What's the updated opinion on M. Klein? Some of the threads are old and don't cover much. Overall sentiment is that it's super target focused elite boutique.
Have a super day with them vs. 2nd Tier BB (think CS/Citi)
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Pasting the below from thread a couple days ago.
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M. Klein is highly underrated. My buddy's cousin worked there for 2 years and her experience was strong. Heard she met/worked with some global heavy hitters..Larry Summers, Yasir Al-Rum (PIF head), Tony Blair... i understand they are on the firm's advisory board.
Comp was materially above market back in 2019 - not sure what is now. Deal flow is insane, mostly all headline deals and get to work on investing too. Apparently travel globally for work, Saudi, Russia, Argentina. Fly first class. 3x meals covered in the office.
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Several stories? Like horror stories? What do you mean
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uhhh...that's kinda sus
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Guessing she was on the Gluck Gluck 9000 mandate
How’s you land an SA interview?
Fly to dubai with richard branson
Don’t know who this chick is who supposedly thinks banking is flying to Dubai with Richard Branson. This will not be your experience - the firm is known for relationship hires, so not sure if she was one and there for something beyond her financial acumen
From a friend who spent quite a bit of time there, your life will be hell. You will be abused, have limited resources, get comped below market, and regularly be working 100+ hr weeks
That being said, you will get exposure on a (very) lean deal team to some of the most unique and high profile m&a and strategic assignments in this business
Everything spot on, except for the comp. Comp is above market. Perhaps below market on an hourly basis
Thanks -- this is one datapoint and from a few months ago, so you're prob right and/or more recent
Confirm the crazy hours - very tough
I worked directly with him at Citi. He’s a really good guy with a crazy network. Very intense so I imagine there will be plenty of late nights. He is a huge fan of flying private.
I'm tired of you worthless Analysts telling me what to think
name sounds like a shoe brand. first boston sounds better
Probably why you'll never work there
Can confirm:
1) its ultra sweaty; even MDs pull all-nighters ocassionally
2) quality/size of deals are second to none; every single deal is a GLOBAL headline deal.. they rarely touch deals $2B
3) Complexity of deals is second to none; get exposure to sophisticated investing and advisory deals; quality of analysts/associates is high and extremely sharp team (with sharp elbows)
4) fast-paced and high profile nature of deals combined with a very lean deal team leads to very low tolerance for errors and a very tough culture
5) not too friendly towards analysts recruiting for PE (that was 2019 though so things might've changed)
6) comp is materially above market
7) Health benefits are not great
8) Super target focused because many of their presentations have banker profiles in appendix (including analysts)
9) Stress levels are very high
10) Overall the exposure/experience you get as a junior is very solid - very lean deal teams, so you are forced to develop strong executive management and modeling skills...but may the lord save you if you can't get out on time
I lived through all 10 points above. Not as employee, but as a SO to an employee there.
this sounds so sad lol why would anyone take them over a BB / EB? the only positive are deal sizes but small boutiques like this will only have a couple deals a year at most
I understand they have a lot of deal volume too. So they’re not just working on 1 deal a year. They also have retainers with clients as they’re also a “strategic advisory” firm … similar to a consulting company.
M. Klein sounds sweaty even for one of these "top boutiques". I've heard Dyal and DBO are just as sweaty due to how lean the teams are compared to deal flow, but I know that at least Dyal comps very well and DBO's seniors are extremely supportive of exits.
SMH. Sounds great for 2-3 years as a learning experience during your physical prime.
From reading comments above, it definitely has the feel that Klein is a loyal/controlling/narcissistic person who believes his firm is the best firm in the world hands-down and acts accordingly.
I would actually love to work there for the analyst/associate years. Experience is impossible to replace.
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M. Klein exits: Ares, KKR FIG, Advent, BX TacOpps, CVC, Carlyle, Crestview, Sycamore, Roark, Baring Private Equity, Oak Hill, EQT, Digital Bridge, Brookfield
Placement is ridiculously next level given they take 3-4 analysts/year
(Reposting from another thread)
That's kind of underwhelming given all the hype around m klein being this super secretive firm that's doing megadeals all the time
it's on par or marginally better than the other EBs
yeah if that's just the top half or two-thirds then thats really underwhelming. I'd go with the Citi/Bofa in a heartbeat and never think twice
That doesn’t actually seem very good relative to the culture issues you’d have to endure
As someone who has been on the receiving end of advice from them but not from Klein himself, totally underwhelming and found their mid-level bankers to be extremely abrasive and generally low-EQ. Sorry to say as I strive to not speak poorly of any firm here but my experience with them was pretty awful...
It appears you met with the super stressed-out folks. I'd have to assume Klein is very different. He might appreciate your feedback if you know him professionally.
you can't leave us hanging like that....why did they come across as abrasive/low-EQ?
I’ve worked across them on 2 deals and i think they’re quite sharp elbowed so typically aren’t the most polite to the other side.
Also Klein holds very close relationships with the top guys in the upper echelons of this business so presumably the mid level bankers don’t need to smooze clients at all levels.
Klein team has been quite sharp, in my experience at least
They're sharp and all, not commenting on their abilities or their intellect. But yeah, their mid-level folks were incredibly rude on calls often times, they would often times knock at ops or other non-deal folks during diligence calls without reading the situation that they were not used to diligence work... We had senior people intervene a lot telling them to back off in the process I was in when it came to them being on the same zoom call as the non-deal people who were supporting dilly calls. Was nuts
Echoing this sentiment, the mid-levels (VP/sr. associates) back when I was an analyst was unremarkable and didn't seem that great to work with
WLB is about to get much better for the folks there, anyone has news about what will happen?
Why so? What happened?
Lol, first listed deal on pitch book is FaZe Clan. What do they need cash for? Thought it was just some dudes living in the same house making vids
Funny how M Klein is now a part of that mid-tier BB.
Is that official?
Yes it’s official - published on Financial Times earlier today
I wonder how the comp is gonna Change post merger
most likely go down just for the economics of a large platform
Networked with a guy who worked there several years ago. Said tc was $250K for 2nd year analyst. Atrocious. Comp will for sure go down
can you network for SA w/ them if you at one of their targets?
They hold official coffee chats at the four targets. You are not allowed to contact them otherwise.
Fucking hell this is the dream. Obviously not MD level but analyst/associate definitely.
yes but long hours
They postion themselves as ultra high touch advisors who work with the most powerful people on earth. Whale hunting model so insane hours. Pay is good but not as high as Ardea or Dyal. Exits are good but not RSSG level despite having a smaller and more pedigreed class. Definitely much more elite than midtier BB but there are definitely better IB analyst programs than this in terms of pay or exits.
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