Genuinely asking. The elite boutiques still print on M&A but the balance sheet shops are clawing back share. If you're optimizing for buyside exits in two years, does the EB brand still carry the premium it did, or is that a 2015 take?
From the buyside seat: the brand opens the first door. After that it's your deal sheet and whether you can actually model. EB still helps round one.
This is the answer. Headhunters screen on brand, partners hire on competence.
Counterpoint: in a slow M&A tape the balance-sheet shops are the ones actually staffing live deals. Reps > brand right now.
The gap narrowed but it didn't close. EB M&A reps still travel best for UMM/MF.
Pitch books, protected weekends that aren’t, and exit-opp math. Say what the desk is thinking but won’t put in an email.
＋ New threadMarkets, deals, and the group chat — for people who read the footnotes.