Is PJ Solomon / Solomon Partners Becoming an EB?
I want to know if people in the industry, headhunters, and companies perceive Solomon Partners as an EB given the massive tear they’ve been on lately. They’ve been expanding like crazy lately and have been on a big hiring spree and have been landing top talent from other EB’s. They also now have the backing of a major international and well respected BB. the junior people I’ve spoken to all tell me that the pay is top of street and they have great wlb and that headhunters and PE firms are taking notice. Full disclosure but I’m an incoming FT analyst (I didn’t intern at PJS/SP) and one of the people in my incoming FT class told me that he passed up a FT offer from GS and PWP to work at Solomon Partners because it’s a rising EB.
While they may be growing, I think most people still see them as a MM firm that gets on a few bn dollar mandates every once in a while. Per the post about 2021 league tables, they weren’t even in the top 50 US banks, so I think that disqualifies them as an “EB” or a “rising EB”
Lol nowhere close. And Natixis isn't anywhere close to a "major international and well respected BB".
They're a good bank, but they're nowhere close to the caliber of EBs and in both reputation and dealflow, and not even on par with other solid MMs (HL, WB, Baird, Rothschild's US presence) except for in C&R.
Also lol Natixis isn't a BB.
Either your fellow incoming FT analyst is lying or he’s dumb AF to pass up an offer from PWP / GS for thinking Solomon Partners is a “rising EB”. I think it’s the former because I don’t think anyone that dumb would even get an offer at a top tier BB/EB like GS and PWP
I agree with everything your saying except the part when you say that PWP is a top-tier EB. It’s more like a bottom tier EB along the likes of Rothschild’s (US), Lazard, and Greenhill.
Greenhill isn’t an EB anymore
We had the son of a CEO of a Top-Tier BB working at PJS… it says something that he would want to work here of all places given that I’m sure the father wouldn’t want him to be working anywhere that isn’t elite
The banker the person is working under is more important. Plus there's a lot of horse trading. I personally know the son of a sector head at a top-3 BB who worked at a 2nd tier MM. When we talked about it, they cited plenty of reasons why it was advantageous. None had to do with the name brand of the MM.
"Bold strategy Cotton, let's see if it pays off for em"
Solomon Partners is an EB especially If people a couple weeks ago on this forum unanimously agreed that FT Partners and Gugg are considered to be EBs.
Also, to everyone saying that Natixis isn’t a BB, they show up on the global top-50 league table pretty often, they have €700b in assets, and their parent company Group BPCE has €1.7t in assets meaning they have almost as much in assets as Shitigroup. They are by all definitions a bulge bracket bank
Being in the top 50 is now "bulge bracket"? You cannot be serious.
If Macquarie is considered a BB then Natixis should be considered a BB as well, we have more assets than them and that’s not counting Group BPCE’s assets. Plus we offer the same products and do as much advisory and ecm and underwriting
You shouldn't be so concerned with what people on this forum think about your firm's "ranking". It's not worth your mental energy.
But to your comment, those both seem like really random comparisons.... Guggenheim was a top 20 US M&A advisor last year and FT Partners is a leading fintech boutique. I just checked FactSet and I don't even see Solomon in the top 50? That's not a knock on Solomon at all, I'm just pointing out that it's a weird comparison you're making.
If I were you I wouldn't get so riled up about EB/BB classifications. Solomon is a great firm and I'm sure you will have a good experience there.
Agree with the ^ poster. Be yourself man, you're there right now and in a few years will probably be off to do bigger and better things. Your firm is not your favorite sports team. There's no point or need to defend them or paint them for more than what they are. I can try telling everyone how the Giants are only bad because Joe Judge was our HC but at the end of the day, we finished 4-13. Numbers don't lie. Guggenheim puts up a different caliber of numbers, maybe not for the C&R group that PJS is almost exclusively focused on but that only further emphasizes the point of one being a full service EB and the other being an up and coming industry focused boutique. Work hard brother, maybe with some perseverance, good luck, and successful MD poaching, PJS will be able to broaden their coverage and better compete. But as of now, no point in trying to jump the gun on success. Success only feels good once you've actually earned it.
I went through a lateral process with them and thought they were enormous hardos.
IB isn't that serious, people need to RELAX.
Natixis is not a BB. Macquarie is not a BB. None of the banks you are naming as examples of BBs or EBs fit into those groups. Did you just cite the fact that Natixis is in the TOP FIFTY of league tables as evidence that it is a BB? Hats off if this is a troll job, has to be
Depends what you consider an EB: if its deal quality, team quality, comp = yes. If its deal volume or deal size = absolutely not
PWP and GS are not the same as PJ lol
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Sure, not an eb and filled with assholes...
But can anyone add anything useful about its exits and access to headhunters. Comp data could also be useful
Surprised you guys had these poor experiences with the bankers there. Thought they were very cool and personable during my interview process.
Can attest, spoke to several bankers there and know a guy going there FT, seem like incredibly cool and relaxed people.
I networked with 4-5 people and was interviewed by 6 different people and everyone was super chill and supportive.
When I got the offer, I had Associates/VPs personally emailing me to congratulate me. Was impressed with the culture but ultimately accepted an offer elsewhere. They did not come off as hardos at all.
Not at all
Can only offer my own perspective - I recruited for PJS out of MBA and really really liked everyone I met. Obviously can't really offer much perspective on buyside recruiting, but will submit the following:
Their office is the most beautiful on the street (beats out Lazard and Citi for views and the others for office decor) and all the MDs I met really seemed to give a shit about junior bankers. I met and interviewed with more senior folks there than anywhere else (besides JPM, but this felt actually genuine in contrast to 380's constant need for everyone to sign off/cover their own ass - I digress). They clearly laid out a strategy - this was 3 or 4 years ago now - of what coverage they wanted to target and how I could fit into that. That felt pretty special to me coming in as a lowly associate.
I WILL say that in an interview with an associate and analyst, the analyst (who was wearing a Harvard investing club vest btw, feels like a relevant detail) asked a technical and then told me I was wrong when I was correct. The associate corrected him and I got the offer and all that, but it did stick out in my mind.
So in summary - I think their senior leadership is really great, their office is awesome, some of their analysts may have a chip on their shoulder (but that could just be Harvard).
Ended up going to another (similarly named...) independent but was very excited at the prospect of working there.
I had an interview with them. I sent back their modeling test. There were a couple things wrong with it, but I was jammed for time. 100% my fault. Figured they would send me a complimentary rejection email later.
Anyways the director schedules a zoom call with me after, and includes 2 other analysts and associates in his team to join.
He proceeds to go over why the model was messed up and then tells me he can't trust me to work there. Asks me to explain myself.
I basically told him thanks for the feedback and hung up on him asap. Super awkward to invite other analysts and associates to a call where you grill a junior banker for making a modeling mistake who you have no intention of hiring. Thought it was super unprofessional and made me glad I didn't send them a perfect model and get an offer to work with people that operate that way.
What was the modeling test like and for what group? Was it take home or timed?
anyone have any insight on comp and perks? Ex. Meal stipend, etc
$35 for dinner after 8pm
What’s comp like and perks?
Interesting
They're the same class of EBs as SVB Leerink - Egregious Bitchasses
....
.
They’re EB-like in terms of comp and culture, but ultimately more of a specific-vertical shop.
any hard numbers on what comp looks like?
When my buddies worked there few years back (so pre COVID bumps) it was close to but not quite at top EB level.
Moelis / Lazard ish, call it 90ish base with maybe 75k top bucket?
Good lord who gives a shit.
Another shit post lol. No one picks Solomon over GS or PWP, ever…
This is a joke. PJ Solomon needs to stop having their employees and HR post stuff like this
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