Houlihan Lokey FAS vs. Houlihan Lokey IB

Hi All,

I was just wondering if anyone knows the difference between the two practices in terms of the amount and type of modeling work? How are they comparable to each other? Do they perform the same type of modeling work in FAS and IB, but just for different purposes?

Would you say FAS is a good alternative to IB or is a good stepping stone to get into IB?

How is the work hour, culture and types of work in FAS as compared to IB?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

My understanding is that their FAS is more of a valuations shop, purely fairness opinions and normal valuations work, with some transaction services work (e.g. due diligence, purchase price allocations, etc.). The technical aspect may be like IB, in terms of valuation, but you don't get this spectrum of IB at all (e.g. the whole deal cycle).

I can't speak to the culture since I'm not there.

Hugo
 
Best Response

This is accurate as far as the actual work goes. The interview process for me consisted of a campus resume drop followed by a very short phone interview then an superday immediately after. This surprised me, as they had only talked to me for a total of 10 minutes before inviting me for a superday.

The superday itself was structured as a six 30-minute interviews followed by a written test which consisted mostly of accounting questions - creating a simple IS/BS/CF and basic accounting questions. The interviews themselves were not technical at all, very conversational and relaxed.

My opinion of the group and HL FAS in general was that it was pretty clearly subservient to IB, but that you would still pick up some technical skills as outlined in the above post. The team I met with seemed to be much closer to Big 4 accountants than Investment Bankers, in so far as background, knowledge, and goals. Hours seemed to be around ~60 / week. I would think with the skillset and HL name your exit ops would be MM / BB IB and Corp Dev. The candidates in the office that day were mostly MACC candidates, and the majority of senior level staff came from a Big 4 audit background.

 

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