New York City
ACROSS-THE-BOARD EXCELLENCE AT MOELIS
The top three is rounded out by Moelis & Company, which most recently advised Spirit AeroSystems during its $8.3 billion dollar acquisition by Boeing. This year, the firm ranked 2nd across 9 dimensions: Firm Leadership, Hours, Internal Mobility, Promotion Policies, Quality of Work, Relationships with Managers, Satisfaction, Wellness, and Work/Life Balance. That doesn’t count ranking Top 5 in another 8 dimensions, including 3rd for Business Outlook and Culture. So why didn’t Moelis & Company overtake Evercore this cycle? Simple: Moelis again ranked 8th in Prestige.
On the surface. Moelis & Company may seem to be at a disadvantage in Compensation, where it ranked 5th. However, the firm’s support goes well beyond a paycheck. One survey-taker cited the “generous 401K match” and added that maternity leave was longer than peer firms. Another praised the mental health coverage, with Moelis picking up the tab for 12 therapy session. That’s just the start.
“We truly have an incredible compensation package here at Moelis. We are given comprehensive benefits that extend beyond that of the average offering,” explains one survey-taker. “The Moelis package includes medical, dental, vision, and basic life/AD&D insurance, as well as the option to open an HSA (Health Savings Account), enroll with a virtual doctor through Teladoc, and, last but absolutely not least, sign up for Lyra Health, where you are connected with a mental health professional to navigate your emotions and work on developing plans to grow!”
Even more, Moelis is considered safe and stable according to one Vault respondent, noting the firm “[isn’t] as susceptible to public market swings or as exposed to external risks” being strictly an advisory firm. That said, another banker mentioned that the firm wasn’t resting on its laurels, moving into new areas like sports, gaming, and the Middle East.
“Moelis is trending in the right direction,” adds another staffer. “We have increased our deal flow while continuing to build meaningful client relationships. We are in growth mode and have been given business opportunities to expand our portfolio and drive efficiencies.”
PJT PARTNERS EARNS HIGH MARKS
Looking for some firms to watch? Start with PJT Partners, which moved from 7th to 5th while its index score improved from 7.797 to 8.121.
Yes, PJT Partners is definitely a firm on the rise. They also made several big leaps in the rankings this year. In the Vault Banking 25, they ranked #4 this year, up from #7 last year. The firm cracked the Top 3 in the ESG Practices and Hiring Process dimensions. It has also continued its slow climb up in Prestige, moving from 8th to 6th in the past two years, while seeing its score improve from 6.891 to 7.182 in the past year alone. Derek Loosvelt, editorial director at Vault, pegs PJT Partners as a mover in a statement to P&Q.
“In benefits, they rose to #5 from #8. And in prestige, they rose a spot to #6 from #7. PJT Partners was spun off from Blackstone about a decade ago, and ever since, PJT Partners has been on the rise, their (new) name becoming more and more widely known. Today, PJT Partners regularly works on some of the largest, most complex M&A deals on the Street (T-Mobile’s $59 billion merger with Sprint, and Sky’s $48 million sale to Comcast, to name a couple), and it treats its junior team very well. The firm’s bankers particularly appreciate the remote-work periods in August (three weeks remote), the week of Thanksgiving, and the end of December. And they also tell us that the senior team makes an effort to enable junior bankers to take time off and are understanding of outside commitments and responsibilities, especially if people have young families.”
BANKS TO WATCH
Parella Weinberg is on a similar roll, moving from 8th to 5th. One reason: the firm broke into the Top 3 in several dimensions, including Compensation, Culture, and Satisfaction, worth a combined 40% of the ranking weight. It also climbed into the Top 3 in 5 more dimensions, while slipping into the Top 10 for Prestige.
“In compensation, Perella Weinberg rose to #2 this year from #6 last year. In culture, they ranked #2, up from #7. And in work/life balance they made their most impressive leap, rising to #4 from #13,” says Loosvelt. “As for why they made such large leaps, Perella Weinberg’s bankers told us that the firm now places a strong emphasis on work/life balance and has a firmwide goal of making sure all employees use all their vacation days. They also told us that the firm is very supportive of protected weekends and that the benefits program is the best on the Street.”
Houlihan Lokey takes the honor for the biggest improvement, going from 25th to 11th, though this stemmed from the firm not qualifying for the ranking last year. According to survey-takers, Houlihan Lokey’s biggest strength was Client Interaction, where it ranked 4th. Beyond that, the Vault Banking 25 was a model of stability. Lazard lost two spots, going from 4th to 6th. However, it boasted the highest score for International Opportunities (and 2nd-best for ESG Practices and Informal Training…plus 3rd-best for Work-Life Balance). Guggenheim Securities tumbled 3 spots to 8th, though it remained a Top 3 firm for both Compensation and Formal Training. Beyond this, no firms gained or lost more than one spot, though Solomon Partners tumbled out of the Top 25, while UBS made its debut at #25.
A LOOK INSIDE GOLDMAN SACHS
While Prestige is a component of the Vault Banking 25 weighting system, it is also treated as a separate ranking. Here, Goldman Sachs continues to top the list according to survey respondents who compete against the firm. This year, Golden Sachs averaged 8.776 in Prestige, up .111 of a point. However, Goldman Sachs didn’t participate in the quality of work and life survey responses, os it could rank no higher than 16th. Still, Vault was able to secure several survey responses from employee. In terms of compensation, the sentiment was mixed. One respondent from a previous year described Goldman Saches base pay as “relatively low” – but adds that “overall compensation increases significantly over time.” Another survey-taker was more upbeat on the package overall.
“Salary is very competitive, and formulaic comp means you always have a good sense of your pay. Also, how the firm does in any given year doesn’t impact you, medical and 401(k) options are best-in-breed, and the on-site gym is state-of-the-art. In general, it’s a healthy compensation package with good perks.”
When it comes to Goldman Sach’s outlook, respondents seem cautiously optimistic. “We’re going through lots of change, which is difficult,” writes one respondent summing up the mood. “New leadership is changing the structure of the firm; time will tell how this plays out, but at this point I feel confident on our ability to deliver. The change seems purposeful, strategic, well-planned, and provides an exciting and bright future.”
JPMorgan Chase Office. iStock photo
JP MORGAN CHASE PRAISED FOR FLEXIBILITY
JP Morgan Chase, which ranked 17th overall due to also not participating in the quality of work and life survey, ranked 3rd for Prestige. Among past survey respondents, career mobility is a common theme at the firm.
“J.P. Morgan has a collegial culture and emphasizes mentoring of junior staff,” writes one respondent. “I’ve been at several banks on Wall Street, and J.P. Morgan has the best/most organized training of junior staff. J.P. Morgan is also a big firm, and I’ve seen employees transition from one part of the bank to another (especially if you do a solid job and have a good internal rating on performance reviews and the support of your manager). Moving within the bank to pursue an opportunity outside of your line of business is not an impossible task.”
As a whole, survey respondents were upbeat about JP Morgan Chase’s prospects…with a few caveats. “Our businesses are very strong. Any setbacks will be due to the overabundance of regulatory changes—which is an issue for the entire industry. We have very good leadership at our firm. My only knock is on the diversity front. We should be better, and the leadership needs to telegraph that and measure it.”
CENTERVIEW PARTNERS ALSO EXCELS IN DIVERSITY
While diversity measures weren’t baked into the Vault Banking 25 methodology, they remained a strength for Centerview Partners. The firm achieved the highest score across 5 of 6 diversity measures: Overall Diversity, LGBTQ+, Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Women, and Employees with Disabilities. It also finished 2nd among Military Veterans. According to one Vault survey-taker, the firm maintains several employee resource groups, including one for first generation employees. Another respondent praises the firm for its inclusive recruiting practices. And a third employee brought up Centerview Partners’ efforts to retain underrepresented groups.
“At the junior level, for example, it is often the case that analyst classes have more females than males. Military veteran hiring in the U.S. office is very strong—and some very strong employees in the U.S. office have military backgrounds.”
HOURS ARE OVERRATED
Alongside the ranking, Vault also identified several themes in banking. For one, bankers have been disappointed with many of their employers’ back-to-work mandates, preferring a more hybrid model. In some cases, this dissatisfaction stems from a double-standard according to one survey respondent.
“While we talk about work/life balance, many leaders don’t follow that narrative. We have a culture of ‘in the office,’ which is a problem and doesn’t support quality of life balances, as it requires employees to commute long hours, pay pricey parking fees, and spend less time with their families.”
Alas, banking is an industry where top performers come in with red eyes and live off Red Bulls. In a surprise, Vault found many several survey-takers didn’t mind grinding through grueling hours and intense spikes. The difference between drudgery and delight, however, was rooted in the fundamentals: pay, support, and pause.
“The hours can be long, the deadlines tight, and schedules get blown up,” muses one respondent, “but your team always has your back and once the crisis is past, staffing and senior leadership work diligently to make sure you get a break to recover.”
WHY BANKING IS ON THE UPSWING
In five years, banking may be far beyond the long hours in the office debate. This week, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told attendees at the Cisco AI Summit that Artificial Intelligence could write 95% of an IPO prospectus – and handle it in a few minutes. Does that mean investment banking could be a lean operation in the future? For Vault’s Derek Loosvelt, the bigger question is what students and young students can do now to be indispensable in the wake of AI’s growth.
“AI is impacting every industry and every role,” he tells P&Q. “In banking and finance, what’s important right now for professionals and students to do is not to try to predict which roles will be obsolete but to develop expertise in certain AI tools, data science, machine learning, etc. This will allow current and future finance professionals to stay competitive in the constantly changing workplace. Also, it’s important for banking professionals to continue to develop their soft skills like problem-solving, teamwork, empathy, communication, leadership, and critical thinking. These and other soft skills will continue to be highly sought after. Those experienced professionals and new grads with these types of skills will be better able to adapt as AI tools continue to be rolled out.”
When it comes to the usual debate on whether banking is losing ground to consulting and tech in the battle for talent, Loosvelt has seen some reason for optimism in banking.
“What’s probably had the largest effect are the cuts in tech. Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, Cisco, and others made significant and highly publicized layoffs last year. And this certainly made choosing tech over banking less attractive. In the past decade, there’s been a massive talent war for MBA grads between Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and those tech cuts were a win for Wall Street in that war. Other than that, what comes to mind is I do think the top banks are catching up with the top tech firms when it comes to offering top-notch benefits and perks. So, that certainly helps Wall Street’s case, too.”
Click on the links below for more detailed rankings:
VAULT BANKING 25: OVERALL RANKING
VAULT BANKING 25: PRESTIGE RANKING
VAULT BANKING 25: CAREER, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND DIVERSITY RANKINGS
