17 Comments
 

Rothschild > DB > Moelis

Don't work or have not worked for any of these. Just my .02 from people I know working there (don't know anyone at Moelis, went to one of their campus presentations a while back... not a bad firm to join, but too small to start your career at I would say)

 
ametistaRotschild has a crazy dealflow in MM in europe. But someone told me that if you're interested in PE in London, BB is still the way to go, because PE firms prefer bigger deals than lot of MM ones.

Can someone comment on this?

I don't know the exact details, but what I have found is that PE firms in Europe are a lot less fussy about what type of deals you've worked on. They're more concerned with your general experience and what you were able to learn from it. But then again, I don't know much about this but this is what I learned from speaking to the odd person in the industry.

 

From my experience to date it seem that this is more applicable to PE recruitment in the US. Yes, it's nice to have a big deal on your resume but when it comes to an actual interviewing in London I felt like it was much better to have that average of 4-5 live deals a year which provided plenty of talking points. One observation I have by talking to some of my friends from college who are going through the process in the US is that the process is much less structured in Europe and recruitment is done by PEs more on the need and relationship basis. I would also love to hear what other Londoners on the board think.

 
Best Response

NM Rothschild is NOT a MM player. It is a pure advisory machine, with an extremely respected brand name. People tend to consider it as a MM firm for they emphasize on deal number instead of deal value. They want to be on every single advisory issue out there, from £200m deals to £25bn GDF/International Power or advisory to governments. The Rothschilds are at the origin of the City of London, and their image is still very strong, be it in London or continental Europe (especially Paris and Germany/Italy).

Moelis is a newcomer in Europe, but has expanded pretty aggressively. If you like this kind of atmosphere, go for it. But you better prepare your pitching skills.

DB is a very strong BB in Europe. Strong presence in almost every sector (cf AT&T/DT), and well respected. I came accross several profiles of former DB M&A analyst working in top PE funds in London. But your chances will depend on the group too.

So buddy, you can't go wrong with these options. If you see yourself working in financial advisory long term and want to build a solid deal experience, if you prefer working in a boutique atmosphere (more interaction with superiors, but pure advisory only) go for Roth. If you are looking for a broader experience and want to work in a much larger structure, aim at a top group at DB. And providing you perform well, both won't hurt your PE chances.

Homo homini lupus
 
SoAmbitiousNM Rothschild is NOT a MM player. It is a pure advisory machine, with an extremely respected brand name. People tend to consider it as a MM firm for they emphasize on deal number instead of deal value. They want to be on every single advisory issue out there, from £200m deals to £25bn GDF/International Power or advisory to governments. The Rothschilds are at the origin of the City of London, and their image is still very strong, be it in London or continental Europe (especially Paris and Germany/Italy).

Moelis is a newcomer in Europe, but has expanded pretty aggressively. If you like this kind of atmosphere, go for it. But you better prepare your pitching skills.

DB is a very strong BB in Europe. Strong presence in almost every sector (cf AT&T/DT), and well respected. I came accross several profiles of former DB M&A analyst working in top PE funds in London. But your chances will depend on the group too.

Can you name some of these funds? Just to better understand exit ops to PE in europe.

 

DB is probably the least strong (in IBD) of all BBs in London but it's still a BB at the end of the day. Rothschild's dealflow is really high (much higer than DB/Moelis and others) but am yet to see one of their analysts in a reputable PE/HF shop. As for Moelis London, it's crap. Overall, I would choose DB simply because it's still a BB and has a strong reputation in Europe. Exit opps not great but much better than Rothschild. On the other hand if you want to do banking long term and want to execute a lot, then Rothschild is a better choice.

 

For DB: http://www.carlyle.com/team/item10619.html or http://www.carlyle.com/team/item5764.html And to show that the "M&A => PE" path is not as standardized as in the US: http://www.carlyle.com/team/item5703.html or here (Edward Law) http://www.KKR.com/team/theteam.cfm?CategoryName=Capital+Markets

Roth: http://www.carlyle.com/Team/item10863.html

You get my point: it is possible. Especially in Europe, where the process is much different. And where people going to advisory firms like Rothschild tend to stay in this business.

Homo homini lupus
 

For DB: http://www.carlyle.com/team/item10619.html or http://www.carlyle.com/team/item5764.html And to show that the "M&A => PE" path is not as standardized as in the US: http://www.carlyle.com/team/item5703.html or here (Edward Law) http://www.KKR.com/team/theteam.cfm?CategoryName=Capital+Markets

Roth: http://www.carlyle.com/Team/item10863.html

You get my point: it is possible. Especially in Europe, where the process is much different. And where people going to advisory firms like Rothschild tend to stay in this business.

Homo homini lupus
 

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