Company: HLI
Filing Date: 2025-05-15
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001302215-25-000024
Chunk: 18

Company: HOULIHAN LOKEY, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-05-15
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 18
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 not compensate on a commission-based pay model. Our compensation structure for junior financial professionals is based on a system of meritocracy whereby bankers are rewarded for past performance and expectation of future development, and compensation levels are tested against prevailing market compensation for bankers at similar levels.

4

The primary sources of recruitment for our junior financial professionals are leading undergraduate and graduate programs around the world. Our consistent hiring practices year after year have created partnerships with these institutions and resulted in a steady and high-quality pipeline of junior financial professionals. To supplement this annual class of new hires, we opportunistically and strategically hire professionals with experience and backgrounds relevant to our various businesses. Regardless of title, we place a high degree of emphasis on cultural fit, technical capability and individual character. When we hire junior financial professionals, we hire them directly into one of our business practices to enable them to begin to develop their relevant skill set from day one.

Across our firm, we devote significant time and resources to training and mentoring our employees to ensure every person achieves their highest possible potential. We strive to identify and cultivate future leaders within our firm and are committed to developing our brightest and most ambitious junior professionals into Managing Directors. This philosophy of investing in our people has been and will continue to be core to our culture and organization. As of March 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, we employed 2,702, 2,601, and 2,610 people, respectively, worldwide.

Competition

Our competitors are other investment banking and financial advisory firms. We compete on both a global and a regional basis, and on the basis of a number of factors, including industry knowledge, transaction execution skills, strength of client relationships, reputation, and price. We believe our primary competitors vary by product and industry expertise and would include the following: for our CF practice, Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Lazard, Inc., Lincoln International LLC, Moelis & Company, Piper Sandler Companies, Raymond James Financial, Inc., Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Rothschild & Co SCA, William Blair & Company, LLC, and the bulge-bracket investment banking firms; for our FR practice, Evercore Inc., Lazard, Inc., Moelis & Company, Perella Weinberg Partners, PJT Partners Inc., and Rothschild & Co. SCA; and for our FVA practice, the “big four” accounting firms, Alvarez & Marsal, Kroll, LLC, Lincoln International LLC, and various global financial