Why does Lazard pay so low when they're the no.1 EB?
I did my internship at Lazard (unfortunately didn't convert) but it was truly impressive. They were working on some of the largest deals and they were insanely busy. They even had some of the largest transactions coming to them directly, without even pitching in the first place, with the clients saying they have GS/MS and others EBs pitching for this deal but they want Lazard to come pitch.
Arguably they're the top EB but... they pay so low? I'm based in London so not sure if this also applies to the US but the pay here surprised me, I thought they would pay above market.
I spoke to an associate who told me his third-year analyst bonus was approx 50-60% (seems very low) and when he went to associate it was £80k base (market standard is £90k here) with around a 60-75% bonus (which seems low for an associate especially considering this % is on a lower base). Unsure which bucket he was in but he told me he wasn't the bottom bucket which was much lower, so I'm guessing he is the top or middle bucket.
Anyone at Lazard want to anonymously confirm if yours is similar or higher/lower?
Why is the pay here so low? They also work some of the longest hours on the street at the junior level so I would have thought they'd be well compensated. How do they expect to retain talent if they don't pay them.
Is the pay also low at the senior levels?
lmao in London do they really consider Lazard to be number 1?
Yes, mainly cause the others like Evercore do MM with the occasional large deal in London.
CVP in London is probably seen as the most elite EB but they’re not as active as they are in the US so they don’t rank that highly in league tables
Moelis London is shit, loads of pitching with not great deal flow and small to mid cap deals
Roths is quite relevant here though but they do have a MM focus (as well as on larger deals) and are relatively more volume-led
Roths London is very good but as you said their main focus is MM, I have friends here and they all tell me the same stuff I.e they’re working on a £50 to £250m transaction. I rarely hear them talk about a £500m deal or higher. Although Roth’s does also get involved with large cap deals just not very often. I do think Roth’s London is very good tho they have very high dealfow (probably the highest in London in terms of no. Deals but not 100% sure)
I work in TMT and on the MM deals we pitch for we normally see the same firms pitching for these: Arma Partners, Rothschild, Evercore, Moelis (who never wins) etc.. whereas on the large cap deals we normally see Lazard, the other BBs, sometimes Arma, etc. But it is hard to find out the full list of other competitors pitching for the deal, so can’t say with full accuracy.
This can't be true - PJT/ Evercore/ Perella pay first year analysts £110-120 all in (+ ~10 sign-on)
Would not call Lazard the top EB... and they don’t pay above street because they don’t need to
Lazard is a good place but not even the best EB in London, and behind 5-7 BBs depending on who you ask.
Nonetheless it doesnt pay much imo, still a very decent salary but below market standard.
I’d agree with OP that Lazard is the top ‘EB’ in London for m&a and one of the top for restructuring.
Evercore London isn’t anywhere near their US capabilities they mainly do MM with the occasional large cap deal they mainly compete with places like Rothschild / jefferies / Arma Partners, Centerview London whilst very high profile and respected (probably one of the most respected in London) they still haven’t reached their US strength yet, moelis London is pretty terrible they mainly do small cap - mid cap in London, Rothschild is mainly MM
Source: my flatmates/class mates all work at these so I get the inside gossip
Totally agree with this
Lazard does have a very good deal flow, but it also competes on a lot of MM deals, which differs from top EBs in the US. If you look at the deal figures you would see that their avg deal size (still far away from Roths).
Regarding Rx I have not that much info, I know that PJT has been in some high-end deals but dont know how Laz stands in the sector.
Good points, I think one of the reasons Laz also does MM deals is probs cause they’re so large now they need to keep the active deal flow going to pay the bills and there’s just not enough large cap deals happening to feed everyone
Ah yes I forgot about PJT, unfortunately I don’t have any friends here so no inside gossip about their London office but from what I’ve heard they’re very high profile especially in restructuring so they might be top for this. I’ve also heard an analyst got a ~120% bonus
I have no clue to be honest, I know for sure that Lazard doesnt compete for large deals in some sectors/verticals, being a good example the sector I am working at. (literally havent pitched against them in 2 years)
Nonetheless I think that the mid-market in Europe is huge and thats the main reason they will compete for those deals, maybe another reason is their size too and to keep a good positioning for their league tables? This is pure speculation, but may be some of the reasons.
Would be great if any EMEA Analyst can shed some light here
EMEA An1 at an EB here. For restructuring PJT, HL, Laz and Roths (+ PWP growing fast) are the main players but PJT and HL are a league above the others. For M&A, PJT is strong in HC/gaming/TMT while HL is pretty weak all around. Laz are probs strongest in M&A. Roths have great MM dealflow but are a massive franchise so revenue/employee suffers - good for CV but the analysts I know there seem pretty unsatisfied.
Overall would say the top EBs are between Laz or PJT or maybe PWP, based off people I know and the experiences they’re having.
Any info on what Rothschild comp is?
£52k base plus about 50% bonus for analyst 1
I've heard Roths pays around 20% below street in London, Can anyone confirm this? No idea if it's true or not.
Given that street for AN1 is ~90k GBP, and the above poster said AN1 at Rothschild is ~78k (excl sign on in both cases) it would seem its 15% below street (so roughly, yes)
At least in the US, nobody would call Lazard the top EB. Would be surprised if the case was much different in London.
London scenario is quite different.
EBs tend to be smaller player, more "niche" oriented and BBs tend to dominate the landscape.
Lazard has a long experience here and very good deal flow, which differs from some of the other EBs that may be better regarded in the US.
The better a company's reputation the less they tend to pay just fwiw...
Big haircuts at Blackstone and Goldman for example. Neither pays well relative to what else is out there...
People always exclude Robey Warshaw -they kill it hear in London
Question For Op, If You Are A Summer Intern, They Are Still Interning, So How Do You Know You Have Not Received An Offer (London)?
Probably did a spring
Fairs, Would Like To Hear From Op
Lazard UK operations:
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03889341/filing-history
(pg. 27 - compensation per head = (63,375+28,713)*1000/268 = ~£380,000 = ~$500,000)
Lazard Globally:
https://lazardltd.gcs-web.com/static-files/f090db44-3842-4e8f-a3fe-31f4…
(pg. 36 - compensation per head = 1,563,395*1000/3,018 = ~ $518,000)
Both figures are lower than competitors (eg. Evercore), perhaps in part because Lazard has a big AM division (which pays less) -- also notice that the UK Lazard operations made a loss, so I don't really think they're planning on increasing pay anytime soon...
Why is London pay so shit compared to US? Is the cost of living there much lower, or is finance less competitive as an industry overall there?
Pounds used to be 1.4 EUR
Euros used to be 1.15 Dollar (even 1.2 if I am not wrong)
So just do the maths, you would receive almost the same in UK than the US. Now PS are 1.1 Eur...
Have other industries like tech/consulting maintained the same salary as before too or is it just finance lagging behind
Cost of living is similar to NYC but yeah as the comment above said, back when banks started building out their practices in London it was 15 years ago when GBP/USD was 1.80.
Consultants at McKinsey start on £40k with minimal bonuses.
Consultants at PWC/Deloitte/EY/KMPG start on around £34k I think. Albeit they have a very good work life balance.
(Good) American Law firms in London (i.e. Kirkland, Akin Gump etc) pay even their first year associates the equivalent to NY counterparts - usually $190,000.
I think some PE in London also pay everyone in USD (or USD equivalent), for banks, its normally ~20/30% less than NY (though as London prices are now cheaper, in dollar terms, since GBP fall, unless you're holidaying in America, the real value of your salary is fairly similar)
In dollar terms, pay is very low mainly as a result of the steep decline of the GBP over the last 6-7 years, obviously more so since Brexit. Still not sure there was complete parity before that.
If IB pay sounds low, you’d be appalled at what other professions make in London (poverty-tier compared to the US). E.g. McKinsey BAs making less than USD 60k, big 4 analysts making less than USD 45k, etc. Imagine what non-professional occupations are making.
Despite what others say though, cost of living is definitely lower in London in dollar terms than Tier 1 US cities, so it’s somewhat proportional. It’s definitely not low salaries and NYC level rent and prices.
Across Europe—except for some cases in Germany and Paris—the picture is largely the same or worse. Banks pay even less in Spain or Portugal.
I really think the correct perspective is not that London salaries are low, but rather US salaries and cost of living are very high. I think it’s largely due to the Fed and USD reserve currency status but can’t say for sure.
Laz NY upped pay last year. On par with other EBs in the city now. London pay sounds like it’s still lagging, though. Wouldn’t be surprised if they up it there too.
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