Pros
- Great Culture. The culture in the Los Angeles office is amazing. As an experienced investment banker I found that the managers and head of the office actually care about your life and do not treat you a like a disposable resource that they can utilize until you fizzle out. - Consistent Deal Flow. The directors and managing directors are seasoned veterans that bring in substantial deal flow and can execute transactions efficiently and consistently. - Solid Training and Ample Resources. Duff & Phelps has the resources of a bulge bracket investment bank and dedicates a lot of time and money to training employees.
Kontras
- Limited Junior Staffing. While the company tends to invest a lot of money in each employee, it also limits the number of analysts that it can hire. The analysts get a lot of experience that they normally would not get until they were in their second or third year at other firms, but the investment banking junior staff is consistently very busy. - No free Red Bull or Nespresso (yes, a very Wall Street problem...)