I’ve seen it mentioned more than a couple times that Moelis LA is a dying office, and even though it’s historically been amazing w rep and placements, it’s now falling behind the NY office. Can anyone shed any light on whether this is true?
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Don’t listen to all the prospects on here spouting bullshit. Moelis LA is not a “dying office”. It is still very much a top shop in LA and on the street in general.
Salty prospects who got rejected or kiddos in the NY office spreading rumors. A shop with one of the top exits on the street, great deal flow, and my contacts have told me an improved/improving culture. They do confirm that their hours are very long however, but it's pretty much always been that way. Also, their class sizes are significantly smaller (like 8-10 a year compared to over 30 in nyc)
You dont realize how false a lot of the info on WSO is until you're in the industry or talked to people in it, especially regarding reputation/rankings.
Is LA more selective?
yes. LA banker here at different firm, may be able to shed some light. Moelis LA has a lot of ex-DLJ LA senior folk, Ken Moelis himself is ex-UBS and DLJ. These groups really transformed the LA banking scene and much of the legacy is preserved in Moelis LA. I'd consider it more selective for several reasons: Both of Moelis's co-presidents also work out in LA, which contributes to strong deal flow - one anecdote, but my buddy there has said he's done pretty much no pitching work. Second, the LA group has been famous for MF PE exits, both on the West Coast and also NYC. It's also a function of exclusivity, LA takes 8 analysts a year whereas NYC takes 35. I believe this lends itself to a more close-knit culture in LA, which may be why the analysts seem to place so well.
FWIW, Moelis LA was considered a very elite group at my target school in same ranks of PJT RSSG, EVR M&A, GS TMT. Moelis NYC is, of course, a great place to be, but is more restructuring focused and has a larger class size. This contributes to different experiences. Can't speak about culture myself. There are very few firms that I would consider non-NYC offices to be stronger, but Moelis LA is most definitely one (as well as HL RX LA). At the end of the day though, they're all great firms and both Moelis NYC and LA will get you looks anywhere.
Thanks. Do they mostly just take West Coast targets + Wharton for LA? I could probably get a resume push for NYC, but idk anybody in LA.
They take a lot of Ivey kids as well. I don't go to Wharton, but another East Coast target and tried to get into their process this year but it was extremely difficult since half of their summer class is always Wharton kids so there's only a few spots left (like 4) for everyone else. If you add in Ivey and the WC schools, anyone else is competing for 1-2 spots left, so it's pretty impossible.
No Ivey kids in current SA class, or next year's class.
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