So which boutique is the trendiest right now? Not too long ago, you might have been inclined to say Greenhill & Co. But these days, people are more likely to give Evercore Partners the nod.

Greenhill, which reports earnings Monday, may be at something of a crossroads. Bloomberg reports yet another high level departure. Timothy George, a member of the management committee at Greenhill and a top deal maker, will join Lazard apparently, as "departures from the bank accelerate." The once high-flying boutique investment banks "has lost at least three managing directors since early June after averaging fewer than one such departure annually since its founding in 1996." Simon Borrows, chairman of Greenhill International, is leaving to join a private-equity firm.. Alejandro Przygoda has recently joined Credit Suisse. In addition, three of six associates in New York have left.

The company has suggested that staff levels have been stable and that the departure of three executives is not cause for worry. But the company posted a loss for the first quarter--the first in two and a half years--and the stock is down roughly 35 percent. While analysts expect the company to post a profit for the second quarter, they also expect revenues to fall nearly 15 percent year over year. The gravy train of deals is yet to bear abundant fruit for the bank, as competition mounts from the traditional players and other boutiques. There simply may not be enough gravy to go around.

The reason people joined was because they wanted a massive pay day, and the bloom was off the rose at the traditional investment banks a few years ago. If the payday is not there, we have to assume people will decamp for greener pastures. At a bank like Greenhill, they are not in it for the long haul. Personnel expenses at the bank have surged to a whopping 75 percent of revenue after the banks lifted the number of managing directors 63 percent since 2007, Bloomberg notes.

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