Morgan Stanley LA vs Moelis & Co LA - need help deciding

If you had offers from these two, which would you pick? Why?

Moelis pros: -better exit opps -slightly higher bonus

MS pros: -less crazy work hours -seems like a great culture

22 Comments
 

Moelis for the relationships/street cred/exit opps. But when you're hating life a year from now, don't blame it on our answers--MS would likely be just as bad in terms of hours.

 

I would pick MS and this is why:

  1. People: I know quite a few of them and they are just an amazing group, down to earth, social, friendly, not douchey
  2. Hours: not that bad actually, the couple of analyst that I know there get off much earlier than middle market banks in LA
  3. Exit Ops: seriously, this one is not even a comparison. MS LA has been consistently placing kids at KKR, Carlyle, Ares...Moelis, not so much

All in all, I would choose MS. Now, this doesn't mean Moelis is bad, it is an amazing shop, but it's no MS.

 
Best Response
SuitedWolfI would pick MS and this is why:
  1. People: I know quite a few of them and they are just an amazing group, down to earth, social, friendly, not douchey
  2. Hours: not that bad actually, the couple of analyst that I know there get off much earlier than middle market banks in LA
  3. Exit Ops: seriously, this one is not even a comparison. MS LA has been consistently placing kids at KKR, Carlyle, Ares...Moelis, not so much

All in all, I would choose MS. Now, this doesn't mean Moelis is bad, it is an amazing shop, but it's no MS.

do you know what moelis placements are historically? if not, you probably shouldnt make a comment like this without doing your DD first. Moelis and cs la def have the first cut of PE spots over everyone else in LA.

As far as hours go...moelis la is horrible, but i wouldnt say ms la is much better. You might need to work in the industry first to get the real feel of it first before agreeing on what those analysts are telling you at the info ses trying to lure you in.

 
Ricqles
SuitedWolfI would pick MS and this is why:
  1. People: I know quite a few of them and they are just an amazing group, down to earth, social, friendly, not douchey
  2. Hours: not that bad actually, the couple of analyst that I know there get off much earlier than middle market banks in LA
  3. Exit Ops: seriously, this one is not even a comparison. MS LA has been consistently placing kids at KKR, Carlyle, Ares...Moelis, not so much

All in all, I would choose MS. Now, this doesn't mean Moelis is bad, it is an amazing shop, but it's no MS.

do you know what moelis placements are historically? if not, you probably shouldnt make a comment like this without doing your DD first. Moelis and cs la def have the first cut of PE spots over everyone else in LA.

As far as hours go...moelis la is horrible, but i wouldnt say ms la is much better. You might need to work in the industry first to get the real feel of it first before agreeing on what those analysts are telling you at the info ses trying to lure you in.

My apologies sir, my information is from people I have bumped into in LA who work in these groups, but obviously it is not the complete sample set. Look, all I am saying is that we should not put Moelis up on a pedestal here when compared to MS. MS will give this guy the same, if not better, experience and opportunity than Moelis, and if he wants to jump ship to another industry, then MS is a brand name that is well recognized.

 
LIBORWhere do you like the people better?

Great question. Both banks I only got to meet people through interviews, so it's tough trying to tell who I'd like to work with more when they're all just asking me questions and gauging my responses. Although one of the bankers in MS LA really stood out as a mentor figure and really nice person to work for.

 

This is a no brainer. Why would you ever consider going to a small regional office for a BB versus working at the Moelis??? How many analysts does MS LA even have? Have you seen all the chatter about BB firms doing more layoffs? While it might not be the main headquarters, a bunch of the founders of Moelis are based in LA, so you know that office is staying put and that you're probably going to be working w/ some of the most senior guys in the firm.

I'm sure the MS guys are nice and all, but MS hasn't been a major player in the LA finance community anytime in recent past. DLJ was the powerhouse back in the day, then CS LA and UBS LA until a few years ago. And now, it's Moelis LA. I have friends that have gone thru the analyst program at Moelis LA and they definitely have some of the best PE placement around. The guys I know went to KKR, TPG, TPG Special Situations, Silver Lake, Carlyle, etc. I heard Moelis LA had phenomenal placement this past year, too...something like 3 of them going to TPG and another to Silver Lake...not sure what other slots they may have gotten.

I would think the smarter / safer bet is Moelis.

  1. More job stability, esp. right now with all of the layoffs at the big firms
  2. Great PE placement
  3. DLJ / CS LA / UBS LA legacy...long track record of being powerhouse offices in LA
  4. Deal flow...you shouldn't care about hours - you're going to be an analyst. It's going to be a lot of hours wherever you go. You should care about who is going to give you the best deal experience. Find out how much live deal experience you get at MS. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that it's a lot of pitching w/ minimal execution. BB firms usually let the regional offices do the pitching and the execution teams in NYC to do the live deal work. You are definitely going to do your own execution at Moelis LA.
  5. Culture...you'll have to decide who you like better, but the guys i know from Moelis LA are all pretty cool, normal guys.
 

Made a similar decision and went small. I think if you want to stay in financial services, the boutique route makes sense. More entrepenurial environment, opportunity to be part of its growth trajectory, stronger possibility of third year. However, if you want to leave more doors open (i.e. corporate finance at some corporate) and are looking for a more structured environment, then go MS. Probably better networking opportunities in the latter, too. I know the people at MS are top notch, and I assume from the WSO posts that Moelis' are on the same level. Good luck.

 

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