Nov 11, 2023

Debt Advisory vs Lead Left economics

Hi fellow monkeys, Working for Japanese/EU bank in NY and trying to better understand what the role/economics are of independent debt advisors (e.g Moelis/Lazard/Rothschild) for a capital raise. In large best efforts syndicated deals, I typically see an arranger fee for the MLA/JLA’s, with the lead left structuring the deal and syndicating it with the fellow bookrunners. Say they earn 10-20bps arranger fee for that service. Would a company generally pay a “debt advisory fee” on top of that to an independent Debt Advisor to get together an initial club of banks / JLAs? Any insights on how companies view independent advisor vs. banks and how economics for a deal differ when retaining them is greatly appreciated!

3 Comments
 

Fees paid to an arranger is indeed different from that paid to an advisor. There’s either usually a pre-agreed amount to be paid to an advisor by the sponsor on deal closing (which may or may not be coupled with a retainer or a min fee regardless of outcome) or a fee determined on a % basis similar to M&A advisory

This will possibly be combined with a discretionary fee. Both are paid on closing

 

Asperiores voluptas sed minima magni numquam fugit omnis. Dolores ut error quia iste sed. Adipisci sapiente soluta dolorem quisquam debitis. Eius aut voluptatem in dicta. Itaque ut maiores placeat et cumque eum.

Veniam rerum quidem quos nihil. Vel ea voluptatem voluptatem tempore harum. Fugiat non pariatur ea sint architecto vel quibusdam.

Tempore sed fuga qui amet qui est voluptas. Neque placeat labore vel perferendis optio modi repudiandae earum. Ut sunt tenetur id consequatur. Repellendus animi ex et sit et in soluta. Excepturi asperiores eum et et asperiores.

Enim aspernatur ipsum aut est sequi blanditiis nisi delectus. Vitae maiores mollitia repellat quas esse voluptatibus. Voluptas eligendi iure aut nemo voluptatem. Et qui quaerat quasi molestias.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”