I found a great older post going through the LA landscape from 2019, but I was hoping to get some more recent thoughts on groups, especially how folks view the VP+ teams in the LA offices. Definitely curious for current views on their leadership teams and areas of coverage.
If anyone can share thoughts it would be great (specifically interested in JPM, Citi, Evercore and Houlihan), but all info is welcome. Thank you!
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This may/may not be helpful as it includes just my outsider perspective from knowing people there at other banks. I now work at a bank in another city, but was in LA for a while and still keep up with everyone I knew in the area. My guess is that there are pretty limited options to lateral as VP+ just given the sizes of offices in the area, especially in the current market, but something will likely pop up somewhere over time. My general view of the folks at that level is that they were good. I think it’s harder to get promoted in smaller offices that bring in less fees, but I could be wrong.
JPM is only corporate banking in LA, not IB. At least, last I knew of. Think it’s a fairly chill group, a lot of people from the former CS LA office went there.
Evercore LA is very small, not sure if they even have a VP in LA. It’s only a couple people (at most) so not much coverage or much to say.
Citi is also very small on the IB side, if they even still have anyone in LA.
BAML is same boat as Citi.
Jefferies is/was similar to Citi and BAML to my knowledge.
PWP very small office as well, classes are only a few people a year. Think they generally keep the team small and promote from the within.
Morgan Stanley is a bit bigger than the other BBs in LA. Consumer coverage and likely a few other sectors. Have some friends here and they actually like it and have done some cool deals. Probably more coverage/capital markets work than M&A.
Goldman has a decent sized office as well. Consumer and a few other sectors, maybe media. Think it’s a good spot, most of the people I knew left for another boutique bank or went Corp Dev. Never knew anyone who stuck it out long term there. Probably more coverage/capital markets work than M&A.
Raine Group is a decent size office in LA, believe it’s mostly media coverage. Knew a few people there and they have stuck around long term. Believe their coverage is narrow in LA, media?
Lincoln International has a decent sized office. Coverage in consumer, aerospace, and a few other sectors. Have known a lot of folks there over the years, liked them all a lot. Seems like a good group of folks overall, one of the few IB offices in Downtown.
Houlihan is one of the largest IB offices in LA. Has many groups in LA and covers M&A and RX. Have seen a lot of people cycle through HL over time. It’s an established office and there are good people there for sure, but never really heard anything good or bad about them. Definitely opportunity there just due to the size of the office and presence of some very senior folks. Also one of the few offices that are growing in LA.
Moelis is the other large office in LA. Coverage in media, consumer and a few other sectors. Mostly M&A, some RX. Opportunity due to size and exposure to senior folks. Also one of the few offices growing in the area.
Lazard has a medium / small office as well. Media and potentially aerospace coverage. Everyone I knew there grinded pretty hard, but they were all good people.
Centerview had a partner in LA, but not sure there is much support below him in the city. Think he covered media/consumer.
Then you have Sage, Intrepid, Citizens and others that have decent sized offices and cover different sectors, but mostly operate in LMM.
I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting, but that’s a quick, maybe somewhat useless, run down.
Just a note MS LA is shutting down so most of the juniors are getting sent to sf and nyc
Didn’t know about that. Do you know when it will be effective? Is it part of a cost cutting measure or are there no officers left there?
I had heard PWP was expanding the office a bit given some of the MDs they picked up over past year or so. Still a lean office, but felt like were taking share.
Know anything about the WF MM-coverage office?
I'm sorry, but LA banker here and can offer some insights. The above comment is outdated and also a bit inaccurate.
JPM LA has a small IB practice, MM IB + C&R + Tech and Media.
Evercore has a very small office in LA, I'm pretty sure only a single senior focusing on sponsors coverage sits there.
Citi has a small/medium-sized LA presence focusing on automotive and metals and mining.
Jefferies LA has a collection of mid-level and senior people, is a relativley small office.
CVP LA is shut down.
PJT has a small office in LA, mainly built around a senior focused on media but they also have a P&U senior and some shareholder activism seniors out there.
BofA LA is mainly EGRC (MM IB) with some other industries covered as well.
MS LA traditionally has had a sizable presence (REGL, C&R, M&A) but heard juniors are getting moved to NY.
GS LA is junior heavy, covering C&R and HC.
Lazard LA used to be one of the larger offices but most of the A&D seniors have left for PWP.
HL LA is big, has RX, business services, Industrials, A&D. Obviously the M&A practice is MM-oriented though.
Moelis is the top dog in LA, large office with ~90 bankers.
PWP LA is pretty large and has rapidly grown over the past few years, up to 30-35 bankers now, and they're arguably the second strongest office in LA behind Moelis with something like 7 seniors in the office.
Asked above but also asking here. Do you have any insights on the WF MM coverage office in LA? I am totally indifferent to 'prestige' of any kind - I am an older associate and would rather support / raise my family in LA than NY or SF.
Why is Morgan Stanley LA moving out juniors to other offices?
Certainly not useless, this is very helpful thank you!
bump
Feel free to ask specific questions and I’ll tell you what I reasonably know to be true.
Thank you. On Houlihan - do they have any specific industry or geographic coverage or is it all M&A/Rx, industry/locale agnostic?
On Citi - given the recent/ongoing mgmt changes, anyone know if there are planned changes for LA?
On Evercore - given the recent SMD hires, I’m also curious if they have any LA plans…?
Houlihan has specific industry coverage in the office. Aerospace, business services, lots of others. Believe most people are in a specific industry group or RX.
Evercore only has one SMD there in sponsors (that I know of) and some other departments. I don’t know of any changes, but it has been the way it is now for a while.
Not sure about Citi either, I stopped hearing about people going there a number of years ago so not sure what’s going on with that office.
On Citi - Two MDs sit in LA. One is the head of metals & mining banking and other does regional industrials coverage. Guessing they have ~15 bankers in office.
Not sure on layoffs there but the MDs that sit there are solid and probably aren't going anywhere, especially given the regional nature of both their coverage areas (companies are mostly in southwest USA I think)
Confirming this is accurate, both MDs are great in their sectors and aren't going anywhere. Industrial's MD is more focused on infra/transpo.
Deal flow is strong if either of those verticals are of interest to you, particularly on the mining side.
How does Lincoln International compare to the firms in this list? Also, do you know how it compares to the other offices (i.e. Chicago/NY)?
Do LA offices generally have a good reputation? How hard would it be to jump to New York?
There are some really good shops like moelis and hl rx but I think a mm bank would make it pretty hard to lateral to nyc
Which banks have a specific focus on media and entertainment ie film, tv, and streaming and work with the major studios? I know moelis is big in that area and Raine group also dabbles in it. Any others? And which are the top dogs?
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