What kind of firm will the new Perella Weinberg Partners be? It most likely will not be a private equity fund, according to Philip Yates, one of four PWP partners based in London. “There are too many potential conflicts of interest,” Yates, formerly co-head of M&A in Europe at Merrill Lynch, told The Times of London. The firm, which opened Thursday in New York with $1 billion reportedly from 11 of the biggest financial institutions and wealthy families, also includes among its partners Tarek Abdul-Meguid, who exited Morgan Stanley last year with Joseph Perella; and William Kourakos, also an MS alumnus, who together with Meguid will head PWP’s investment management division.