Boutique banks are hiring senior bankers, and Lazard might be paying them more cash than before
Q3 reporting season is wrapping up for America’s boutique investment banks (just Moelis left). Some have done great, like Evercore, and some haven't, like PJT. Regardless, there is one thing they mostly have in common. Hiring.
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Boutique banks have been on a hiring warpath since the start of the year. “2026 is shaping up to likely be our biggest partner recruiting year ever,” said Paul J Taubman, CEO of PJT Partners, on the firm’s Q3 analyst call. Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) has also added nearly three times as many partners in 2026 already as it did in 2025 overall. “We intend to continue adding talent,” said PWP CEO Andrew Bednar on the call.
PWP’s growth is rather substantially in part due to its acquisition of Gleacher Shacklock, a London-based boutique bank, and is also obfuscating the fact that the firm cut around 10% of its staff, including 12 partners.
Still, not every firm grows with acquisitions. Evercore, for example: “We hire people one-by-one,” said CEO John Weinberg. “We are not looking for another deal to do." Evercore’s latest acquisition was also for a UK boutique: Robey Warshaw.
The UK has been a standout region for boutiques, despite Europe's economic challenges. Lazard’s CEO, Peter Orszag, noted that its UK advisory business had both a record Q3 and record first nine months of the year. PWP and Evercore’s London acquisitions may have helped.
Lazard might be the exception. It is up just 10 dealmakers since the start of the year, while targeting 10-15 hires per year. That's less than PWP, and barely above what PJT hired, despite PJT having 57% fewer people than Lazard.
Lazard's new joiners might be paid more cash. The firm said it's considering a move to a less deferral-heavy model of compensation.
Lazard’s revolutionary new compensation structure is actually pretty common across its rivals. “The huge incentive here is to align this from an employee retention and attraction perspective,” said Tracy Farr, the firm’s CFO. “The real benefit is an improved quality of the ratio itself, a greater ability for management to manage the comp ratio within a particular year, and a more attractive compensation policy,” Farr said.
It's not happening yet, though. “We have not finally decided to do this,” Lazard CEO Peter Orszag said. “We will have more to say about that in the coming weeks and before year-end.” Unfortunately for Lazard’s bankers, they are accumulating even more deferred stock for the time being.
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