Evercore vs Lazard vs Jefferies (All NYC, all Industrials) for a lateral position. Don't really care about exits (pretty set on the career banker path), and also pretty product agonistic (don't have a huge preference for M&A, hence why Jefferies is pretty appealing). Currently leaning toward Lazard for cultural reasons, but would love to get more insight on each group in terms of comp/culture/dealflow.
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Currently at Evercore Industrials, so can provide you with some insight on that.
Pros:
- Dealflow: Our dealflow is solid, and we're pretty well-rounded across the verticals in Industrials in the mid-cap to mega-cap space. That being said, we work with Lazard and Jefferies all the time, and their Industrial groups are also very solid in terms of deal flow (but obviously Jefferies is less present on the mega-cap deals).
- Comp: Our comp is obviously higher than street, but while our comp is above BB comp, we're no longer class-leading. My friends at Lazard are also in the same predicament (maybe slightly worse as Lazard has far larger buckets so comp is far more variable). At the ASO level, I'd say Evercore > Lazard in terms of comp. Word on the street is Jefferies pays very high (above us) for top-performing ASOs and average ASO comp there is above BBs and in-line with lower-paying EBs, but I personally don't know too many people at Jefferies well enough to share comp figures.
Cons:
- Culture: The culture in Industrials has changed a lot over the past few years for the worse. Evercore went on a hiring spree and frankly, the Industrials group picked up a lot of dead weight with very expensive MDs that simply haven't paid off. I'd say the Industrials group has been one of the most "institutionalized" groups at Evercore with culture becoming a lot less collegial and a lot less intimate. Hours are decent though.
- Career Progression (Maybe): The group is pretty bloated right now with a lot of expensive seniors and a lot of mid-level bankers. Management can't do much about the bloating right now, but I can definitely see management restructuring the group in the future and I think the Industrials group will face a period of quite heavy turnover a few years down the line when management tries to get rid of dead weight. Heavy turnover can be good for career bankers (if you're good then you have more opportunities for promotion down the line), but can also be bad (Volatile office dynamics and changing office politics).
All solid options. Congrats!
It would be between Evercore and Jefferies for me. Evercore is a fantastic bank all round and Jefferies is arguably the hottest bank on the street currently. Might lean towards Evercore personally but can’t go wrong with either.
How is this even a question? Evercore and Lazard have better brands + Jefferies has the weird clawback BS beginning at the ASO level
Lol 7 people threw MS and nobody wants to say why?
LAZ pay has always trailed EVR except for some mythical top bucket that was allegedly close.
jefferies does have claw backs at ASO and above - never heard of anybody taking jefferies over Evercore
Del
OP here - I'm still very much considering Jefferies. When it comes to career banking, the so-called "prestige" factor between banks really becomes a moot point. I've seen all three banks working on the same deals quite often, and the majority of their deal flow tends to be quite similar in terms of size and type in Industrials, with obviously Evercore touching the mega-cap Industrial deals a bit more than Jefferies and Lazard in the US. Also, one of the most appealing aspects about Jefferies compared to Lazard and Evercore is that Jefferies doesn't do pure advisory, and I personally think exposure to more products is beneficial for a career banker.
Also the clawback provision isn't a huge negative for me. If I find the group fit well early (aka identify good mentors and have a good culture), I honestly don't see myself moving that much until maybe the VP/SVP point, where becoming MD becomes a lot harder. Also, Jefferies pays straight cash bonuses across all levels, which helps to offset the clawback provision.
What about the Lazard culture is appealing to you?
I networked with a lot of people in the group, and while the hours are pretty bad, the group definitely seems very collegial and tight-knit despite being one of the largest groups by headcount. The people I talked to were also very chill.
Lazard just raised base pay to 200, 225, and 250 for AS1, AS2, and AS3, respectively (can google recent BI article). Close friend is an Analyst there and came in planning to dip to PE, but now they are seriously considering doing A2A and like their group a lot. Think culture is probably a bit group-dependent, but overall, seems much better than rough stories people heard in the mid-2010s. Jeff is rising, but I'd lean Laz as first choice and Evercore as second choice.
Even as a career banker, I would favour Evercore, then Lazard, then some clear air between the two to Jefferies. Not a knock on Jefferies, which is a reputable bank that comps well.
Yes, this is a fair point. If you want LevFin exposure then Jefferies is of course the natural choice. Although I can't see how people wouldn't want to grind for months on an M&A process and have it fall apart over some weird unforseen hurdle at the 11th hour lmao
I'd actually argue the opposite - debt exposure is much more important than equity exposure for Industrials. There's significantly more debt and M&A activity than equity deal flow across most verticals in Industrials.
Your points on CVP are completely wrong. Ofc Evercore and Lazard have greater total fees, they’re 3-4x as big as CVP! Fees per Partner or per employee are what matter because this is the amount of money you can splash around in a comp pool, and CVP absolutely destroys everyone in this category.
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Appreciate the insight Prospect.
I work at Laz and I would never leave for a different bank. Feel free to message.
Also see recent initiatives: pay bumps, WFH Monday and Friday, work from anywhere for one month per year. I think they're focused on rebranding from the legacy old-school Lazard to a better "destination" for talent. Whether that actually changes and helps culture is still to be seen but at least they're listening and trying to make improvements.