27 Comments
 

Are the differences that big? I understand Moelis places better, but I have heard that the NY office isn't even close to the LA office.

So if the NY office marginally places better than the other two, and has a shittier lifestyle and culture since they grind their analysts, what's the point? Prestige is not playing into my decision at all.

 
ppeterson2255

Are the differences that big? I understand Moelis places better, but I have heard that the NY office isn't even close to the LA office.

So if the NY office marginally places better than the other two, and has a shittier lifestyle and culture since they grind their analysts, what's the point? Prestige is not playing into my decision at all.

prestige shouldn't play into your decision when you're comparing banks who play at the same level, or it should play less of an role.

when you're comparing a top boutique to lincoln/baird, middle market/lower middle market shopps, it shold definitely play a role.

 
Best Response
ppeterson2255

Fair. So then what's the deal at Moelis NY? Anyone actually/directly know about placement, comp, lifestyle, etc.

On the topic of comp, top bucket for first years at Moelis was $80k this year. (A few points of comparison: Centerview ($85k), JPM ($65k), RBC ($55k)).

I read an article that said Moelis was going to make sure partners stay liquid so that they don't succumb to the exit pressures of going public 1, obviously that doesn't directly affect analysts, but it seems to play into this idea of having a reputation/culture that keeps pay sufficiently above-Street.

For what it's worth, I would go with Moelis. From what I've heard (not through WSO), the mixture of higher expected exit value (prestige), comp and frankly the potential access to higher-profile deals (Baird and Lincoln really don't get to work on the Publicis-Omnicom deals of the world) would be worth a pretty large differential in lifestyle in my book.

1 http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/big-paymout-by-moelis-may-whet-t…

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

Exit opps and placement are usually pretty closely correlated with "prestige".

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 
stvr2013

Seconded. Don't know about PE/HF placement but I'd imagine they do alright.

I know people in both the Chicago and NYC office. MM PE placement seems fine from what they told me, but it doesn't appear that they get much HF opportunities. I think due to the fact that they mostly focus on private company sell-side M&A.
 
Duke4Lyfe

Friend at Moelis says he wishes he would have taken the Lincoln offer. I heard there has been very lackluster exit ops over the last couple years.

Are you serious?

 
Black Jack

Despite Moelis being a sweatshop, the exits are infinitely better than both Lincoln and Baird (even if they may be somewhat over-hyped). Baird and Lincoln are both regional players with OK exits (mostly also regionally, though can't speak for Lincoln NY office). And when I say OK exits I mean you aren't going to Madison Dearborn or GTCR

Love that you clarify that "OK" exits don't include GTCR and Madison Dearborn.

 

Are you guys seriously telling him to go Lincoln International? sometimes WSO has mind-bogglingly biased views of MM IB firms that while solid are not as good as their BB or top boutique counterparts. Moelis, by far - I've seen these guys go to every top PE shop (megafund, semi-megafund (apax, h&f etc.) top top MM PE (gtcr, mdp, etc) funds), top hedge funds, etc. and this isn't even including their stellar LA placement (which is pretty much all megafunds+silver lake).

At Lincoln the best analysts might get interviews with decent MM PE shops (maybe 1 every couple of yrs to gtcr and the like), but you won't see that level of placement. Just do a linkedin search, you'll see quite a few recent top placements from Moelis. Yes, from speaking with people there their lifestyle seems abysmal even for banking, but an extra 15-20 hours a week for 2 years won't kill you

As someone who has worked 2 yrs in banking and in PE now, please take some of the advice above with a grain of salt.

 

For someone who's "worked 2 yrs in banking and in PE now", you don't comprehend too well.

Those of us who commented about Lincoln were only referring to "B-school placement" and "lifestyle". If my math is correct, that's 2/3 of the criteria OP was looking for.

You only mentioned 1/3 of the criteria, and somehow made the generalization that "exit opps" are EVERYONE'S number one priority. News flash, cheif. Not everyone wants to go into PE. There is this thing called a "career banker" for those who enjoy the advisory business. I don't even think anyone on here actually said, "choose Lincoln", so not sure what you're bitchin' bout.

 

Autem sit ut vitae non odio. Omnis eligendi et at corporis facilis. Doloremque odio dolorem et et.

 

Libero velit ut possimus temporibus et. Suscipit saepe qui quia magnam necessitatibus harum inventore. Similique ducimus eius et temporibus tempora et debitis. Et similique ducimus quae nihil molestiae ut soluta.

Accusantium vitae magnam aliquam sint et. A ex nulla officia animi repellat quibusdam. In quis recusandae rerum recusandae.

Rerum quis explicabo dignissimos. Aperiam quidem laudantium expedita minus laboriosam quas perspiciatis. Laborum voluptate libero cumque architecto quibusdam. Architecto esse odit itaque fugit dolor consequatur. Dolor quia et est est ipsum. Explicabo voluptatem asperiores minus rem.

Repellendus rem accusamus sed culpa. Facere nihil dolorem ipsum ipsum saepe culpa.

"You'll never live if you're just too scared to die..." "Tomorrowland you are so beautiful!"

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”