I have spent the past several weeks looking for opportunities with credit funds (both performing and distressed). With little to no progress made, I think I need some advice on how to find opportunities, gain traction, land interviews, etc. Thanks in advance for any insight.
Background
I spent three years as a leveraged finance analyst and then jumped off to business school (a top 10 school). My b-school summer was spent with a small buyout shop. After finishing my MBA, I took a workout/restructuring opportunity with a company with a large portfolio of distressed credits. Two (very busy) years later now, and I am ready to jump into a role where I can help put money to work.
Interests
I like the debt side of the balance sheet, and I consider myself fairly well versed in credit (Lev Loans / High Yield) and the related legal docs. Structured deals / CMBS / MBS aren't really my thing, as I enjoy taking a pretty fundamental view on a debtor and its business vs a pool of loans or mortgages.
Preparation
In preparation for the search process, I have overhauled my resume and prepared a few investment write ups on credits that I think are interesting and relevant. I have sourced job postings from bloomberg and alumni sites, but the credit investing universe is nowhere near as big as the Equity L/S world. My network is fairly limited as well- which is probably a huge disadvantage to overcome in my search.
The Bottom Line....
And the response has been.....pretty much no response at all. I can't figure out why. Thoughts / suggestions / words of wisdom? I know the search process can be more of a marathon and a sprint, but I just want to make sure I'm not ignoring any blind spots along the way.
Again, thanks-
Do you have experience in synthetic or structured credit? What sort of role have you held dealing with the "large portfolio of distressed credits"? Sounds like a CIT-style portfolio management role at a non-bank lender? Did you actively model your companies/complete any new transactions? The credit space has seen a ton of consolidation, especially as more and more of the CLO/senior/MM money out there gets bought up by equity sponsors or larger AM firms and more and more credit prop desks shut down, and the number of seats out there has definitely been shrinking. This is even more prevalent in cash syndicated loans.
Thanks for the response. Not much experience in synthetic or structured deals. On the modeling front, I do model all of the deals/credits on my plate. Consolidation is certainly a factor, but I still feel like I am doing something wrong or leaving something out in my search. Thoughts / suggestions on a strategy? on a direction to look?
Again, thanks. Much appreciated.
I don't really know what to tell you in terms of your search-are you using headhunters? What sort of exits have you seen from other people in your group?
I have been in contact with headhunters, but no solid leads there really. Many are exclusively focused on the long / short equity funds. That doesn't really help me since I am focused on credit/debt investing.
On your question about exits, my group was created a few years ago to deal with the increasing number of distressed credits in the portfolio - so there really have been any exits quite yet.
Fairly unique situation. Thanks for the insight though. Much appreciated.
I've been lurking around here for a while now - I've finally pulled the trigger and joined. The insight on this board has been very helpful.
Sorry for Reviving an old thread, but its very relevant to my situation. From those that are knee deep in credit focused buyside shops, where do you see the hiring market over the next 6 months or so? For a bit of my background (purposely vague) I have over 5 years of credit experience (less than 10 years; eg, lev fin, not risk) and I can use the three letters on my biz card that many go crazy over.
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