Centerview and PJT in Europe
In the US Centerview and PJT are arguably the two banks I would most prefer to work to.
I can expect lots of responsibility early on, earn a lot, have great exit opportunities and work on great deals.
However, how is the situation in Europe? Would you prefer these two over stronger players such as LZD, RTH, EVC or a BB?
More specifically how do you view working at LZD, RTH, MS, GS, JPM, EVC in FFM, or at PJT and CV in LDN?
Thinking of going to a shop in FFM since their presence is greater in Europe. However, could also go to PJT or CV in LDN and would prefer this lifestyle wise (while I have much less money available the city is so much better)
As many in this forum have already pointed out, many EBs are nowhere near their reputation in Europe as in the US. I am specifically referring to Moelis, Evercore, Greenhill, PJT and Perella.Obviously, they still do deals and pay well, but overall they lack behind. In Europe, you are almost always better off choosing a lower BB, such as DB, Barclays, UBS or CS over Evercore, GHL, PJT and Moelis. This is especially true for Germany, where banks almost entirely dominate the market (e.g. Moelis completely failed their expansion to Germany).RTH and LAZ are both extremely good in Europe (and especially Germany and France).If you want to do Restructuring, then go either to HL or PJT in Europe.
Centerview is neither top-notch nor bad. They only do deals in France and UK and you only go there to stay long-term
Thanks for the tipp. A lot of people I know at EB said there are up and coming but apparently they only said this since they did not get into a BB
Former PJT employee here currently in a MF/Top HF (won’t disclose much). I got interviews everywhere I was interested, and I think it is/was similar for many of my former colleagues. Yes, GS/MS and JPM are a notch above for MF PE exits (also given class size), but I’d go to PJT over any other bank in europe - I genuinely believe the experience is top notch
That was probably because of the restructuring practice.
I clearly said if you wanna do RX, then PJT or HL. PJT places well in Sepcial Sits or Distressed but this is a different discussion.
Oh great thanks. Yes experience wise I do believe that PJT and many other EB are still probably better than BBs simply because of deal exposure etc. For PE exit I guess it will be difficult anyways given mz GPA (1.9) equivalent to 64% (2:1), I guess I just have to think about it for while.
Thanks anyways
Here are my two cents:
1) BBs are the way to go in Europe. This is not to say that EBs are a bad choice, but rather that it will be BBs doing all the interesting deals, have the better structured programs and provide you with the better opportunities both if you want to exit or if you want to stay.
2) If you absolutely want to go for a boutique in Europe, go for Lazard or maybe Roth. Lazard will be able to compete with BBs, Roth may chase smaller deals but is a great shop nonetheless
3) Among all the other boutiques, only Evercore is growing enough to maybe one day be on Lazard/Roth’s level. The rest are simply not close
4) PJT would only make sense if you absolutely love to do RX. Understand however that in Europe you have 20 different bankruptcy codes and they are all much different (and less developed) than the US one. As such, it will be a different experience than the American one and it will pigeonhole you much more than in the US, even geographically
5) CVP in Europe is a bad choice. They are not big, growth is not really there for them to become any close to what they are in the US and their selectiveness means that if you get an offer from there you can realistically get an offer from GS/MS or any other top bank that you know is as good as it gets. No reason to spend your career trying to build a bank that has some serious geographic disadvantages (and even business model concerns, as there aren’t that many whales in Europe to hunt to being with) vs its competitors. Which brings me to my next point:
6) In Europe you want to ideally go to a bank that has a strong continental presence, as London acts as a hub for the continent more than a separate, independent market. Roth isn’t that good bc they got lucky: they did a huge effort 10 years ago or so to grow in all the other financial centers beyond London (Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid) to be able to compete overall. PJT has presence in Frankfurt and a weak one in Madrid (have heard they are going to open in Paris). CVP is only in London and Paris, with no news on any further expansion. Banks that are growing, such as Evercore, have been spending heavily to compete in its two continental offices (Frankfurt and Madrid). They even had plans to open in Paris but some bankers left them hanging right before Covid, which derailed that. Other banks such as Jeffreies have started to aim higher in Europe, but I believe they have slowed down recently
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