is hell no.

 

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