Why are the top restructuring groups (PJT/HL) so popular now?
Hi guys, I am originally from Europe and graduated from a top target currently doing M&A. In the last 3 years I have noticed that, first, the top kids at my school (who chose to not do buyside) preferred rx > m&a > lev/fin > coverage groups. Honestly they all ended up doing either rx or m&a. Second, the top choices seemed PJT RX, HL RX, and PJT advisory. A lot of them who got one of these 3 offers stopped recruiting immediately although they were in the process for evr/laz/Moelis/cv. Why is that? None of them seemed particularly interested in the other boutiques and any BBs. I thought that in the current environment these kids would want to work on large M&A deals and that GS/MS/JPM/Evr/Laz/Cv with be the most popular. And of course, after those kids, GS/MS/JPM/Evr/Laz/Cv/PJT advisory become much more popular than rx.
P.S. if they are really interested in rx, why are they not interested in PWP/GHL that have a generalist structure?
We're near the peak of a cheap credit driven boom. RX is on an upward trajectory, while M&A is not.
The somewhat cynical view: PJT has a really good analyst PR effort and so they've managed to drum up a lot of hype about their program, particularly their restructuring program. Lots of their analysts / former summers posting on here, word of mouth on schools, etc. This had become especially pronounced since the BX split and resulting expansion of their analyst recruiting.
This then had a halo effect on other restructuring roles too. Ex: "wow I heard that pjt is better than megafund pe, that means restructuring must be really elite. Maybe I should go work at houlihan"
This then becomes a giant feedback loop, as some "top" students will flock to these positions, the class below will see that and think they must be highly desirable, and so on.
I would like to think that they realize that the current M&A environment won't be around when they actually become FT analysts. So the group that worked on two mega deals last year could possibly be reducing headcount shortly after your friends start working. If (when) that happens, Rx activity will be picking up significantly. You're better off positioning yourself for that shift now rather than later as Rx hiring will become increasingly competitive as the market shits itself.
In terms of Rx shops, PJT and HL have the two best practices, so it would make sense that if your friends want to do Rx and got an offer from one of these two, they would drop recruiting elsewhere.
GHL Rx is dead and was never anything amazing at its peak, PWP is crawling back but not somewhere you'd go specifically for Rx.
Sidenote: anyone shitting on HL Rx does not know what they are talking about
or maybe they totally saw this election result coming
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