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.
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.
Career Resources
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
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.
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 understand Moelis is the top dog in LA, but how does PWP compare to Lazard?
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
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.
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.