Boutique investment firms are smaller and offer specialised services, and as a result are great places to work for both students and graduates, offering lots of support and career development. While these firms are less well known, they are still leaders in investment banking and have great global rankings.
Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey is a global investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring and valuation. They are the No. 1 M&A advisor in the US, the No. 1 global restructuring advisor and have been the No. 1 global M&A fairness opinion advisor for the past 20 years. HL offer both internships and graduate schemes at their London offices, a great opportunity if you’re interested in the M&A side of investment banking.
Moelis and Co.
Moelis and Co. are an investment bank who offer comprehensive, globally integrated financial advisory services across all major industry sectors, providing graduates with the opportunity to be involved in all phases of the business cycle. They are keen to support and develop all their employees, enabling great career progression as a graduate, and with their graduate intake increasing, they provide opportunities for many graduates on their analyst and associate programs. Additionally, their summer internship offers live deal experience, quality exposure to senior bankers and invaluable business events.
Centerview Partners
Centerview Partners is an American independent investment banking and private equity investment firm that operates primarily as an investment banking advisory firm. Despite only being founded in 2006, Centerview Partners was recently rated the No. 1 investment bank to work for by Vault. They have offices in both the US and Europe and are currently 6th globally for M&A deals. The career development opportunities for graduates at Centerview Partners are great: they offer continuing educational programmes for their employers to supplement the skills that they have learnt throughout their career. While they do not have a structured internship programme, they do offer summer internships that will become available throughout the year.
Jefferies
Jefferies is another global investment bank with offices in London and was named one of the world’s most admired companies by Fortune Magazine as well as being 9th globally for equity deals. They are quite small in comparison to some of the better known, larger firms, with around 900 employees globally, however, this enables them to aid the development of their employees and support an entrepreneurial environment for their employees. As well as graduate positions, they offer great summer analyst and associate internships, which include training, mentoring and social events.
Cowen
The final investment bank that doesn’t get enough attention is Cowen, an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company that operates through two business segments: a broker-dealer and an investment management division. Cowen is 10th globally for equity deals and has been in the UK since 2005. Their culture of collaboration is extremely beneficial for graduates, with excellent teamwork and employee development being encouraged.
