Current sophomore at a West Coast target so really interested in west coast recruiting. Would love to hear more from anyone with insight into how PWP's west coast offices (SF Tech, SF HC, and LA Industrials) are, as I understand PWP will only interview you for one office.
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Networked with all 3 offices, and while I'll leave culture/deal flow/exits to actual IB FT people who can speak better on that, I can provide a bit of insight on recruiting. PWP SF loves Duke and Berkeley kids, and PWP LA prefers prospects with LA roots.
Recently interned at one of the following so can provide a little insight from my own perspective. Honestly can't go wrong with any of the above as PWP recently has been killing it with their west coast offices. They definitely have expanded greatly in both SF and LA, which may be in contrast to what you might see on WSO about the SF office from previous years. Hours are pretty similar across these groups, though SF HC seems to pull longer hours on average. Based on what I've seen from Linkedin and talking with analysts, exit ops should be strong no matter which office/group you choose esp with the PWP name. Definitely recommend deciding which city you'd prefer (SF vs LA) and which coverage group would actually interest you. Best of luck!
Would love to hear more. Can we PM?
Just to confirm, during the SA recruiting process you apply for either SF Tech or HC and it's not a "generalist" SF office application right?
Correct, you apply to either HC or Tech directly
Which one of the three groups is the best one?
LA
Healthcare definitely from when I networked
Healthcare imo as well
LA
PWP SF Tech has pretty good culture, but is the weakest group out of the 3 in terms of dealflow (although still good - most of PWP's large tech deals are sourced out of SF). Exits are good. I'd say PWP SF is most similar compared to Moelis SF and CVP PA in terms of Bay area tech groups (weaker deal flow relative to Evercore/Lazard, but exits are still pretty good driven by brand name), with PWP having a better culture than Moelis SF Tech (those guys are super sweaty).
PWP SF HC has the worst culture out of the 3, but is quite strong in terms of dealflow. The people are very smart there but the culture is definitely a bit more tough and the group overall is pretty sweaty. Exits are very good.
PWP LA has the best culture and dealflow out of the 3. The LA group is pretty tight-knit and is definitely pretty laid-back compared to SF. Deal flow is also really good (just off the top of my head recent deals they've done include Blackstone/Geosyntec and MKS Instruments/Atotech), and they just brought on some rainmaker seniors as well which will definitely boost dealflow. Exits are also very good, but tend to be a bit more LA-oriented.
Ultimately, if you're completely industry agnostic, I'd recommend LA out of the 3 offices. That being said, I'd heavily recommend that you network with all 3 groups to see which group you vibe with more, as that's ultimately the most important factor for recruiting.
SF HC is super small it’s only a partner an MD a director and 2/3 analysts it seems. They’re super chill on coming in so it seems 3 in 2 out. Are you sure about the SF HC culture being bad? I’m interested in that group since HC is one of PWPs better groups and it seems rly good from a culture standpoint due to size as well. Can you provide any more insight?
Super sweaty group because of how lean it is. While taking on responsibility as a junior is good for development, there's an optimal analyst experience where there's still associates to take on some roles and help mentor analysts, and the lack of mid-level people in SF HC makes the experience lean to the point where it's detrimental to the analysts. The seniors are quite blunt to and expect significantly more out of analysts in the SF office. Furthermore, the WLB is also pretty rough where it's super convenient for the MDs/Partners to just walk into the bullpen and ask the analysts to do random asks rather than the seniors asking associates/Directors and the workflow trickling down the analysts.
That being said, the rough culture is far from the worst I've seen on Wall Street and is far more of a byproduct of how lean the office is. The seniors aren't toxic MDs and the people in the office themselves tend to be pretty pleasant.
How possible would it be to lateral between offices after the summer internship if you realize you want to be in a different group?
Doable, but you have to have the support of the seniors (so do well during your SA stint and don't give off the vibe that you want to jump offices on day 1 of the internship) and have a good reason for it. Obviously the office you want to lateral to has to have spots as well.
Definitely doable - PWP is pretty friendly with internal laterals. Off the top of my head I know of someone who lateraled from TPH to PWP NY for FT and someone else who switched coverage groups and lateraled from PWP LA to NY.
Def doable, PWP is pretty supportive of internal transfers.
Very doable, a handful of office-to-office laterals and TPH -> PWP laterals each year from SA to FT.
The LA seniors are great, the ex-BofA guys are whale hunters and land headliner deals while the new ex-Lazard aero & defense guy made a killing on churning out sponsor-backed MM sell-sides at Lazard. Heard great things about the ex-JPM P&U guy as well, although I'm not as familiar of the P&U scene.
How is the LA office's staffing situation and do they cross-staff with SF now that LA brought in a senior doing tech?
Still generalist
PWP's relatively integrated where the offices work together often. That being said, LA analysts will get exposure to everything the LA partners are involved in.
This isn't really true - unless things have changed, SF HC is a great place to be. You'll definitely get worked, but it's mostly with people you generally enjoy spending time with (or at least don't hate). You'll also know your shit when you come out of it and be a step above many other analysts (important if you're interested in PE).
The partner on the team is a genuinely good person and cares about the analysts. Kind of guy that will just go get a beer with the bullpen every now and then.
PWP SF nice too because there's pretty good comradery between tech and HC. Joint events and will get pretty close with the juniors (and some of the seniors) in the other group.
SF HC's culture isn't necessarily bad, but it still has worse wlb than SF Tech.
Is the dealflow in SF HC mainly biotech or is it decently well-rounded?
Does anyone know how large the SA classes are for each of the 3 groups?
I believe SF HC is 2-3.
Confirming that SF HC is 2-3 and SF Tech is also 2-3
SF HC is 2-3, SF Tech is 2-3, LA is 4-5.
Know of people at all three offices. Mirroring the above, all three offices are great. SF HC has strong deal flow but wlb can be a bit rough - people are pleasant but the hours combined with the lean office structure can result in long hours. SF Tech has a chiller culture, and still has solid dealflow. Both SF offices exit well. LA has strong dealflow and also has relatively chill culture, and exits are also strong (albiet a bit more geographically centered around WC/LA).
What does the WLB look at each of these groups and how do they compare?
Which verticals does SF HC cover?
From what I understand tends to be biopharma and devices.
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