PWP culture, pay and exits
What do people of wso think of what the culture is like at pwp New York and the compensation, hours?
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Not sure if I can provide too much color but I know they’ve been on an absolute tear this year. Think of the firm like LAZ/MOE and trending upward.
Culture seems fantastic. Loved everyone I’ve talked to there
Interviewed and they pay in-line with other EB’s, have a top notch culture, and exit to most PE funds
Was more involved with the firm when I was doing my SA/FT recruiting in 2014 I believe. At the time place seemed great. Had a very nice office at 767 5th I believe (the GM building / the Apple store building near Central Park) with like a gym in the office. Really nice place. Seemed like an overall friendly place. Plenty of access to seniors also seemed likely. Pay felt top of street for sure. Also seemed like a nice crew of fellow analysts. No sense of what hours were/are like but prob on the nicer side of intense EB hours, though it may kinda be like saying someone is the tallest midget. Like it’s something and prob hours are relatively good but it is still an EB at the end of the day so prob still kinda like a 24/7 job to some extent.
others may chime in and say I am far off on some of this stuff though but this is just an initial idea I hope may help you as you figure this stuff out…
Bump
Currently hours are not good...every group is understaffed because they run so lean and have such high deal flow across the board (at least NY). Expect this to course correct as the firm adds junior headcount. Culture very good. Would be awesome to see them be the first EB to raise base in line or above new Street of $100k
I've heard hours are pretty rough here. Only have one alum there but he said this past year he's been getting absolutely crushed (but it seems like everyone has been... so not so sure if this is unique to PWP).
Yeah actually wondering if people who are saying good culture actually work there... have heard hours have been absolutely brutal. One of the reasons I turned them down.
Pretty sure this was brought about by COVID. I heard that they worked their analysts hard but in waves before
I don’t think hours necessarily correlate with culture. The people can be great, but the hours can still be brutal if the seniors bring in enough deals.
The people there are not busy (for the most part) with pitches, it’s almost all actually deals
Guggenheim already first EB to raise base.
Welcome the MS. I said what I said.
I’m there with you haha. I’ve mentally replaced Greenhill with Gugg in the EB bucket. But the prospects love to gatekeep the EB bucket for some reason.
I think people bucket Gugg as in-between MM and EB because of their size and their average deal size (which is lower than the 6 main EBs). That’s not to say that Gugg isn’t a great firm but they tend to compete more with banks like Jefferies while landing the occasional mega-cap deal.
Fantastic culture, top of the line pay, and strong exits. Their exits have been getting a lot better over the years as their management has increasingly supported recruitment (think on the level of MOE NY and LAZ NY)
Some of the exits mostly from this year (some last year) for the US:
2 Carlyle, EQT, Brookfield, Oaktree (SS), Bx (idk group), Centerbridge, Crestview, GTCR, 2 top HFs, Platinum Equity, KPS, Softbank, General Atlantic, Ares, Madison Dearborn... I am sure there are others if you refer to Linkedin. Analyst class size ~ 21-22.
Wow, looks like they absolutely killed it
Did any stay on as associate
Really great shop. Have a couple friends who work(ed) there (one left for PE and one stayed on as an associate) and they actually liked their time there citing good people in general and not much of a hardo culture.
Also interesting they went public via a SPAC which closed in June, wonder if the public company reporting requirements and disclosures will change anything there.
PWP has great pay, very nice culture, and you can exit to virtually anywhere (with it getting better each year, as the firm grows and becomes more supportive of leaving). As listed above, they send kids everywhere (plus more that wasn’t noted). I’d take PWP over Laz/Moco due to their growth trajectory and culture.
..
They’re on an absolute tear this year. Along with killing it in league tables, they posted earnings today and beat expected EPS by 173.5%. They also had higher Q2 revenue numbers than PJT.
Good stuff. I feel like going public will help the optics of the firm if they keep this up
Seem to be on the fastest trajectory to the top, great shop
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Does anyone have insight into associate bonus and comp at a firm like PWP?
Curious. Mid BB’s we’re high this year (BAML, Citi, CS).
Going to comment on this, since I had a close friend who recently left PWP after finishing his A2A. The firm is known for its culture generally. The hours got worse during the pandemic, but generally still manageable. Seniors are generally nice, and supportive, including of exits. I think the trouble with them is that they are still considered a small bank compared to other EBs (but obviously do well on $/head basis - as the recent rankings would suggest). Their pay is in line with other EBs.
Pros: Seems like good culture; collegial people who seem supportive. Pay is top of the line compared to other EBs at both analyst and associate levels. Supportive of exits, but also supportive of promoting people on to A2As.
Cons: Smaller compared to some other EBs; you wonder what their strategy is post 2021 listing (TPH founders retired; Joe Perella is retired; others too?). Another big con is that PWP used to pay its entire bonus in cash, but post-listing that probably will have changed now.
My friend ultimately left, but if you join a top group (HC i know is one of them, not sure about others), your exits will be stellar.
Very helpful. Seems like they are trying to scale now as you mentioned (post public spac listing) so it will be interesting to see how the firm changes in the next 3-5 years.
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