The coronavirus pandemic abruptly ended a seven-year mergers and acquisition boom and left boutique investment banks with a challenge: proving they are more than just “deal shops”.
Fees from M&A are falling sharply as cautious corporate clients focus on weathering the recession. That leaves boutiques exposed, as they lack the big trading and capital markets businesses that have picked up the slack at diversified rivals such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.
“When the M&A spigot dries up for a while — and truth be told, we don’t know how long that will be — it will become more apparent how well each business model weathers that,” said Paul Taubman, chief executive of the advisory firm PJT Partners.