Curious to hear what the general consensus is around top tech firms on the West Coast as someone interested in UG. I know Q, GS TMT, MS MP are considered the best, but what comes after that? From what I've been exposed too so far next tier seems to be EVR MP, LAZ SF, JPM SF but happy to get other takes.
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What are you judging by? Exits, comp, prestige?
Overall, I'd say it's something along the line of:
1 - Qatalyst, MS MP, GS TMT
2 - JPM SF, Lazard SF, Evercore MP
3 - Moelis SF, CVP MP, BofA PA, Citi SF
4 - PWP SF, JEFF SF, Barclays MP
5 - Tidal, DB SF, UBS SF, WB
Sure, in some years one group can perform really well by landing a mega deal (eg BofA landing the Google-Wiz deal, or Tidal the Cisco-Splunk one) but if we look in terms of consistency over the years, this ranking should be quite accurate
Any insight into MM banks?
very curious about cvp, there was an information article talking about how the senior leaderships hired from bofa were very unproductive and wondering if they're good at all post tidal exodus. have they been on any meaningful deals, im talking about the MP office
I would say this is pretty spot on in terms of the quality of groups. Exits obviously may vary (for eg Qatalyst/CVP might exit worse than some of the other teams in their tier or even in lower tiers) but IMO that shouldn't be the deciding factor on the quality of a group
why is cvp up so high? they haven't closed any meaningful deals in tech (specifically mp)
e: to the cvp analyst/associate from mp ms'ing me, i would be more than happy to hear the office's credentials over the past two years in terms of tech deal flow. I have nothing against them, am simply curious as to how productive the office has been.
congrats on Lazard SF!
Lazard SF is just as good, if not better, than any of the non-Q/MS MP/GS TMT SF West Coast groups. I don't know what you're on bro
Did LAZ reject you? It's a top group for tech banking, unless by your definition, only Qatalyst qualifies as a top tech bank.
How's EVR MP any better than LAZ SF? By what metric? Quality of kids they hire, deal flow, exits?
They are literally in the same tier. You could argue that their focus areas differ but even that is marginal nowadays
WF should be in tier 4/5 based on their deals lately.
I'd put them in tier 5 for now. This sub tends to overreact to a year of under-/overperformance of certain firms/groups. Firms should be judged over time (ie consistency matters a ton)
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Moelis SF is up there. Looking to expand analyst class a lot and have a lot deals thus far ...
Why is Barc so high? They have done nothing meaningful in tech for the last ~5-7 years. Legacy Lehman bankers are long gone. I'd move them to tier 5 to be honest. Also would move Citi down to tier 4. They mostly get credit for deals due to financing. Unlike BofA, they don't have a robust, stand-alone M&A practice for tech IB
Why is Tidal so low? Seems like a pretty good shop to get in at the ground floor at.
Less proven. Might go up to tier 3ish in a couple of years if they show consistency
Jefferies
Probably tier 3 or 4. They have much better deal flow compared to a PWP or Barclays, but are a step below to the firms in tier 3 (maybe except Citi)
How do non-Q EBs stack up against each other?
Evercore MP and Lazard SF are pretty much comparable in terms of overall deal flow, exits, quality etc.
I feel Moelis SF is a touch below those two in terms of the quality of their deals - They pretty much only do MM/sponsor-backed tech M&As with barely any work with strategics. This leads to a great deal flow but less holistic exposure to tech banking IMO.
Centerview has a decent deal flow overall but is probably in line or slightly below Moelis in terms of their overall perception in the West Coast (That is for tech banking, they are are killing it in the biopharma space)
Others (PJT, PWP, GHL, GUGG) have less of an established presence. They might do a deal here and there but they are a couple of tiers below the above firms
Almost half of the recent Moelis SF exits were MFPEs regardless, but it is true that they compete mostly in the MM M&A space for a lot of portcos. Analysts seemed to be drowning from deals if that's a good thing or not.
Any idea on what deals have come from Centerview MP office (as opposed to NY) for tech recently?
very curious about cvp, there was an information article talking about how the senior leaderships hired from bofa were very unproductive and wondering if they're good at all post tidal exodus. have they been on any meaningful deals, im talking about the MP office
Pretty mid tech practice to be fair. I mean the CVP name and comp are great, but purely from a deal flow / quality perspective they are below other EBs like Q/EVR MP/LAZ SF
The BofA MDs they hired haven't been producing, and the Tidal exodus didn't assist either
Very odd to see that none of the BofA seniors are producing meaningful dealflow. Seems like NY tech is stronger than MP.
I’m pretty sure CVP works on retainer and advises huge tech firms regularly even while not bringing in deals. At least their office in Menlo Park.
Bump
bump
Just came here to say UBS SF still too high
The In-N-Out Burger in SF is higher prestige AND higher revenue than UBS SF.
thoughts on union square?
Seems like smart people but pretty disappointing materials when viewed on the buy-side. Still better than no offer
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