Morgan Stanley LA vs Moelis & Co LA - need help deciding
If you had offers from these two, which would you pick? Why?
Moelis pros:
-better exit opps
-slightly higher bonus
MS pros:
-less crazy work hours
-seems like a great culture
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Moelis FTW
Yah Moelis, don't know too much about MS LA
moelis LA
ms is still bad in terms of hours and people are known to be brutal. Might as well add that extra 5 hours / week and get to TPG as opposed to Ares
Moelis for the relationships/street cred/exit opps. But when you're hating life a year from now, don't blame it on our answers--MS would likely be just as bad in terms of hours.
I would pick MS and this is why:
All in all, I would choose MS. Now, this doesn't mean Moelis is bad, it is an amazing shop, but it's no MS.
do you know what moelis placements are historically? if not, you probably shouldnt make a comment like this without doing your DD first. Moelis and cs la def have the first cut of PE spots over everyone else in LA.
As far as hours go...moelis la is horrible, but i wouldnt say ms la is much better. You might need to work in the industry first to get the real feel of it first before agreeing on what those analysts are telling you at the info ses trying to lure you in.
My apologies sir, my information is from people I have bumped into in LA who work in these groups, but obviously it is not the complete sample set. Look, all I am saying is that we should not put Moelis up on a pedestal here when compared to MS. MS will give this guy the same, if not better, experience and opportunity than Moelis, and if he wants to jump ship to another industry, then MS is a brand name that is well recognized.
Also, with regards to slightly higher bonus: be long term greedy please. A short term $5-$10K income is not worth the long term $5-$10MM opportunity cost.
Where do you like the people better?
Great question. Both banks I only got to meet people through interviews, so it's tough trying to tell who I'd like to work with more when they're all just asking me questions and gauging my responses. Although one of the bankers in MS LA really stood out as a mentor figure and really nice person to work for.
I have friends that have worked at MS LA - hear that lifestyle is terrible, particularly on the m&a side.
Associate I know that's still there referred to it as a "dog eat dog snake pit."
This is a no brainer. Why would you ever consider going to a small regional office for a BB versus working at the Moelis??? How many analysts does MS LA even have? Have you seen all the chatter about BB firms doing more layoffs? While it might not be the main headquarters, a bunch of the founders of Moelis are based in LA, so you know that office is staying put and that you're probably going to be working w/ some of the most senior guys in the firm.
I'm sure the MS guys are nice and all, but MS hasn't been a major player in the LA finance community anytime in recent past. DLJ was the powerhouse back in the day, then CS LA and UBS LA until a few years ago. And now, it's Moelis LA. I have friends that have gone thru the analyst program at Moelis LA and they definitely have some of the best PE placement around. The guys I know went to KKR, TPG, TPG Special Situations, Silver Lake, Carlyle, etc. I heard Moelis LA had phenomenal placement this past year, too...something like 3 of them going to TPG and another to Silver Lake...not sure what other slots they may have gotten.
I would think the smarter / safer bet is Moelis.
if it helps you decide, Moelis LA is sending 3 to TPG in summer 2012. BOOM.
Moelis LA without a doubt for exit opps.
Morgan Stanley vs Moelis (Originally Posted: 11/11/2009)
Hey guys,
Now that the Dow is above 10,000, the market sounds like it is making a come back and M&A is back on the prowl, shouldn't the focus of boutiques be back on M&A and not primarily restructuring?
Was watching a video with head of Morgan Stanley M&A (
) who explained why boutiques are at a disadvantage.
What do you guys think? MS/GS vs Moelis/GHL/Evercore
I would be curious to know...I actually have offers from both in addition to C and DB... But I think it's clearly between Moelis and MS.
Note that this video was originally in an article from The Deal in which Moelis is featured prominently:
http://www.thedeal.com/newsweekly/features/nice-work-if-you-can-get-it…
Yes, capital markets insight is important, and Moelis and other boutiques are building up their capital markets divisions. But so too is objectivity, which BB's like MS, as a result of internal conflicts of interest, will never be able to offer.
Made a similar decision and went small. I think if you want to stay in financial services, the boutique route makes sense. More entrepenurial environment, opportunity to be part of its growth trajectory, stronger possibility of third year. However, if you want to leave more doors open (i.e. corporate finance at some corporate) and are looking for a more structured environment, then go MS. Probably better networking opportunities in the latter, too. I know the people at MS are top notch, and I assume from the WSO posts that Moelis' are on the same level. Good luck.
what's so good about a 3rd year, just more money?
bump
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