Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading of derivatives and equity securities, FICC services or research. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry, it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket, Middle Market, and boutique market.
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds. As of December 31, 2022, the firm had completed more than 690 private equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $700 billion of total enterprise value. As of December 31, 2022, assets under management (AUM) and fee paying assets under management (FPAUM) were $504 billion and $412 billion, respectively.
Wasserstein Perella & Co., sometimes referred to as "Wasserella", was a boutique investment bank established by Bruce Wasserstein, Joseph R. Perella, Bill Lambert, and Charles Ward in 1988, former bankers at First Boston Corp., until its eventual sale to Dresdner Bank in 2000 for some $1.4 billion in stock. The private equity business of the investment firm was not included in the sale and was to be sold off to existing Wasserstein shareholders.
Evercore Inc., formerly known as Evercore Partners, is a global independent investment banking advisory firm founded in 1995 by Roger Altman, David Offensend, and Austin Beutner. The firm has advised on over $4.7 trillion of merger, acquisition, and restructuring transactions since its founding. Evercore is widely considered one of the most prestigious and elite investment banking advisory firms.
Houlihan Lokey, Inc., is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company. Houlihan Lokey was founded in 1972 and is headquartered at Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California. The firm advises large public and closely held companies as well as institutions and governments. Its main service lines include mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, restructuring and distressed M&A, fairness opinions, and financial and valuation advisory. As of May 2023, Houlihan Lokey employs more than 2,600 employees worldwide.
J.C. Flowers & Co. is an American private equity investment firm, focused on investments in the financial services sector. The firm, founded in 2001, is based in New York City and run by billionaire J. Christopher Flowers, a former Goldman Sachs partner. As of 2017, the firm had invested more than $15 billion in capital.
Macquarie Group Limited is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia, Macquarie employs more than 20,000 staff in 34 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia's top ranked mergers and acquisitions adviser, with more than A$871 billion in assets under management.
Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company offering investment banking, financial advisory services, capital markets services, asset management, wealth management, and related products and services worldwide. The company, which once occupied the One World Financial Center building in Manhattan, now bases its operations at 85 Broad Street in New York City.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a Stifel Company, is an investment banking firm headquartered in New York City, specializing exclusively in the financial services sector. KBW's primary business lines include research, corporate finance, equity sales and trading, equity capital markets, debt capital markets, and asset management.
Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. operates a multi-manager asset management business, comprising a number of individual affiliated managers, each having its own investment process and brand, and the services of unaffiliated sub advisers.
Moelis & Company is a global investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, governments, and financial sponsors. The firm advises on strategic decisions such as mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings and other corporate finance matters. Moelis is widely considered one of the most prestigious investment banking advisory firms and has advised on more than $4 trillion in transactions since its inception.
A boutique investment bank is a investment bank that specializes in at least one aspect of investment banking, generally corporate finance, although some banks' strengths are retail in nature, such as Charles Schwab. Of those involved in corporate finance, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring and reorganizations are their primary activities. Boutique's usually provide advisory and consulting services, but lack capacity to provide funding. After the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act investment banks have either had a retail deposit base or have had funding from overseas owners or from Wealth management arms. Boutique banks on the other hand often turn to other banks to provide funding or deal directly with capital rich firms like insurers to provide capital for deals.
Blair W. Effron is an American financier. Effron co-founded Centerview Partners, a leading global investment banking firm based in New York City. Centerview has offices in London, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and San Francisco. The firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, valuation, and capital structure to companies, institutions and governments.
Centerview Partners is an American independent investment banking firm. Centerview operates primarily as an investment banking advisory firm. Centerview has 60 partners and 400 professionals with expertise across a wide range of industries, geographies, transaction structures and sizes.
Peter S. Kaufman is an American investment banker and private equity investor. He is the President and Head of Restructuring and Distressed M&A at Gordian Group LLC, an investment banking firm. He is also a Managing Partner of Bacchus Capital Management, a winery investment concern.
Conning is a global investment management firm serving the insurance industry. Conning supports institutional investors, including pension plans, with investment and asset management products, risk modeling software, and industry research. Founded in 1912, Conning has offices in Boston, Cologne, Hartford, Hong Kong, London, New York and Tokyo.
Greenhill & Co., Inc. is an American investment bank founded in 1996 by Robert F. Greenhill. The firm provides advice on mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, financings, and capital raisings to leading corporations, partnerships, institutions and governments across a number of industries.
An independent advisory firm is an investment bank that provides strategic and financial advice to clients primarily including corporations, financial sponsors, and governments. Revenues are typically generated by providing deal-specific advice related to mergers and acquisitions and financing. The WSJ noted in January 2016 that "boutique is a fuzzy label, defined as much by what these firms do as what they don’t do ."
