Lazard Ltd · Hamilton Bermuda ·(NYSE: LAZ)

It's all for one and one for all at Lazard. The venerable firm (dating back to 1848 New Orleans) offers financial advisory (some 60% of sales) and asset management services from offices in some two dozen countries. Lazard provides advice in corporate restructurings and mergers & acquisitions. Industry specialties include consumer, health care, energy, real estate, media, and telecom. Its asset management operations have about $134 billion in assets under management. Lazard provides investment management to primarily institutional clients. Subsidiaries include private equity firm Fonds Partenaires-Gestion, which invests in French companies, and Lazard Frères Banque, which manages Lazard's commercial positions. To read the full description, subscribe now.

• The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
• Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
• Morgan Stanley