Ares Direct Lending in LA vs Houlihan Lokey RX in NY (SA 2026)
Have offers from both and a few days to decide and would love some thoughts. Like the people & culture at both places. I prefer New York slightly but don’t mind trying LA. Here is my pros and cons list:
Pros for Ares:
- less hours & more chill
- buyside
- slightly higher pay?? and good retention up to VP Level
- ppl seem great
Cons:
- less optionality for future than RX. Probs need to go to business school if I want to leave credit.
- in LA (idk how i feel abt this. One part of me is excited for good weather/pretty beaches, but I’ll know less ppl and it’s more car centric)
Lower return rates from internship
- ppl seem great
- RX so more future optionality
- Strong A2A if I wanna stay on
- in NY where I’ll probs know more ppl and be more comfortable
Cons for HL:
- longer hours
- slightly lower pay?? (not a big deal at all for me)
Any thoughts would be great pls
Maybe I'm just a masochist. If you're interested in working in a financial transaction-based role, I think it's a must to have full-time IB experience. HLRX gonna suck from a mental health standpoint, but it does a good job of giving you a base. Similarly, it could burn you out of a finance career altogether.
Another downside of HL is the promote structure. After the 3 year ANL to ASO it’s like entering a black hole. So much backlog at the ASO lvl and above most people just end up leaving as it takes forever to get a reasonable promote.
New Ares office in LA is super nice, but IB keeps your optionality to PE open. I think you can make a career out of direct lending at Ares and never have to keep recruiting every 2-3 years or at worst lateral to a Crescent / Blue Owl / Oaktree. Congrats, but incredible opportunities
Ares, without a doubt. HL’s RX team isn’t what it used to be, and this would be a great exit even from HL. Even if you don’t love it, it’s quite easy to lateral to another buyside role or even re-recruit to another RX shop for FT if you really like RX. Ares’ pay and culture are better, and you can make a career there without sacrificing your health. I wouldn’t even consider HL RX. You can always recruit there for FT, but doing the opposite may be harder. These buyside seats out of undergrad are quite rare.
ignore title, im an1 in rx
Agree with what curiousgeorge said above -- you do bitchwork as an analyst and ares DL is an exit people go for. Recruiting FT is p much headhunter led, if u wanna get into the rx game, Ares' name/prestige will get you there. All these jobs suck, go for the one which pays you more and have a better WLB. Ares is the go , IMO.
How is this a question?? Ares no doubt
The comments seem quite heavily tilted to Ares but voting is pretty split with a slight HL edge. Would love to know your reasoning behind Ares no doubt if possible!
As someone currently doing it, I think a lot of the concerns expressed on this forum about starting on the buyside are a little bit outdated.
These days, shops with a history of hiring out of college tend to train analysts fairly well & provide a decent amount of optionality for those that go through the program. The idea that you need to start your career with 2 years in banking just isn't true anymore. On top of that, the work is more interesting, has better hours, and comps just as well (if not better).
My view of Direct Lending specifically within credit is that it's a bit boring (imo at the senior level, the job is a lot closer to being a banker than an investor), but coming from a place like Ares, if you prepare well for interviews, you should have the opportunity to move to more hairy/risky credits if you choose.
If your heart is absolutely set on PE, then go to HL RX, but if you're unsure/could see yourself going into some type of credit role (even if it's non-DL) later on (which given your interest in RX seems fairly likely), take Ares and don't look back.
What do hours in Ares LA direct lending look like?
From what I've heard its around 70-85 hours a week. People usually get in between 7-8am and end by 11-midnight.
Thanks for the response. Why are people going around on this forum saying the hours are good for this group? 70-85 a week is objectively bad
Quo soluta ea blanditiis laboriosam deleniti rerum. Sint quo rerum aut voluptates. Voluptatum vero totam dolores in. Corrupti ad tempore et.
Eum rerum voluptas cumque. Veritatis tenetur veritatis velit est ratione vitae corrupti. Numquam blanditiis molestias voluptatem eveniet.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...