(urgent) if you had to choose 1 for NY office: LAZ, PWP, or MOE?
have a deadline coming up and wanted to hear thoughts from people. thank you so much gentlemen :))))
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personal choice but pwp > laz > moe,
PWP
not sure if it helps...but I had a choice b/w 2 of the 3 and went PWP based on culture and class size
Tossup between Lazard and Moelis. Not sure why there are so many PWP fanboys on this forum.
Also think it's a tossup between Lazard and Moelis. Would probably go with Laz for NY
I’d go Moelis, they are growing like crazy and exits will continue to be great, plus you can do both RX and M&A....that would be awesome, for me at least
Not true, used to be a sweatshop a couple of years ago but hours have improved substantially since. Don't know where you heard Moelis just does pitches, dealflow is really strong. Especially now given the ability to work on M&A or RX
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Coming from someone who worked at an EB and had a roommate at Moelis, the notion of spending years doing free work for huge clients at Moelis is still pretty true. Look at some of the most high profile and biggest deals - I can personally attest to the fact that they only got an extremely tiny slice of the pie. Moelis more often than not is being touted as one of the greatest firms to exist on this forum (not saying it's not good), but you'd be delusional to think that it holds it's weight next to GS/MS/EVR/PJT. Regarding exit opps, you'd get the same looks at any shop. EOD, it doesn't matter as much as you think. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy that the most polished kids tend to end up at the top banks, and then people fascillitate the perception that the bank/group landed them the post-banking opp, rather than their inherent abilities.
Kk intern thanks for input
Damn bro you get an offer everywhere? Probably Moelis
Moelis for sure. No longer a sweatshop and they killed it for on-cycle recruit this year.
At my school (target), general consensus if given the choice: Moelis >= Laz > PWP but depends on your personal preference as said above
I worked at Moelis for a while between BB1 and my current bank. You have to be an absolute psychopath to survive/have any semblance of a positive experience. That being said, you learn the technicals like nothing I've ever seen. You just do so much work, with so few resources, that you get very good. The best Moelis juniors were much better technically and in terms of general speed/efficiency than anyone I've seen at either at my two BB (think BAML/Citi for first bank, and now GS/MS). I also saw far too many people who wanted to literally kill themselves though.
I have a few buddies at Lazard and had an offer back in the day (SA so wayyyy back in the day), and I do somewhat regret not taking that. I think they balance the positives of both larger and leanrer platforms pretty well. They're smart and have lean deal teams, so you'll get substantive experience but while they grind you hard, it's not to the sickening and unsustainable extent that Moelis does. They also pitch a lot less than Moelis (hence the hours/bitch work difference), and generally the good analysts/associates work on slightly larger (and more public co) deals vs. Moelis, where competition to get on anything large is super intense.
Don't consider PWP; they just don't quite play in the same sandbox anymore. TLDR: I'd take Lazard...
moelis?
Perspective from analyst at another EB (EVR/PJT): Lazard>=Moelis>PWP
Most PWP groups have great culture, but the exits are just not up to the standard of the other two yet. Moelis is a great place to be in terms of deal flow but it’s still the sweatiest shop on the street (though it has gotten better). Hours at LAZ ny aren’t much better, but I know as a fact that both groups are cross staffing analysts in M&A and coverage for RX assignments. So in this environment you’ll probably be able to work on some RX at either firm.
Laz and Moelis have had comparable exits generally (I think most recent PE exits thread showcases some from Moelis and another thread on EBs has some data points on LAZ, will post if I can find) but from talking with RX people at both firms, LAZ had stronger exits from their RX group.
Lazard is also meaningfully more prestigious as a name outside of finance and this is one of the reasons I even considered taking them a few years back over EVR/PJT. Without their pay bump I think I would go with Moelis. But with the recent bonus bump, Comparable dealflow, slightly better lifestyle (group dependent), and arguably better exits. I think I would go with Lazard out of these choices.
Posted this on a thread for LAZ / PWP / GHL:
"Exits from Laz NYC in last two classes have included AEA (x2), Carlyle (x3), Centerbridge, Cerberus, Golden Gate, L Catterton, Lindsay Goldberg, NEA (x2), Oaktree (x2), Rhone, Summit, THL (x2), Vista (x2), Viking, Warburg, etc."
Definitely missed a couple of other good names. Class exits over next two classes include American Securities, Ares, Centerbridge (x4), CD&R (x2), Cerberus, GTCR, Harvest (x2), L Catterton, Lindsay Goldberg (x3), Siris, TA Associates, Thoma Bravo, TPG (across different funds), Vista, etc. Once again, not all inclusive but you get the idea - maybe not as heavy on the megafunds but pretty solid for class size of 30, which is now maybe closer to 35-40.
Lazard will give you the most opportunities across the street - I mean they’ve been around for hundreds of years and have a long-standing reputation, unlike Moelis
It is unbelievable they have been around for hundreds of years! I remember when they did the restructuring deal for the East India Company.
In all honesty I'd go PWP. You will truly get the same looks for exit opps at all 3, and Moelis and Lazard are probably the 2 most well known sweatshops on the street. I think it's hard to fully grasp how much culture matters until you are actually sitting there at 3am. Now if you value a marginally higher brand name outside of finance then go with the other 2, but then in that case I'd just go with a BB, even if it's a Citi or Credit Suisse, over a PJT/PWP/Moelis etc if you care about regular people on the street having heard of the place.