Boutique bank PJT hired more dealmakers than juniors this quarter
America’s big banks posted their results earlier this month, and now it’s time for America’s boutique banks. The first line, which was released today, was Paul Taubman’s boutique, PJT Partners.
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PJT did well, notching a record quarter in both revenue and pretax income. More notably, the firm added eight new partners across Q1, going from 133 to 141. The new partners were all in either strategic advisory (M&A) or restructuring. Those numbers do not account for departures, but it means that those two factions make up 79% of PJT’s partners – Park Hill, its private equity arm, did not gain any new partners.
The number of total employees was not up so dramatically. From 1,224 at the start of the quarter to 1,229 at the end. Given the increase in partners, it’s very possible that PJT’s non-partner headcount declined by a percent throughout the quarter.
It’s likely that headcount will continue to grow. CEO and founder Paul Taubman noted that the firm was “well positioned to thrive,” and gushed over its “future growth prospects.”
Pay was a high point for PJT, too. The firm’s total compensation bill for the quarter shot up by 27%, and due to the flat headcount, average pay per head rose from $194k to $228k. The bank could be on track to pay $1.1m on average by the end of the year, depending on how things go.
As usual, the messianic, zealous praise of PJT’s employees was part of its quarterly disclosure. “The humility of the people here,” one employee was employed to reminisce. “For a firm full of such impressive, high caliber individuals, it was amazing to see how the humility of our people makes everyone constantly strive to be better, learn, grow and support our culture.” Presumably the employee who said that also considers themselves impressive, high caliber, and humble.
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