Boutiques move away from M&A

Listening to the earning calls of Evercore, PJT, and Houlihan Lokey, analysts were very focused on non-M&A revenue. It seems that Evercore's large beat over estimates is mainly due to non-M&A fees while PJT strategy advisory will be down compared to Park Hill and Rx. 

Is this interest in fee generation due to cyclicality (where we are in the cycle and the focus will return to M&A shortly) or does this represent a structural change in how independent advisory banks are run? 

6 Comments
 
Most Helpful

This is completely expected. M&A activity is highly cyclical, and public companies and their shareholders want to reduce the cyclical nature of the companies. Hence they diversify into other activities that help reduce overall business cyclicity to ensure earnings are more stable. Same reason why you see a lot of IB firms moving down-market and chasing MM deals more and more, as large-cap M&A activity tends to be more cyclical than MM M&A activity.

As I understand it, a big reason why Effron wanted CVP to remain private was so CVP wouldn't face this pressure to diversify and could focus on what they're good at (being good M&A and strategic advisors to their long-time clients).

 

Yup, and CVP peeps have remained busy with deal work/strategic advisory even as the rest of the M&A market slows down.

 

Ut quaerat tempore vero consectetur. Autem fuga autem aliquid eum ut. Magni sit omnis quidem rerum aut. Aut est commodi architecto. Ex nihil et neque dignissimos.

Vitae earum harum quod. Rerum quia numquam blanditiis iste molestiae odit corrupti quos. Deserunt corrupti ut excepturi beatae.

Qui quis dignissimos nihil aliquid voluptatem quod at. Quasi commodi blanditiis nesciunt sequi ipsam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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

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...”