Moelis & Centerview

I'd probably go with Centerview. As you know Moelis' incoming classes are huge whereas Centerview is still very tight. I do know there is a LOT of pitching at Centerview (i'm pretty sure the same case with Moelis but not positive as i have not heard directly). The only thing is I think @ moelis you will be working on both advisory + p/e but at centerview you will be strictly advisory.

act i'm not sure about Moelis LA. I've heard some bad things about Moelis NY but the LA might be completely different, so take my advice with caution. I'd stlil take Centerview NY > Moelis NY hands down

I'd go Moelis LA. mrbellaiche is right about the pitching at Centerview and I've the culture at Moelis LA is better than at Moelis NY. Plus the PE experience will be helpful.

anybody know how big the Moelis NY incoming class is supposed to be?

I would go with Centerview. Moelis is simply growing too fast without a true base of support backstopping that hiring. As a result, they ended up with an amalgamation of a ton of mediocre-quality bankers along the way – at all levels. Now don't get me wrong, it's not a bad bank (i.e., you can do worse), but Centeview has expanded so much healthier and is in a completely different position. The experience will probably be better and of higher quality, given the Analyst class size is small and selective.

centerview, besides just the culture, they expanded very selectively.

And plus, they pay a lot more than moelis

Wow, I completely neglected that in my response...

Quick Answer: Centerview pays ABOVE the top of the street. They literally blow the "street" numbers out of the water (even in '08 and '09). As a result of being a lean, selective and highly talented group of bankers, they are extremely cash-rich.

Going with Centerview is a no-brainer. You are very lucky to have received an offer.

I get the sense most of these posts are considering Moelis NY. Moelis LA is really top-flite and hasn't been expanding uncontrollably like the NY office. While I agree the experience and comp at Centerview would be great, I think the Moelis LA name is tough to beat. Also think about weather...

Not sure why you would think about weather when you're going to be in your cubicle 90% of the time....only kidding, sorta.

Also check this:

http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/moelis-la-unbelievable-analyst-pl…

Let's not open up that topic again. Those analysts were an anomoly ex-UBS LA when it used to be one of the top 2 shops on the street.

This is no longer the case, and Moelis LA regularly recruits from lower-end i-banks and schools.

Thanks for the info so far. Very helpful.

Much has been made of Moelis LA's exit opps. My question is: does a three year program affect your ability to get placed into top shops? Does anyone know how Centerview analysts are placing? One of CV's selling points is that it likes to "grow its own" and retain talent. Unsure if that should be impacting my decision making at all.

from what i hear centerview's great hours, basically PE pay (aka the benefits of PE), probably easier to move up than a buyout firm. moving up to associate is almost an exit opportunity in itself

Your #1 focus should be to get stellar deal experience as an Analyst. After 1-2 years, THEN you can decide if you want to move into PE or stay on with the firm and get paid fantastically well – not bad options, wouldn't you say?

In regards to having a ridiculously good resume, that is all-but-assured at Centerview, whereas you may get absolutely steamrolled at Moelis with limited / mediocre deal experience on your resume. PE & HF firms are smart and will quickly be able to tell whether or not you received a "deeply enriching" experience as an Analyst.

Take this advice and do with it what you will, however I would think twice about:

a) turning down an exceptionally selective / killer offer with Centerview Partners b) betting on an what many see as an unsure future for moelis c) consciously displacing yourself from the NYC fnancial power center

I've talked to people at Centerview and no one's said they have great hours. It's very lean which means more responsibility for each analyst, so they work just as hard as most other top boutiques. Clearly the pay is good, but I would disagree that moving up=exit opp into PE since it still carries banking hours. And there's definitely an emphasis on retaining talent so no one's going to help you with your PE search if that's what you want to do.

my buddy at cv goes home at 8pm each night when we had lunch together last time...i wanted to go to cv right then after a horrible week..

My roommate works at Centerview so I know a lot about the job, but getting home at 8pm each night is definitely bs. They work just as hard as other sweatshops. There are some weeks of downtime but most of the time if you are not on a live deal there is always pitching work.

I think culture is really what makes Centerview unique. Moelis (and to a certain extent PWP) started by grabbing a bunch of top bankers and basically creating a powerhouse; now they have too many senior people and not enough people supporting the bottom which is why they are mass-hiring analysts. Centerview started with five people and are slowly building year-over-year. Thus it is more relationship focused and you will get more live deal-exposure (despite the pitching, still good deal flow).

Honestly the difference between the two are small as both are top boutiques. I think most of your decision should come down to NY vs. LA

Totally agree. You'll have a great experience and exit ops at both. Location is clearly the most substantive difference from your standpoint.

apples and oranges...

moelis chases more deals.. but in the middle market space.. so you'll work on more "live" projects

centerview does more coverage... but they cover BIG clients (almost exlusively $10+bn)... and you do different types of stuff (board decks, strat alt, as well as deals obv)

so i would say there's more of a focus on QUANTITY at moelis (look at their path of expansion) and a focus on QUALITY at cvp.. personally, I'd rather do 1 $10bn deal than 5 $300mm deals

there are SOME good talents at moco while all of the hirings at cvp are of the highest caliber..

with that said, I think you will get a more technical experience at moelis while learn to think strategically a bit more at centerview.

pay is not close, period, at any level.. cvp way overpays imo...

location obv a factor, i'd rather be in LA than NY, but given your case, I'd take the centerview offer hands down.

Moelis LA is arguably the top shop on the west coast. Ken, Navid, Weber, Joliet, Raich, Momtazee are all in LA so anyone who says it has mediocre bankers doesn't know what they're talking about. They place well because these guys will make calls for you throughout the process provided that you are not a complete train wreck during interviews. All of these guys are extremely well connected - Momtazee's brother is a partner at KKR - also alums at mega funds will look out for you as well as long as you have a decent rep in the office.

The ex-UBS class was definitely strong but the current first year class has 2-3 Wharton 4.0's and others have come from the Berkeley's etc. that west coast shops/UBS LA have traditionally recruited from. These guys had interned at various BB's, LAZ, PWP among others so it certainly doesn't sound like the office is recruiting from the "lesser schools" or "lesser banks" as someone above mentioned

Agree with bunkerbanker that they chase a lot of deals and that's simply the way they are used to doing business. Back in the days UBS was actually a top bank in the MM space (insert joke about how UBS is still MM)so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that Moelis is active in that space as well. The upside is you get to see many different deals, build tons of models and run deals - unless you run sell sides which blows. The downside is obviously that you'll work hard but you will at any place with a strong deal flow. Overall if you want to stay in banking goto cvp, if you want to exit after goto Moelis LA.

Cactus, could you elaborate on how running sell sides blows? Could you also comment on Moelis NY?

.

Let's get one mother fucking straight here before any further conclusions are drawn: when you say that Centreview "overpays" by awarding comp that is in line with PE, how much are we talking?

I vote Moelis, great overall experience, restructuring and M&A generalist along with a PE rotation if you got one is nothing to sneeze at

i would take centerview. Very prestitious and great exp so i hear.

I'd take Centerview. Really cool deals and nicer people. Know an associate in NY whose hours are rough but seems as happy as an investment banker could feasibly be.

It would be an absolute mistake not to take Centerview. The bankers are all top notch and the people get PAID and are happy. Haha, what else more could you ever want?

By the way, Joliet is a perennial loser, so anyone who quotes him as a reason to go to moelis is clearly lacking sufficient knowledge to make such a recommendation.

Centerview hands-down - no matter what your long-term plans are, you will be on significantly better footing with Centerview.

how does centerview compare to lazard and blackstone?

^ bump (and ghl/evr)

I know nothing about either firm as I am only a UGRAD but from these comments... Centerview sounds like the best bank to work at, bar-none. How high is the pay?

Pay shouldn't even be in the top 3 as far as factors for deciding which investment bank to join, the difference is trivial. Grew up very modestly and I firmly believe that.