LA Investment Banking

West Coast Monkeys,


Long time lurker here making his first post. For all you west coast guys, what's the current state(turnover, job opportunities, etc. ) of the banking/finance scene over there? Currently working in NY for a large bank and looking to move. Any insight would be appreciated.



 
 

I can speak to LA. LA is a much much smaller market than NY. I like the culture and lifestyle better than NY. Networking and overall # of opportunities are much slimmer (compared to NY). Comp is generally lower but not always the case. Feels like it really hasn't come back after lockdowns. Job market doesn't seem to have come back much either. There are opportunities but its nothing like NY when it comes to the sheer # of quality opportunities. A decent competitive comp package in LA with beaches to enjoy is good enough for me though. I couldn't see myself going back to NY long-term. 

 

Unfortunately, I do not have much insight there. It seems as though the BBs have satellite offices in LA but do not have very many seats. Over the years I've rarely seen job postings from the BBs in LA. The recruiters say the same thing, not many open seats in LA. The larger banks with HQs in LA are Houlihan Lokey and Rothschild. BBs and EBs just have smaller satellite offices in the Century City area. Definitely a nicer area and lifestyle than NY in my opinion if you can get in there.

 

For a big city, it’s probably got the same amount of an investment banking footprint as Atlanta or Dallas - so, a presence but by no means a hub.

Top of mind, you’ve got JPM, BAML that have multiple groups in the BB space, Evercore and Morelia in the EB bracket, Jeffries has some groups…

Middle Market you’ve got a massive presence with HL, Wedbush, and if you go south, D.A. Davidson has a big office in OC.

 

What the hell is with this misinformation?

HL and Moelis have bigger offices than any Atlanta and Dallas IB. Jefferies has no meaningful presence in LA on the IB front. MS, CS, Barclays, BAML and GS all have offices in Century City. Lazard, PWP, Ducera, Rothschild, etc all have 1-2 MD offices. Lincoln has a pretty good sized office in DTLA.

 

The biggest footprints are Moelis (analyst class of 12-14), HL (analyst class of 10+), CS (analyst class of 6-8), and BoA (~4-6) has a decent footprint as well. Not sure where Rothschild is coming from, they have like 1-2 analysts and 1-2 associates and haven't done campus recruiting in years now. 

 

I've read a few threads about the LA market in general over the years. I would be interested in hearing other people's opinions on the state of the IB market in LA that are also familiar with other cities like NY and CHI (particularly how things have shifted over the past few years with the pandemic). I don't have hard numbers but I think the general consensus from other folks in IB (both junior and more senior) that I've spoken to in person is that LA is taking longer to bounce back from the pandemic than other cities with a strong IB presence. Additionally, it seems unclear as to the directionality of the IB job market in LA post-COVID. Is it just taking longer to bounce back or will it never really recover the way NY seems to be recovering?

 

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