The MD promotions at Moelis mark the difference between rhetoric and reality. : The boutique mergers-and-acquisitions advisory firm Moelis & Co., founded in 2007 by ex-UBS and DLJ rainmaker Ken Moelis, is competing with the biggest banks on Wall Street and winning huge deals. For the full-year 2017, Moelis ranked third in both U.S. and global boutique M&A rankings and 10th in the overall U.S. M&A rankings, according to Dealogic.