PWP is the worst culture on WallStreet.
For whatever reason Perella Weinberg has convinced everyone it has this amazing boutique culture. Hilarious. It is truly hell on earth.
1) The hours are fucking excruciating. I’m talking legitimate 90hrs on average. And it doesn’t fluctuate lower. When deal flow is slower, they do all this bullshit advisory work that takes so much of your time with materially detailed analysis that probably gets looked at for about 30 seconds by the strategic’s CEO while taking a dump in his bathroom. “Protected Saturdays”, lol, hilarious.its fully a work day. No exceptions needed. If they teams message you — you must respond in 10min or you’ll get a “best practices” note quickly after on how to behave.
2) I know it’s the norm that A1’s typically take a first stab at things. Not at PWP. There, A1’s do ALL the work. Literally all. This is not an exaggeration. It is the expectation that the A1 does every single fucking comment that comes through as a “first pass” before the lazy ass A2 checks it. You’re not working simultaneously, dividing and conquering like a real team — you are doing EVERYTHING. Sure, you learn a lot, but the bitch Becky above you will take credit for your work and sit back and relax doing fucking nothing. Fuck the A2’s.
3) The VP’s are some of the most frustrating people in the world to work with, let alone just sit next to. They will blame you for their mistakes. They will bad mouth you behind your back. It’s toxic. It’s mainly MBA associate promos from dogshit b-schools like Yale MBA, which have nice sounding names to lay morons on the side walk but anyone with a fucking pulse knows it’s an atrocious business school relative to real finance jobs, let alone a reputable investment bank. Never a thank you for good work. Never any guidance. They leave you to drown.
4) The deal teams are way too lean. How am I working on a $1.5B sell-side as the only analyst? Are you retarded? Pussy ass Morgan Stanley would have 2 analysts in BOTH the coverage group AND the M&A group on this (for a total of 4 analysts). It’s me, a senior associate, a VP, a director, and a partner. And again —they make me fucking do everything. I don’t want to do both the CIM and the model. I can’t sleep without crushing anxiety.
To PWP’s credit, the compensation is very good. It is top of street with the other boutiques outside of CVP / Q. You will also get emails from HH’s about every MFPE opportunity and you’re a hard worker you have a good shot to land it.
Regardless, it is the worst culture on WallStreet. Don’t be fooled by the Purple and White coloring.
I cannot wait to leave this fucking bank and go to TMT PE. I’m the client now motherfucker. Watch the way you talk to me or I’ll throw your teasers in the garbage. Junk ass bank.
AVOID.
Lmao thanking my lucky stars rn that I accepted an offer elsewhere. Had one from PWP HC
Yale comment was targeted
Lol ik who it is that guys a retard
Lol the yale mba, I know what you mean
LOL
Semi off topic but as someone who didn’t start figuring things out until after Highschool, I’d be ecstatic to get into an Ivy MBA program. Can someone explain why Yale isn’t good? and which MBAs are truly great? I’m not in finance I’m just curious and looking to learn more about college for future decisions.
sounds like you'd make a great MBA associate!
wow you really think so? 😃
All grads there are into that whole Yale thing
“How am I working on a $1.5B sell-side as the only analyst? Are you retarded? Pussy ass Morgan Stanley…” S-tier content right here
Lol get reckt -a Morgan Stanley A1
So do one yr then kick back as an A2 and let the cycle continue - what’s the issue
exactly
A2’s get worked really badly as well……
sorry to hear about 1 to 3. Disagree on 4. All EBs / boutiques run super lean teams. Don't see why that's a problem. FWIW - you don't need a senior associate if you have a VP on the team tbh. Probably a junior associate.
Epic post. Hilarious on WSO everyone says PWP amazing culture...just goes to show you barely anyone on WSO actually has worked in the industry. But imma be honest...this sounds like a regular ass bank, even if there was another analyst helping I'm sure you'd still end up doing everything anyway tho. Plus the whole "sell" of the boutique learning experience is that you're doing everything, right? At least you didn't mention DEI like everyone else lmao. Have fun on the other side brother
As above person said, legit sounds like pretty much everywhere I've worked lol.
Not that it makes dealing with it easy.
Bro experienced banking. Sounds better than my experience at another boutique lol
The funniest part is the ending. After four paragraphs of psychic damage, sleep deprivation, and purple-themed trauma, it still turns into “comp is good, headhunters call, exits are strong.” Which is basically the entire EB experience in one sentence: this place is ruining my life, but in a prestigious way.
Culture varies substantively by group. The above may be true for some groups but is inaccurate for others
All this makes me want to be Team Mike in their beef with Mike Kramer and Ducera.
The saga has definitely been quite entertaining.
m po
i know you’re goated to work with
Analyst 2 here — please ignore the title. I would strongly caution interns and incoming analysts to think carefully before starting full-time at PWP, especially outside of HC or RX.
In my experience, the firm can be a very difficult place to develop as a junior. A lot of the work feels pitch-heavy, with limited visibility into live execution, and the culture can be extremely challenging. Juniors are often overworked….. I’m shocked some group(s) haven’t even featured in a negative WSJ article on junior banker treatment. My group is fine hours wise but I have heard horror stories around the firm
I don’t have anything to gain by saying this, but I genuinely believe there are better places to start your career if you have other EB or BB options. If you are an undergrad or incoming summer analyst, I would strongly encourage you to recruit broadly and seriously consider alternatives before committing. Happy to answer any questions
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