MS vs. PJT vs. Lazard

Hi all,

Apologies for creating the millionth version of this post, but this community has been very helpful to me in the past, hoping it can be helpful now as I try and make a decision.

Was fortunate enough to end my recruiting process in a situation where I have to choose between these three firms, and am having a very difficult time making up my mind here. I know that this is ultimately a choice that only I can make, but would love to hear input on anything anyone can speak to.

For some context, the MS offer is group specific, so I would not have to go through group selection. I had some concerns over being pigeonholed into that group's industry, but have been assured that that won’t be a problem. I really like everything I have heard about the group’s culture. PJT and Lazard are both generalist M&A internships (with PJT being generalist FT as well), the culture there is a bit more of a question mark as I did these processes later and did not network as much. Have a mentor at my school who raves about their PJT experience (but also says that it’s becoming a bit more of a sweatshop?), and have heard that Lazard has been making cultural improvements but do not have a ton of ins there either. I like the idea of what I've heard about Lazard's "intellectualism" but not sure how real/significant that is. Culture/QoL is one of my major factors here, and unfortunately also probably the hardest to quantify/rank.

In terms of exits, I’d lean towards PE but am definitely open to going A2A. All three places have talked up their A2A programs and opportunities for internal advancement, though I’ve heard PJT is the most “2-and-out” of any of them. Feel like the three are roughly comparable in terms of finance exit opps, with maybe a slight edge to MS if I want to get out of finance (feels unlikely but you never know).

Feel like I would have a great learning opportunity at any of them – the group at MS has lean teams and does in-house modeling, almost gives me a bit of a boutique-ish vibe within a BB which could be a best of both worlds scenario as I feel like I’d learn and grow much better in that sort of environment. That said, generalist internships might give me a bit more of a varied exposure (particularly Lazard for Rx, which is a field I have some interest in), though MS would have cap markets exposure that the boutiques might not.

I know comp should not be the deciding factor in this decision but for FT, MS would likely be appreciably lower than the EBs (50-60k pre-tax delta) due to larger bonus, at least from what I understand. Base would essentially be the same across the board.

Ultimately, I could see myself being really happy and successful at all of these places, which unfortunately makes this a more difficult decision. Any insights into any of the factors listed above, or any other info/guidance you think might be helpful, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

 

I see you in literally every post with Lazard in it ever hating on the firm lol

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

OP, word of wisdom - if the MS group you're talking about is FIG, I'd stay away from it. I have a close friend in that group and I can tell you that it is terrible. Consider PJT/Laz instead.

 

I'm not talking from a deal perspective. Culture. The culture is one of the worst at MS.

 

I think the only MS groups worth over Lazard/PJT are M&A, M&C, and Menlo Tech. If others, I’d take one of the EBs.

 
Controversial

Lazard has a great culture and amazing deal flow. PJT M&A deal flow is not as good as Lazard / MS. I interned at PJT and Lazard and I really preferred Lazard.

Then, between Lazard vs MS, I lean towards the EB model where you have much more responsibility than a BB. This is good for A2A and if you want to exit to PE as you probably will develop a wider range of skills and become a bolder banker / someone who knows their stuff 

I would say Lazard, but I might be biased. I think the culture is great i.e. they will keep the WFH model and give you 1 month to work from home (great for the summer). On top of that, the deal flow is massive and you have a great deal experience which will enable you to interview with any MFs / UMM PE / HFs.

Well I recommend Laz, but I am insider! I really like it here!

 

Interned at LAZ - simply not true lol. ~90% of SA accept the return offer

 

Lol I really dont get why the kids here praise PJT M&A... I would get if they were doing that on PJT RX, but M&A is completely off

Reality check for the kids: check the M&A league tables and then please count how many / how large M&A deals PJT has closed globally and then please do a deep dive in Europe (it will be less than 1 handful in the region for sure)...

Sorry to disappoint you all, but PJT is very far from Laz / MS in terms of deal flow for M&A. Also, note that the last few years have been some of the busiest ever in the industry... If you want to discuss RX, then it will be a different conversation!

 
Most Helpful

This is sadly misguided. I'm at another EB but have a few friends over there from business school and know the M&A side well. This forum downplays the strength of their M&A franchise relative to their RSSG, which quite frankly isn't just given the latter has the same core of people from when it was part of BX. M&A on the other hand has been re-built from scratch post spin-off in 2015. Taubman successfully brought in his entire leadership team from when he was the head of Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division as well as a number of MDs from M&A and M&C (Deputy Head of the IBD, Head of Intl. M&A, Global Head of M&C, Head of Latin America etc.)

Transactions just in Europe in the last few months...

-Advised GSK on their $2bn acquisition of Sierra Oncology

-Advising the Porsche and Piech family on VW's massive IPO of Porsche (These families own a third of VW but have majority vote)

-Sold SAZKA Entertainment for $10bn to Cliff Robbins and Gary Cohn's SPAC 

+ Nielsen's $16bn sale, Sony 's $4bn purchase of Bungie, Viasat/ Inmarsat for $8bn, lead on GE's 3-way split and flurry of asset sales

 

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