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Title says it all. Was curious about what people's experiences are with going to the buyside straight out of undergrad. I'm currently considering jumping ship without even waiting for the end of my first year. Would appreciate any insights from folks who have took this path or who have friends/other employees in their funds who did it.
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Source: Did an extended internship at a fairly reputable PE shop after UG (now looking for an IBD job).
One con I definitely saw, you don't have the experience of IB. Yes this seems simple but it becomes very glaringly obvious when 'simple' tasks take you 2-3x time to do as the guys who did their time in consulting/IB. You haven't had to process comments on a deck endlessly so you don't know what to look for to make sure your first draft is up to scratch. You haven't built 300 models at 2 am so you won't figure out that a negative was a positive in your model and it doesn't balance. Things like that. You will learn eventually but you will underperform (relatively) for quite a while.
Also another con - your comp would probably be lower or the same as an IB Analyst. Why would they pay you more with less experience?
Pros: (slightly) less bitchwork, less facetime etc
All that being said, there is such variety between PE shops that it's difficult to make generalisations.
thanks for the great insights +1 SB. A question I had in mind was lets say you join the fund straight out of undergrad and work for 1-2 years, a) will you get promoted to Associate (Assuming you work well), b) will your comp balance with what the Associates coming from Banking are making or will the fund underpay you bc your existing base was already lower when you were an analyst in the firm?
Depends on the shop, but a lot of places have a path to Associate. From a comp perspective, you will probably still be below an IB associate but that's the case pretty broadly unless you're going to a megafund. Until you start getting some equity-like economics in the fund, comp will be at or slightly less than what you would be making with the same title at a bank.
Sorry to ask this but I was curious. So you had an extended internship at a reputable PE shop after graduation but now you're unemployed and looking for an IBD job?? Curious to understand the reasoning behind this situation, is it because you're only focusing on a certain geography with not much openings atm? don't you feel stressed that although you had a good experience you couldn't land anything? I'm in a similar situation that's why I'm asking
I probably wasn't very clear but my story is a bit of a mess at this point. I graduated from a non-target and had a IBD gig lined up through insane amounts of networking starting ~March 20. That was probably the worst time to start and the bank (off cycle at a BB) pulled the offer. I networked hard and managed to find an internship as a temporary measure later in 2020 and then extended the internship till the end of 2020. I am now back to being unemployed, looking for IBD jobs and considering doing a MSF at a target.
To add to all that complexity, I'm not in the US and the geography where I live doesn't really have as clear cut a recruiting timeline as the US banks do.
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what about being an analyst at a MF - is it better to go to banking before going to MF / are there big downsides to joining these funds as an analyst?
also interested in analysts programs at KKR/BX and other MFs. A while back I read a great thread on comparing those analyst programs to doing your 2 years in IB but can't find it now. Assuming you want to end up in private equity and like investing, would you vie for one of those MF analyst spots or stay with a really strong and reputable IB product group (my situation) before moving over to PE? Thanks
Those MF analyst spots (assuming they're execution and not sourcing) are golden. PE is a different skillset than IB and those kids get 2 years more of (supervised) reps - they're way ahead of post-IB associate 1s, and some even offer earlier promotion to that level.
Currently a first-year analyst at a decently-known MM PE fund and I hate it. Terrible learning experience, no mentorship, and I don't get to touch any of the interesting work since the Associates absorb most of the modeling/analysis. Trying to lateral into a HF or top EB role now. Happy to PM if anyone wants more details.
Sorry to hear that, onboarding during WFH sucks especially if your team does not connect with you. Good luck with your next move
What kind of work do they have you do? More grunt work / stuff on the qualitative side?
Yup exactly - best case scenario it's qualitative stuff like competitive landscape, industry overviews, etc.
It's pretty a nice entry point if you can get it. You get to skip 2 years.
Some potential things that you might be "giving up" to consider though:
- The network you would have built in IB role
- The more structured, technical training program as PE much more of an apprenticeship model
- While its not fun, the ability to know you can work really hard (though you don't have much a say on the matter)
- Having a well recognised IB brand if you decide PE is not for you.
I started in infra PE out of college after IB internship
Pros:
Cons: