Evercore NYC M&A vs PJT NYC M&A for Private Equity and MBA Exit Opportunities
I'm lucky enough to have Full-Time Analyst offers for Investment Banking from both Evercore NYC M&A and PJT NYC M&A.
I know I'm splitting hairs here but I'm just wondering if any of you have thoughts if one firm is slightly better positioned in terms of exit opportunities into PE mega-funds (Apollo, Blackstone, Warburg, KKR, TPG, Bain, Carlyle) as well as top MBA programs (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton)?
Appreciate any insight!
Evercore hands down. Still top tier name and reputation and for the majority of groups exits have been excellent. Pjt is good too but I’d strongly lean toward EVR.
I would also heavily lean towards EVR. Unless you have a specific reason to join PJT, EVR has a more established brand name outside of finance, it has insane exits, and the culture is very good from what I hear. Congrats on the two offers, though--you're in a great spot.
Would push back on the comments suggesting PJT is better. PJT is by no means a bad group, but with the significant growth in class size you're seeing every year there's clear dilution going on in terms of exits, and it's approaching EVR's size but without the same quality. Sure the very top kids get good exits (reminiscent of what you saw when it was BX M&A and actually a top group), but everyone who isn't in the 90th percentile or above would be better served by going to Evercore where you see better average exits and more stability in exits overall. In recent years Evercore M&A has run the gamut from top megafunds (Apollo, KKR, WP), top UMM firms (HarbourVest, WCAS, HPS), startups (as I mention below), and hedge funds (Oaktree, Corsair). Especially as someone who's entering as a FT without having interned, the partners will know you less well so when it comes to buyside recommendations (which are something they'll get asked about less than two months after you hit the desk) you'll be less of a known quantity and ranked lower, so you want to be in as good a group as possible.
Would also say that your bank doesn't matter for MBA applications - your buyside job + GMAT + GPA will matter a lot more (especially if your seniors write recommendations for you, which is a common benefit at top megafunds).
Also would point out that Evercore brand, while still much more locked into finance than a BB would be, still maintains a lot of optionality if you want to leave finance - I've had friends from EVR M&A who opted to go the late stage tech firm route, and got interviews at places like Dropbox. Worth considering if you're not 100% set on finance.
Realize you want to be sure but it's really not a tough decision - happy to chat more over PM.
Congrats! Splitting hairs is right (know analysts at each who turned down the other), but very exciting. I’ve worked at one and have friends at both so hopefully can draw some distinctions.
PE exits from PJT have indeed been strong; in this year alone thereve been Apollo, BX, Carlyle, WP, TPG, centerbrodge, a couple top HFs and a couple UMMs (which by the way were kids who had MF interviews but opted for firms with a narrower focus and/or partner track positions). Evercore is very strong too, the distinction to note being PJT has a smaller analyst class, so you’re competing against fewer colleagues and potentially could get more personal senior recs.
Can’t speak to biz school placement at EVR but know that every PJT analyst or A/A promote who has gone to bschool has gone to HBS fwiw (albeit small sample size).
Culturally, EVR will have a bigger bank feel. More layers of hierarchy, more sub divisions, etc. Not necessarily a bad thing, in fact you’ll probably run into more varied perspectives/mandates but worth considering. PJT is pretty unusual because so many of the partners were head of industry/head of m&a at top banks and the extremely lean deal teams mean you interact directly with these folks on a daily basis. Both banks have had strong deal flow this year; EVR much higher in overall volume but PJT has had ridiculous avg transaction size (especially on a per analyst basis). For whatever reason PJT also tends to get a lot of interesting longer term advisor mandates. Hope this helps! Happy to answer other questions.
Surprised there’s this much debate, but I had a friend in a similar position - she chose Evercore over some other EB’s (MoCo, Laz).
PJT M&A has never had “stellar” branding, even when it was known as Blackstone M&A. Sure, the top bucket analyst there have placed at MF, but it’s difficult. PJT RSSG has been the firm’s crown jewel to the point they’ve tracked every exit. RSSG will always be first to get recruited, both for distressed funds and standard MF/PE.
Evercore on the other hand has constantly produced solid exits to MF and MM PE. Increasing the number of analysts doesn’t change the caliber of the individuals - it means they’ve recruited more solid candidates. Evercore M&A has been known as T1 for quite some time, and this won’t change
For B-School, both firms are solid choices so it doesn’t matter. But, if you want the highest chance of a solid exit, then I would side with Evercore M$A
Agreed on this - frankly choosing Evercore is a no-brainer, and the only comments supporting PJT are from people who clearly work there, like The Fuzz.
As someone who went to a top target where I have friends that went to both, no one in their right mind would pick PJT M&A over Evercore - people who pick PJT are generally the ones who were almost good enough (getting EVR superdays) but then struck out.
Lol this is a pretty clear choice. At my top target (can probably figure out which one) - EVR M&A is the obvious preference.
When you have an EVR Rx & EVR M&A guy against each other - it's a fair play, but when you have PJT RSSG vs. PJT M&A, the RSSG will win hands down. With PJT M&A growing in size it's going to become a more dominant influence to the PJT brand, so you can't get as much of boost as you could have a couple years ago.
FYI - Know some PJT M&A analysts who couldn't exit and had to stay for 3rd year...
Exits: = Pay: PJT slightly Culture: PJT
Verdit: PJT
But it's really up to you and how you vibe with the people you met at each firm. Win win situation. Congrats.