William Blair & Guggenheim PCA
Can anyone share there thoughts about these two groups and the overall MM space for PCA? Only info on this forum I’ve seen is PCA is only worth it at EVR/PJT
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Both groups are still relatively new.
Gugg is a restart after their initial failed attempt at starting a platform - don’t think they have closed anything but believe they are in market with a few live deals. Focus is on GP-led transactions (no primaries or LP-leds).
WB has made a ton of hires - think they are around 30 people across secondaries and primaries, roughly even split. Mandate is GP-leds, LP-leds and primaries. Website shows two closed CVs this year.
I think it will take time for the newer groups to make in impact. Given the challenges of actually closing a CV right now, I’d imagine GP’s are reluctant to take a chance on a new group unless there’s a strong prior relationship. I do think the newer groups (or the ones that stick around long enough) will eventually get off the ground as there is value in the industry expertise these banks can provide. It’s really just a matter of when appetite for CVs come back (which seems like it’s starting to) and more dry powder is available in the market.
Del
Why’d you delete your original comment? “I know a lot of the newer Blair guys came over from CS” Was it not true ?
It is true - idk why he deleted it. A lot of CS and M2O guys.
Guggenheim has no deal flow. They launched a GP-led recently and it was some overpriced crap that no one wanted. I suspect in a year or two that entire team will be fired.
Firm is almost as bad as Houlihan for secondaries.
Thoughts on Blair PCA?
Pretty sure this is the same guy that has been going on every thread about a new PCA team and shitting on them - I’d take what he says with a grain of salt.
How does the comp tend to look in the PCA space? Tempted to lateral to one of these teams but not sure about comp and long-term trajectory.
Scales the same way as any other banking role. Generally speaking, analyst years you’ll be paid the same as M&A counterparts and it becomes more variable the higher up you get as comp is more closely tied to revenue. But obviously depends on the bank and performance… EVR for example is known to pay very well because Nigel supposedly has full discretion and you get years like 2021 where VPs clear a mil. But you don’t clear a mil without working a shit ton.
Thing is, the comp difference between the sell-side and the buy-side in secondaries (for the most part) isn’t that much different. One could argue you get paid better on the sell-side since it’s mostly in up front cash but carry payouts are probably less variable. So when it comes down to the buy-side versus sell-side decision in secondaries the main difference really is the type of work you prefer (since they both seem to work the same hours - which aren’t that bad tbh).
At the end of the day you can make a great living on either side with better hours than direct buyout / M&A counterparts (although hours are of course group dependent).
How does the modeling and other analytical work compare to the other product & coverage groups ? Would you say it’s closer to ECM than M&A or somewhere in the middle ?
Any interview insights for blair?
Has Blair sent out interview invites?
just recieved a email for a round 1 for pca
Do you remember any of the questions? I have this next week.
they reopened
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