What sets DC Advisory apart
DC Advisory is the global corporate finance arm of Daiwa Securities Group, Japan's second-largest investment bank, and was formed in its current shape when Daiwa acquired the corporate finance division of Close Brothers Group in 2009 and renamed it in 2010 (an independent overview of the structure sits at Daiwa Securities Group's Wikipedia entry).
The firm now spans more than 750 professionals across 24 offices in Asia, Europe, and the US, organised into 11 industry-focused teams, with a stated emphasis on cross-border M&A, debt advisory and restructurings, and private capital. For an applicant choosing between a bulge-bracket platform and a mid-market boutique, the distinguishing feature is the Daiwa parentage: deal flow has a Japan and broader Asia tilt that an independent US or European mid-market boutique would not have, which compresses Asia-Pacific cross-border exposure earlier in an analyst's career than is typical at a comparably sized firm.