Illustriously paying New York boutique adds BofA Industrials MD

Boutique investment banks are some of the best places to be if you’re a banker – especially ones that have a reputation for paying near enough $850k per head. On average.

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This might be what has promoted Matt Kovner to join PJT Partners, the high-paying boutique founded by Paul Taubman. Kovner joined as an MD in the New York office this month. He previously spent three years in BofA's industrials team. BofA promoted him to MD just a year prior to his departure.

Both PJT and Bank of America’s M&A teams have had pretty mixed years. According to market intelligence firm LSEG (formerly Refinitiv), PJT’s M&A revenue fell by 9% between 2023 and 2024, despite the last time we checked on the firm (after its Q3 results) indicating that it was due one of its best years ever. BofA’s M&A revenue was flat year-on-year, too. The global pool grew by 7%, making both scenarios rather bitter.

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