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MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: A new investment bank opened up in New York on Thursday. Perella Weinberg Partners is what they call a boutique firm, that will cater to wealthy investors and companies. Marketplace’s Ethan Lindsey wonders what happened to the common investor?

ETHAN LINDSEY: Investment bankers used to be all about the hoity-toity. But the big name firms have all gone public and merged with consumer banks.

BRAD HINTZ: And what we’ve increasingly seen in terms of Wall Street is that these firms have become larger and larger and more bureaucratic organizations.

Analyst Brad Hintz with Sanford Bernstein says i-bankers worry they’re being relegated to advising the hoi polloi.

On Thursday, former Morgan Stanley rainmaker Joseph Perella struck a blow for the upper crust when he opened the doors of his boutique trading firm.

Some say this could be the beginning of a trend. Does this mean the little guy investor is back at the end of the line?

HINTZ: What it really means is these are fun places to work. That’s a very curious thing to say, but to a dealmaker this is like going to Rome.

In the end, Thursday’s announcement may just be Wall Street splitting up after a wave of too many mergers.

I’m Ethan Lindsey, for Marketplace.