Read through this thread: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/how-is-pjt-partners
But i'm looking for an update a year and a half later or so. How did comp shake out? How is the increasing deal flow? I'm less concerned about exit opps but interested to hear that side too. Basically just looking for an update/new info now that the firm has been around for a little longer and is really getting settled.
PJT Partners Reputation and Exit Opps
Our users shared that the firm offers a great experience, compensation, and exit opportunities to summer analysts and full-time analysts.
"mutilation"Comp for first year was top of the street, deal flow is still ramping up, and exits for first years were stellar (couple MFs, couple upper MMs, some big HF names in there too)
"AllDay_028 - Investment Banking Associate"Had a chance to meet with some of the guys and have to tell you that I came away very impressed. At my MBA program it's definitely considered at the top of the EB pile with Evercore and Lazard. Those three tend to be considerably more coveted than the PWP/Moelis/Greenhill's of the world. Also heard that, at least at the post MBA level PJT, Evercore, and PWP are above the rest of the EBs (sans Centerview which doesnt really do post MBA recruiting) in terms of comp. I think the upside is huge there and they will likely continue to grow their deal flow very quickly.
"MidMarketMcLovin - Real Estate Investment Analyst"Friend did his SA there last summer. Loved it, sounds like a great office. As an Analyst in their London office you'll be a product and industry generalist which will provide you with a great skill set and offers downside protection in case M&A volume were to drop off for whatever reason.
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- PJT Partners, Evercore Summer 2019 Recruiting Timeline
- Blackstone / PJT Exit Opps
- PJT Secondary Advisory FT Analyst?
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Comp for first year was top of the street, deal flow is still ramping up, and exits for first years were stellar (couple MFs, couple upper MMs, some big HF names in there too)
Heard really great things on them, they are killing it.
Had a chance to meet with some of the guys and have to tell you that I came away very impressed. At my MBA program it's definitely considered at the top of the EB pile with Evercore and Lazard. Those three tend to be considerably more coveted than the PWP/Moelis/Greenhill's of the world. Also heard that, at least at the post MBA level PJT, Evercore, and PWP are above the rest of the EBs (sans Centerview which doesnt really do post MBA recruiting) in terms of comp. I think the upside is huge there and they will likely continue to grow their deal flow very quickly.
Can confirm this - quite similar perception at my school. Evercore and Lazard seem to be in the lead on the undergrad level, followed by PJT and PWP.
Idk why people are giving you monkey shit because your undergrad experience is similar to mine. I'm a junior at a top undergrad so I just went through the process, and after attending nearly all info sessions for the EBs and speaking amongst my peers, I found a clear hierarchy for desirability amongst the EBs. Keep in mind this is respective for my school, so obviously other people will have different experiences.
Before anyone shits on me, Moelis and Greenhill are ranked the lowest because they actually had very small on-campus presence this year, and thus garnered less interest amongst juniors who wanted to work in IB. I actually accepted an offer with one of them, and after talking with people who ran the recruiting processes there they told me they wanted to cast a wider net to other schools rather than focusing all of their efforts on a few.
This is for London but according to people there pay, culture, exits and senior exposure are great. Seems like RX is doing well and they are getting megadeals in M&A in Europe and just advised Sky
Friend did his SA there last summer. Loved it, sounds like a great office. As an Analyst in their London office you'll be a product and industry generalist which will provide you with a great skill set and offers downside protection in case M&A volume were to drop off for whatever reason.
Agree with this. Generalist model (same as Greenhill and Moelis) where you can work on both M&A and restructuring assignments is an excellent platform.
I think in NYC, Moelis, PWP, and Greenhill all offer the generalist M&A + Restructuring model. I'm assuming you're in London, so is it the same there?
If NY as an analyst, great choice.
Any other situation, would never choose them over a real investment bank where you can earn real banking skills.
"Any other situation, would never choose them over a real investment bank where you can earn real banking skills."
Care to explain?
Real banking skills? Like building giant books for credit committees or bringing your private wealth adviser and checking account guy to your pitch? Or did you mean the hard technical skills honed at M&A / Restructuring shops? I see you communicate in platitudes frequently - can you offer any specific examples?
Honing those hard technical skills is beginning of career stuff, in line with his comment that it is a great place to be an analyst
It's an odd insinuation though because you also have more client interaction at a junior level than you do at a larger shop (assuming "real investment bank" is referring too a full service shop). So if you have to be both more technical and better with clients early in your career and you are executing regularly and not really pitching... just not sure how that doesn't help you learn "real skills" earlier on. Does this mean Lazard isn't a real investment bank either? That you can only be a "real investment bank" if you offer credit?
All in all, a confusing comment.
Exactly. How is doing client coverage (where you are essentially outsourced BD) as an associate/VP going to build better skills than being on 4-5 live M&A processes at any one time? I have friends at all the BBs and I know the level of interaction they have with clients on a day-to-day basis is no where near what I have.
I am genuinely curious what he meant.
Let me try and elaborate this in as objective a way as possible.
When I define "real banking skills", I think of a package of three things - originating a transaction, providing sound advice on transaction strategy and delivering on that advice in a manner that achieves the client's objective, and doing so as the lead banker. In every transaction, there is one senior banker the client looks to and every other role is support.
There are four challenges with developing those skills in a boutique environment:
The first is that the primary selling point that boutiques have to offer (and I believe by and large they deliver on it) is senior level attention. The person leading the deal is a highly experienced partner. That is great for the client, but no so great for the person working directly for the senior partner since even as they get more senior, they are never "the guy". Its not really an issue, and often a good thing if you are an associate or a VP, but it doesn't work well if you are a sr. VP or a Director or a junior MD. On the other hand, the business model in a BB firm is different; they don't really promise senior level attention and most often, the banker leading the deal is a Director or a junior MD. That individual simply gets much more training being the most senior banker on the transaction than their counterpart at an EB.
The second is that at a BB when you are in that sr. VP / Director / jr. MD seat and building your book of clients, you have many more resources available to you. You can have a jr team on every one of your projects and work them to the ground as you build relationships. Sitting an EB, you have to much more selective about how you use your resources (and they are always working for the top dogs, not you). Again, not so great for the junior guys, but a lot easier to build clients.
The third is that winning strategic M&A mandates is the single hardest type of business to win as a banker. It certainly helps you on the way to have more weapons in your toolkit to get close to clients, while you build the experience and gravitas and client relationships to credibly win M&A relationships.
The final point, and its not something I believed as junior M&A banker, is that financing matters, and you are a much more complete banker if you understand financing. No amount of M&A skill is going to help me with a large sponsor if I can't deliver a multi-billion commitment or run an IPO / sellside dual track.
Don't get me wrong, I like the EB model a lot. And I believe up to about a jr VP,. the experience is a lot better for junior bankers. And its pretty cool if you're an established rainmaker who has a preexisting book of clients. Its not easy when you are a younger banker to realize just how difficult it is making a jump from being a good execution banker to a true lead banker, and its hard at BBs and EBs. I have seen it be a lot harder relatively than EBs, and I think this is borne out in how few homegrown banker have made it at EBs over a long period of time (even if you go back to Lazard in the 1990s, or Wasserstein Perella, etc, this is not a new thing).
So my career advice generally is that if you're an analyst or an associate, EB all the way (although I still find the best trained people are at MS or Citi M&A) but if you intend to make a career in banking, you are better off at a BB.
Did my analyst program at PJT and I really learned tremendously.
I would say you should be fine coming out of either M&A or RX.
BUMP
Why is PJT so Highly Rated (Originally Posted: 10/17/2017)
Was bored at work today and ran a Factset screen for a few of the EBs to see how they're doing. To my surprise, PJT has only 19 M&A deals (with 6 undisclosed so really 13) with a median deal value of ~$900bn, so not marquee deals. Taking a look at their website they only list their recent transactions vs a complete list at other EBs (and places like Piper). Is it a place that's overrated by this forum? This is PWP size, and much smaller than Moelis/Evercore, and Greenhill/Guggenheim.
Anyone have insight to share?
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