Brendan O'Brien's questions to Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) leadership • Q4 2024
Question
Brendan O'Brien of Wolfe Research asked about the dynamics of cross-border M&A given currency and valuation gaps, and requested an update on the firm's recruiting pipeline and its potential impact on the compensation ratio.
Answer
CEO Andrew Bednar acknowledged the historic valuation gap could drive U.S. companies to acquire in Europe. Regarding recruiting, he confirmed the pipeline is strong at both partner and MD levels and emphasized the focus is on hiring productive, accretive talent to improve conversion rates, rather than on hitting a specific headcount that would directly impact the comp ratio.