Top Investment Banks in Los Angeles by Local Headcount

The top investment banks in Los Angeles by local headcount are Houlihan Lokey, Moelis & Company and Intrepid Investment Bankers. Houlihan Lokey has 127 licensed bankers in Los Angeles County, almost as many as Moelis (79) and Intrepid (55) put together.

We rank firms by the number of FINRA-licensed bankers in their Los Angeles County offices, as published by the Los Angeles Business Journal on 4 May 2026. Headcount is a good guide to where the analyst seats, the senior coverage and the local deal flow actually sit.

For you, the list shows that LA is a mid-market and boutique city. Only two firms have more than 60 local bankers, and most of the rest run teams of 10 to 55 people with clear sector focus.

Which are the top investment banks in Los Angeles?

The table shows the 12 firms we cover, with their rank and banker count from the May 2026 Los Angeles Business Journal list.

Goldman Sachs, Hadley Partners, Covert & Co. and Lionfish Advisors may have qualified but did not give the Business Journal a local banker count, so they are left out of the ranking.

Global advisers with large Los Angeles teams

These four firms are national or global platforms. Their LA offices give you access to large deals, big analyst classes and a broad product set.

1. Houlihan Lokey (127 LA bankers)

Houlihan Lokey is the largest investment bank headquartered in Los Angeles, with its head office in Century City and CEO Scott Adelson as its top local executive. It reported revenue of $2.62bn for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2026.

On LSEG’s 2025 tables, Houlihan Lokey ranked first for all global M&A transactions with 458 deals, ahead of Goldman Sachs with 441. It also ranked first in 2025 global distressed debt and bankruptcy restructuring with 83 deals, against 55 for PJT Partners.

• Best for: restructuring, fairness opinions and high-volume mid-market sell-sides.
• Recruiting angle: the largest local team, with separate Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring and valuation groups.

2. Moelis & Company (79 LA bankers)

Moelis & Company is headquartered in New York, but its CEO and co-founder Navid Mahmoodzadegan is listed as the firm’s top Los Angeles executive. That gives the LA office unusual weight inside the firm.

Moelis reported GAAP revenue of $1,516.8m for 2025, up 27% from $1,194.5m in 2024. It had 178 managing directors at the time of its February 2026 results.

• Best for: large-cap M&A, restructuring and sponsor work led by senior bankers.
• Recruiting angle: an elite boutique seat in LA with the CEO in the same office.

3. Lincoln International (50 LA bankers)

Lincoln International is a Chicago-based mid-market adviser with 28 offices. It opened in Los Angeles in October 2006 and hired Christopher Petrossian from Barclays Capital as Managing Director and Head of Los Angeles in March 2011.

Petrossian is still listed as the firm’s top local executive in 2026. The 2011 expansion added three new LA hires, and the office now has 50 licensed bankers.

• Best for: private equity-owned businesses selling in the lower and core mid-market.
• Recruiting angle: heavy sponsor exposure, which is a common route into buyout funds.

4. Kroll (29 LA bankers)

Kroll is a New York-based financial and risk advisory firm with 77 offices and about 6,500 experts. Its LA team, led by Managing Director Steve Moon, covers sectors from technology and aerospace to restaurants and industrial manufacturing.

• Best for: M&A paired with valuation, fairness and restructuring work.
• Recruiting angle: strong valuation and fairness opinion training alongside deal work.

Los Angeles-headquartered mid-market banks

These firms are run from LA and do most of their work for founder-owned and sponsor-backed companies.

5. Intrepid Investment Bankers (55 LA bankers)

Intrepid Investment Bankers was founded in Los Angeles in 2010 and bought by MUFG Union Bank, as American Banker reported in January 2019. It is now part of MUFG, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Nashville, Charlotte and New York.

Its listed deals lean towards consumer and lifestyle brands, such as Drum Workshop’s sale to Roland and Cloudco Entertainment’s sale to IVEST. CEO Ed Bagdasarian still leads the firm.

• Best for: consumer, beauty, food and beverage and restaurant sellers.

6. CriticalPoint (40 LA bankers)

CriticalPoint was founded in 2012 and is based in El Segundo. Founder and CEO Matt Young runs both an M&A advisory business and a private capital arm that invests equity and private credit in corporate carve-outs and special situations.

• Best for: corporate divestitures and complex situations where the adviser can also invest.

7. B. Riley Securities (30 LA bankers)

B. Riley Securities is a capital markets-led bank run by CEO Jimmy Baker. It reported total revenue of $260.2m for 2025, from over 200 client transactions that raised $42bn of debt and equity.

• Best for: small and mid-cap equity raises, follow-ons and debt placements.
• Recruiting angle: more ECM and DCM exposure than most LA boutiques.

8. Cappello Global (28 LA bankers)

Cappello Global is led by CEO and Chair Alexander L. Cappello. Alongside Los Angeles it has offices in Dallas, Tampa, Naples, Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei.

• Best for: mid-market companies with Asian buyers, investors or operations.

9. Imperial Capital (10 LA bankers)

Imperial Capital has offered advisory services since 1997 from its Century City base. CEO Randall Wooster leads a team focused on restructuring, M&A, valuations and debt and equity financings.

• Best for: stressed balance sheets and special situations in the mid-market.

Los Angeles sector specialists

These smaller firms win on deep relationships in one or two sectors that LA is known for.

10. Salem Partners (25 LA bankers)

Salem Partners was founded in 1997 and is based in West Los Angeles. Its groups cover media, entertainment and technology, healthcare and life sciences, real estate and valuation.

• Best for: film, TV, music and content library deals.

11. The Sage Group (15 LA bankers)

The Sage Group advises branded consumer companies from offices in Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris. Its featured deals include the take-private of Guess? by the Marciano family and Authentic Brands Group in January 2026.

• Best for: apparel, footwear, beauty and specialty retail brands.

12. Greif & Co. (11 LA bankers)

Greif & Co. was founded in 1992 by Lloyd Greif and works from downtown Los Angeles. About half its clients are family businesses, and it advised on the $1.3bn sale of C.R. Laurence to a division of CRH in 2016.

• Best for: founders and families selling a business they built.

How should you use this list?

Local headcount tells you how many people do the work in LA. It does not tell you deal size, so pair it with the sector and product each firm is known for.

If you are recruiting, use the list like this:

• Volume of seats: Houlihan Lokey, Moelis, Intrepid and Lincoln have the largest local teams, so they hire the most analysts in the city.
• Exit options: sponsor-heavy shops such as Lincoln and Houlihan Lokey give you the most private equity contact. Our guide to bulge bracket vs elite boutique banks covers how firm type affects exits.
• Sector fit: consumer and media dominate LA boutiques. If that is your interest, read our ranking of consumer and retail investment banks before you start outreach.
• Restructuring: Houlihan Lokey, Moelis and Imperial Capital give you the most restructuring exposure in the city. Our list of top restructuring investment banks shows how they compare nationally.

If you are choosing an adviser, match the bank to your deal:

• Larger or contested sales: Houlihan Lokey or Moelis.
• Sponsor-backed mid-market sales: Lincoln, Intrepid or CriticalPoint.
• Founder-owned consumer or media businesses: The Sage Group, Salem Partners or Greif & Co.
• Capital raises: B. Riley Securities.

For a national view of the same segment, see our list of middle market investment banks, and use our investment banking networking strategies when you contact LA bankers.

FAQ

What is the largest investment bank in Los Angeles?

Houlihan Lokey is the largest investment bank in Los Angeles by local headcount, with 127 FINRA-licensed bankers in LA County according to the Los Angeles Business Journal in May 2026. It is also headquartered in the city, in Century City, and reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $2.62bn.

Do bulge bracket banks have offices in Los Angeles?

Goldman Sachs does. The Los Angeles Business Journal said it may have qualified for the May 2026 list but declined to give a local banker count, so advisory firms and boutiques lead the ranking above. Check each large bank’s careers page for its current LA coverage teams before you apply.

Which Los Angeles banks are best for restructuring?

Houlihan Lokey is the clear leader, ranking first in LSEG’s 2025 global distressed debt and bankruptcy restructuring table with 83 deals. Moelis also advises on restructurings, and Imperial Capital focuses on restructuring and special situations from its Century City office.

Is Los Angeles a good place to start an investment banking career?

Yes, if you want mid-market M&A, restructuring, consumer or media deals. The city has fewer large-cap seats than New York, but firms such as Houlihan Lokey, Moelis and Lincoln give you strong deal volume and sponsor contact, which supports a later move into private equity.

Conclusion

Houlihan Lokey leads the investment banks in Los Angeles with 127 local bankers, followed by Moelis, Intrepid and Lincoln International. Below them, LA is a city of sector boutiques in consumer, media and restructuring. Pick the firm whose sector and deal size fit your goal, then use its local headcount to judge how many seats or senior bankers you can reach.

P.S. If you are planning outreach to LA bankers, the Investment Banking Contacts Database [Global] gives you the names to start with. Our Premium Resources have more tools you may find useful, and the Private Equity Bros newsletter brings you weekly finance updates and the latest financial reports.

Sources

• Investment Banks
• Houlihan Lokey Reports Fiscal Year and Fourth Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Investment Banking Services | No 1. Ranked | Houlihan Lokey
• Moelis & Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results; Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 Per Share and Board Approves New $300 Million Share Repurchase Authorization
• B. Riley Securities Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• MUFG Union buys investment bank with middle-market focus
• Lincoln International Expands Los Angeles Office; Christopher Petrossian Joins Lincoln International as Managing Director and Head of Los Angeles