PWP LA
Does anyone have any insights on PWP's LA office? Seems like it's growing pretty quickly and would love to hear a bit more about it.
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Work at another LA group so I can provide some insight. PWP LA's a very fast-growing office focused on industrials (specifically engineering & construction, industrial services, environmental services, and industrial technology) led by seniors from BofA as well as an ex-Lazard senior, and is overall a very good office. They recently brought in a very good MD from Lazard LA focusing on A&D as well as JPM's former head of Western US Energy and Head of Western Industrials to start up their America P&U practice, and I believe they're bringing in a new senior soon as well. Deal flow is very strong, with the ex-BofA guys especially landing some pretty large mandates, while the new Lazard guy will likely churn out smaller sponsor sell-sides like he did at Lazard. Culture also seems to be pretty good. The people in the office are definitely really smart, and for the most part, tend to be a bit more relaxed and laid-back as well. Many of the seniors are great people (especially the new Lazard guy) who actually care about mentorship. Junior experience is pretty technical. The office is very light on mid-level employees, so juniors are expected to play up and take on more responsibility. The seniors are also not afraid to get their hands dirty and really get into the weeds of the model. Juniors are also staffed on P&U deals now with the new ex-JPM senior, so they do build a wider skillset. Since the office is only 5 years old and is smaller, exits are less proven than Lazard LA and Moelis LA, but I know they sent someone to Ares LA PE recently, and also given the PWP brand, I don't think they struggle with exits at all.
I think we can all infer you work at Moelis LA lol
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How large is the office's SA class size?
I believe this past summer it was 4 SAs.
Analyst experience there is really rigorous and seems very good. The group works on pretty large public deals quite often so the juniors do a lot of more complex A/D modeling, and the analysts often hold the pen to the models because of how lean the office is at the associate/director levels. Mirroring the Moelis guy above, the seniors are known to be pretty technical and get into the models quite often. Also from what I've heard, even though the new P&U banker will work with TPH seniors quite a bit, his deals will be run out of the LA office, so analysts also get P&U exposure.
Will the analyst pool in the office remain generalist across industrials and P&U?
Yes, plan is for juniors to remain generalists so analysts will get cross-staffed across industrials and P&U deals.
Do they start recruiting in the spring with PWP NY?
Yes, PWP's offices all recruit at roughly the same time unlike some other firms.
Noticed they brought on a new tech partner.
I saw the press release too - are juniors in the LA office working on tech deals now too?
As I understand it, yes. P&U and tech partners are obviously still getting ramped up, but juniors will be working across industrials, P&U, and tech now.
I understand Moelis is the top dog in LA, but how does PWP compare to Lazard?
Hours?
Really depends. No face-time culture so when things are light, hours are light, but because the group is so lean, when things get busy they get really sweaty. Seniors are really good about respecting the time of the juniors though. (source: Friend works there)
Make sure to have some sort of LA roots if you're interested in recruiting for PWP LA lol. Heard that 3 of the SAs this past summer were from USC.
Hahaha can confirm the office is basically 90% USC + UCLA + Wharton
Tbf that's like every LA group though. Basically everyone goes to UCLA or USC, has roots in LA, or went to Wharton.
Friend interned and will be returning FT there. Heard that culture is solid and the office is rapidly growing. Team is extremely lean so expect to be worked, but office is really chill about WFH and where you get your work done. Seniors are supportive of buyside recruiting and the recruiting culture in the office is pretty open.
What are exits like? And by worked are we talking Moelis/Lazard LA type hours going 9-3am daily or what?
Exits have been solid, office is relatively new but know that they've sent analysts to anywhere from MM to MF funds over the past few years, with a strong focus on traditional buyout funds. Office culture is chill about buy-side recruiting and seniors will block off time and de-staff you for buy-side interviews if you let them know. Hours depend on workflow, heard chill days can result in logging off by 8pm but sweaty days are easily 9am-3am.
Confirming that there is a PWP LA analyst that went to Ares LA. Don’t know about LGP LA or Apollo LA exits however
Smart people there, definitely enjoy interacting with them. They're more chill personality-wise but definitely grind. Know that the core senior group there are very good at what they do.
At what point do people in the office start specializing given the office has expanded from its Industrials roots?
Juniors are all generalist.
Has PWP LA started recruiting for SA 2024?
No but soon
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