Valuation Analyst - MM/Boutique IB Firm; Job Role & Exit Opps

An opportunity has recently come up for me with a Boutique Investment Bank in its Valuations group. In general, the work was described to me as "portfolio valuation of illiquid debt and equity securities for investment companies, credit opportunity, private equity, venture and hedge funds." Hours would be ~80/week with heavy emphasis on modeling, particularly DCF-based models.

My primary question/concern is if this is a suitable route to take. The firm is based in Chicago, which is where I would like to live long-term. I currently work in a MM corporate lending role with ~1 year of experience and will be taking L1 of the CFA in June (expecting to pass). My role/position is a little more unique than typical corporate lending at a traditional financial firm in that we are funded off private client and brokerage account excess cash rather than deposits or other traditional commercial/retail/consumer bank sources of funds. We are expected to treat our position moreso as a "Loan Fund," often participating in large syndications of Term Loan B's for around BB-rated companies with $300MM+ in annual EBITDA. I have pretty consistent deal flow, fair hours (~50/wk), and am in line for more leadership roles. I am the go-to analyst for any impromptu work from senior management and am often chosen by lending officers for new deals before other analysts.

With respect to best route to take - I would like to pursue a position as an IB analyst as I enjoy the modeling aspect of the work I have done, but would like to put more emphasis on valuing a company rather than simply determining repayment capacity, like I do now. I'd also love to be in a Sponsor Finance/Leverage Finance role, and would like to (eventually) break into PE. I also am open to pursuing a competitive MBA, but am unsure if my current firm/role carries enough "prestige" to get into a top-20 or top-10 program (GMAT 690, took a year ago while in university). Any information on exit opps from valuation analyst roles at MM IB firms or corporate lending roles would be extremely helpful! Thanks all.