What Does Duff and Phelps Investment Banking Do?
Can anybody explain what Duff & phelps actually does? They have different positions on their website like valuation analyst, investment banking analyst, and real estate analyst.
The firm clearly advertises itself as an investment bank. However it appears that that they are doing transaction advisory, very much like the big4 accounting firms. I assume they get hired to provide an "unbiased" advisory of potential transactions, and get paid on a fixed hourly/project basis, so that their opinions are not tied to commissions/deal size. Essentially a specialized consulting firm.
What is Duff and Phelps LLC?
Duff and Phelps is essentially a middle market investment bank with a focus on valuation services and fairness opinions. In this way, they also serve as consultants.
Duff & Phelps provides a short description of their services their
Duff & Phelps Corporation uses the name Duff & Phelps to conduct:
- Capital Raising
- M&A Advisory
- Corporate Valuation
- Fairness Opinions
- Financial Consulting
- Capital Adequacy Opinions
The valuation group and IBD division are the most comparable to traditional investment banks. Their deals are generally on the smaller side as they have been trying to build out their investment banking practice for some time now. However, their investment banking group is still considered middle market.
Our users shared their thoughts on Duff and Phelps:
They are the largest independent valuation firm and are basically the go-to guys for valuation (they write the cost of capital book which I think every valuation shop has..I know mine does).They acquired Pagemill Partners (west coast tech focused IB) a few years ago so I think they mostly do SF and some NY banking. I imagine they do lower MM deals but i think it'd be really be focused on fairness opinions, solvency opinions, etc.
Name brand in the US is that they're known mostly for valuation, due diligence, and related fields
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Look it up in their 10-K
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1397821/000114420410009916/v1754…
Duff & Phelps Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides independent financial advisory and investment banking services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Financial Advisory, Corporate Finance Consulting, and Investment Banking.
The company serves financial institutions, entertainment companies, professional service firms, energy, utilities, chemical, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and consumer product companies. Duff & Phelps Corporation was founded in 1932 and is based in New York, New York.
From my experience most of their investment banking activities come in the form of fairness opinions; they do list some deals under their M&A side but I'm skeptical that they would have been the lead bank on any of them: http://www.duffandphelps.com/services/investment_banking/Pages/Mergersa…
Duff & Phelps has the ability to act as an investment banker doing an M&A transaction. As you might imagine, they don't win too many mandates when going up against real investment banks. I do believe I've seen a deal or two come across my desk where they were the intermediary.
That said -- I remember at my last bank one of the other analysts lost a pitch to a regional accounting firm. My entire bank was shocked. Basically, they hired Grant Thornton or some equivalent to sell the company over us because GT was "local" and they wanted someone close by.
They have 2 divisions. Transaction Advisory which provides purchase price accounting and other post-transaction services, and their "Investment Banking Division" which does mostly fairness opinions. Their Transaction Advisory Services is very comparable to WTAS or the Transaction Services divisions of BIG 4. Great firm and great people, but expect long hours (sometimes IB hours) without the IB bonus.
I know a guy who did some time at D&P. He was the most ridiculous modeler I have ever seen. I used to call him rainmaker. Learned so much from that guy. I would hype him up on a daily basis.
If you can't get directly into banking I think D&P is a GREAT place to go. You can learn very relevant and transferable skills.
I think I should just say it like this. If you cannot get into banking right away you need to find a job that has relevant and transferable skills. So if you cannot get into Morgan Stanley IBD do not go into Morgan Stanley BO because you think you can magically move to the FO. Go somewhere else where you will learn how to value things in excel, meet with clients, work with power point developing pitches, etc. Two years at D&P will set you up for banking 100x better than two years in the back office.
I will reiterate. Do not get blinded by the name on the business card.
that's why i always wear sunglasses when looking at a goldman sachs business card
Anthony, you posted on my forum about the very same topic, BB BO/MO vs D&P and I appreciate and agree with your comment.
Do you have any idea how comp is at D&P?
Entry level comp at D&P, from what I've haerd, is similar to Big 4 consulting roles-high 50 to mid 60's starting salary, no significant bonus structure.
How has D&P' s IBD improved over the years? I have networked with some people at D&P and should have the opportunity to take a position within their company.
I am just trying to gauge if I should go with D&P or shoot for a MM or Boutique bank. If I take D&P then it is also in the same building as Evercore, which means networking for exit opp. =)
I come from a none target, 3.82 GPA, Finance degree (4.0 Major GPA), no banking experience (only Wealth Management at UBS and Economic & Business Analytics at Booz Allen Hamilton), CFA & CMA Candidate, plenty of extracurriculars.
Ratings and Corporate Advisory
Duff and Phelps more than just a valuations shop? (Originally Posted: 02/21/2017)
Is D&F respected in the Restructuring and M&A fields? I have read the firm has undertaken several mergers (eg MCR) relatively recently and could be classified as a (lower?) MM.
Is it respected in the long run or seen as more of a stepping stone to other things (in Europe)?
Cheers
BUMP
I can't answer your question but I am wondering if you got into D&P internship? I was wondering what's their recruitment process like for internships/placement years.
Couldn't tell you in Europe.
Name brand in the US is that they're known mostly for valuation, due diligence, and related fields(like dispute resolution). Don't carry the same weight as Goldman Sachs/etc names and most of the people I've talked to there have moved on.
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