Moelis vs PWP
Which firm would you rather work for and why? From my understanding, they are of similar caliber but I would love to hear what you all think.
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I'm an intern but interviewed at both firms (and got neither offer lol) and here was my impressions- my view from talking to people is that Moelis is slightly more prestigious, but I don't think it is enough of a difference to actually matter. Any exit op that would interview a Moelis analyst would also interview a PWP analyst. I personally liked PWP's culture a lot more, Moelis definitely lived up to the sweatshop rep in my interviews. One guy interviewing me mentioned he'd been busy the past week and looked like a zombie and was barely functional. PWP seemed much more laid back. Obviously they will also work you hard, but probably a little less hard. I would definitely have picked PWP last summer, but given that Moelis gave all incoming SAs FT offers this year, I do take that as an effort by leadership to treat young talent better so I'm not sure if that would impact my decision.
Moelis: exits
PWP: culture, hours, better for staying in banking
Both fantastic, no need to overthink it. Would go with where you have more alumni if possible, think it's underrated in getting a return offer. Also heard Moelis isn't as sweaty anymore, think the rep from 2018 email is just self-perpetuating at this point. Think it's more in line with rest of street at this point, no longer an outlier.
I work at another EB but have friends at both. Can confirm that Moelis is still the worst sweatshop on the street, followed closely by Lazard. PWP works you hard but it seems very much in waves, unlike at Moelis where they're always busy. Exit opps obviously incredible from both (better at Moelis)
Both firms are great. Know PWP pays a crap load in comp though. 1st year Associate buddies there pull in a multiple of base ($150k+) for their bonus so a number of analysts choose to stay on
.
Def Moeils, no comparison. PWP is not in the same league.
As someone who has several friends at both, Moelis seems like the better shop in terms of exits and prestige, but the difference is marginal.
On the other hand, you'll be working sweatshop hours every day of the year, when M&A isnt peaking, RX is. On the off chance that neither are peaking, you'll be staffed on 5 random pitches with no shot of winning just because the stock price isn't doing well.
Before you hit the desk, its easy to overlook exactly how crappy life is when you work at a sweatshop w/no uniform/friendly culture, but soon after think a lot of folks I know tend to regret it or get out as quickly as possible.
This post could get a lot of hate, but it's an impartial opinion.
Also more Moelis rejects who want to shit on Moelis to make themselves feel better... Also Moelis hired 36 2020 SAs total in the United States. I don't think that's that much more than PWP
Because junior bankers are crossed-staffed between M&A and RX at both firms. You can't just look at M&A and say PWP is better. You have to look at both especially during times like this. And Moelis does much better with RX and has higher deal flow.
Depends what you are looking for. No firm is better than the other. Even in RX PWP is more selective in its deals and the average deal value is higher than at Moelis. Both offer great experience but Moelis is more of a pitching machine than PWP. It all comes down to a different approach in doing business.
PWP and it's not even close.
I just don't want to die at 23