Presiding over the M&A league tables are some unlikely players. Fortune reports that boutique investment banks like Evercore Partners are becoming the new centers of power onWall Street, as bankers move from larger investment banks to smaller, younger firms that focus on only one thing: selling advice.
And despite being small, boutique firms' streamlined approach is successful. Evercore has counseled on some of the biggest deals in history, including advising Wyeth on its sale to Pfizer and the $80 billion rescue of General Motors. It ranks seventh in M&A league tables, ahead of Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.
And it's been hiring. Since 2008, Evercore has doubled its headcount, hiring nearly 24 senior bankers, some who used to work at bulge-bracket firms and shunned the conflict and regulatory spotlight plaguing the larger firms in favor of a simpler approach. Evercore also hands out top signing bonuses, often in excess of $5 million.