Perella Weinberg: To join or not?

Having won at least one hefty advisory mandate, investment banking boutique Perella Weinberg is said to be scouting for junior staff. They may not exactly be queuing up to join.

"At the end of the day, if you go and work for Perella Weinberg you're making a bet on the long term success of Joe Perella," says one associate at Morgan Stanley. "And he's not going to be around forever."

Perella, a former star Morgan Stanley investment banker, set up the new boutique earlier this year with Peter Weinberg, a former Goldman Sachs executive. They've already lured several star Morgan Stanley bankers, including Terry Meguid, former head of investment banking at the firm, and Dietrich Becker, head of its German business.

Last weekend the Financial Times reported that Perella Weinberg has been hiring analysts and associates from Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and elsewhere.

But given investment banks' bumper results and the consequent prospect of generous bonuses, employees may be less than eager to jump ship. Jon Anda, former co-head of capital markets at Morgan Stanley already returned to the firm in June after previously quitting to joining Perella.

The Morgan Stanley associate we spoke to said Perella Weinberg would have to offer him a meaty financial inducement. "If you're not doing well at a bank you might consider moving. But given the career possibilities on offer here and the fact that Perella probably won't be offering equity at the junior end, the only differentiating factor for me would be that I were paid a lot more than I am right now."

However, Libby Fisher, managing director of boutique-focused search firm Hutton Consulting, says working for Perella et al. is an attractive prospect. "It might not be a slam dunk for everyone, but given the quality of the senior people they've got on board, it's an appealing prospect," she says.

Fisher says associates are better advised to make the move than analysts, who can benefit from the training programmes at large investment banks.

Perella Weinberg were unable to offer us any clarity on their hiring plans.