Overview BBs vs. Boutiques for London
I am quite unfamiliar with the reputation/prestige, exit opps, salary etc. of most of the elite boutiques here in London. Could some give a rough indication where Evercore, Centerview, Moelis, Greenhill, Houlihan Lokey, Perella Weinberg, Lazard, Rothschild rank among the top BBs? Do all the boutiques pay significantly more than BBs? Are exit opps the same? Which boutique is specifically strong in a certain sector so that you would pick that one over GS TMT or MS M&A?
Interested in this as well
I would choose all of the below over GS TMT or MS M&A but I get how those groups would suit some people better than some of these firms. I guess the top EBs would be Evercore/Centerview/Moelis/Greenhill/Lazard with Houlihan and Roths a notch below...
Evercore expanded into London by acquisition. They acquired a FIG-specialist shop so a lot of their top guys operate in that sector. Centerview are strong in pharma. Moelis is strong in FIG and TMT. Analyst programme is generalist. Also hosts the top restructuring team that moved from Close Brothers. Greenhill is former Bearings with good relationships including consumer (do loads for Tesco). Generalist analyst programme. Perhaps stronger than international sister offices, which is a downside. Houlihan is a top restructuring team, M&A still being built out. Cannot comment on PWP but seems overhyped to me. Lazard is so huge it is hard to gauge as an outsider but is certainly a good option. Rothschild obviously a respected name.
Thank you, very helpful!
Do have any insights on salary differences? I have heard different opinions about this. Some say you can get out almost double at a EB compared to the BBs? And working hours are usually above the BBs hours?
Compensation is either the same as or above BB. I have heard rumours that Greenhill and Centerview pay salaries above street (£50k) and that Moelis pays very high bonuses. Hours are towards the higher end (due to lean deal teams) but there is less of a culture of face time - I know this applies for most of the above and assume it applies to all. However, I get the impression Houlihan, Rothschild and Evercore pay the same as BB (not higher) and that hours at Centerview and Houlihan are a lot easier than the likes of Moelis and Lazard.
Another thing to keep in mind about comp is that many EB still pay out 100% cash bonus (at least the private ones do). Doesn't really matter at the analyst level, but it becomes night and days as you become more senior.
Also, I know a few peoples that worked at Rothschild and they all claim that they were the best paid banker on the street and while I can't really confirm that, Rothschild definitely pay above street.
@mtnmm: Heard exactly the opposite, RS bonuses are not above street according to people I know there (Consumer team though)
Base pay: -Perella 55 -Moelis 50 -Evercore 53 -Greenhill 45 + shares -Centerview supposedly above all, but don't have hard numbers -RS heard 50, not sure -LAZ NA
Total comp: -Centerview and Greenhill at the higher end, rest decent / slightly above / in line with BB
Hours: -Perella and Greenhill is quite tough from what I was told -Evercore and Moelis pretty reasonable (weekend policy in place) -Roths with good working hours, especially in contrast to Paris / Frankfurt offices (same for LAZ)
General: -Perella strong in TMT as well as Continental Europe due to lot of Germans and French -Greenhill strong in HC and UK due to Bearings, solid in RX -Moelis with strong(est) RX team, many medium sized deals, but Hi3G as returning/active client which brings in some dealflow in telecoms -Centerview small team but strong in HC -Evercore not as strong as US counterparts, but def solid, good in Media, FIG -HL top in RX, not on par with the rest in M&A (mid market focus) -Roths strong in UK, consumer; brand amongst bankers below rest due to discount advisory, i.e. usually cheapest fee / offer to do deal for free for prestige / future mandates -LAZ probably best name out of all of these
I would take pretty much all of them (maybe apart from Roths / HL, subjective opinion) over BBs apart from GS/MS/JPM. If it was GS/MS/JPM it would be a tough decision, depending on teams, people I met, etc.
Just some random thoughts, I know it is a little unstructured but I am in a cab
Any thoughts about the new PJT (Blackstone RX & M&A) in comparaison with the other boutiques ?
Thanks above_and_beyond !!
What about strength of specific teams for Lazard? Are they strong in TMT? Or what's the best option in terms of PE exit opps?
I know firsthand that analysts who started this year at GHL are on GBP 50 base. No idea about bonuses
What is associate compensation in London? A0, A1, A2, and A3 base?
Any update on this? Would you guys say these rankings still hold true?
Any insight on MM banks such as RBC, Cannacord, Jefferies, Baird etc. and their presence in London? thanks
RBC is doing very well in London. Been hiring senior MDs from Citi, DB, Evercore, namely in TMT, O&G, NatRes, Retail, Healthcare
RBC and Jefferies have a decent size and presence, definitely bigger than Cannacord/Baird and possibly up there with some of the EBs depending on team.
Most of the EBs will give a good experience. Lazard and Rothschild are the biggest and have very good reputation. I've heard Moelis has decent deal flow but does a lot of pitching, and PWP isn't as strong as in the US.
None of the Boutiques are as strong as their counterparts in the Staates (except Rothschild) Greenhill, Evercore and even Moelis are far away from having a good deal flow and are far away from being in the top 10 or even top 15 of the league tables, especially if you take into account that the teams are quite large. PWP is currently a bit stronger but has the largest team of the EBs apart from Roth and LAZ. - far away might be a bit exaggerated but not really untrue.
In terms of Exit ops most of the BBs have an advantage over the EBs. You might take a look at KEA (handles the FT recruiting for BX and SilverLake in London). They specify their target Banks and Consultancies and at Kea´s dinner this year you nearly exclusively saw people from GS, JPM and MS. Best represented Boutique was HL RX/FA.
Just my 2c
Some boutiques with top dealflow in London like Blair, Baird, arma partners, Perella weinberg and Evercore pay consistently above the market
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