How to be a better PE Analyst
I’m an analyst at an UMM/MF PE shop, coming up on the end of Y1. I know sentiments like this have been shared before but I really struggle with keeping up with the associates, finding a place on deal teams etc. I worry about my performance a lot. It’s a unstructured program in practice, so I don’t have a lot to follow.
How hard in general is to get fired from PE analyst programs? Any advice on how to be better at the job, since there aren’t any 2nd year analysts in my group to learn from and the answer from the ex-bankers is typically “just figure it out” and “you have it way better than we did? I feel like I do the stuff like come in first leave last check your work etc. but we work remotely a lot so often it’s hard to know what’s going on, I struggle with tight timelines and being both quick and accurate, and I’m honestly very worried I’m behind people in banking. Could anyone from WSO give any guidance on how a PE analyst can best be a resource to their team and progress towards an associate role? I really dread each month ending wondering at what point I’ll feel remotely comfortable, and WSO‘s been a huge resource to me so wanted to ask. I frankly feel like I have to read minds because the associates simply know so much more and get mad when I don’t know what they want, and my firm talks about what great mentorship resources there are but frankly it sounds like my friends in banking are getting more of it. At what point should you start to feel like you can complete analyses confidently and quickly?
This is why buyside out of undergrad might not be the best choice for everyone
Agree - but with a caveat.
buyside analyst programs are great IF and only IF they are established with a solid training program, which is not OPs case it seems.
as such, the ones with best training on par (or even better than banking if you want to be in PE) tend to be the Megafunds with long established analust programs such as Blackstone, KKR, Warburg, Vista, Silver Lake, etc.
Would caveat the list to say only BX has a truly proven analyst program (around 20 years old). KKR had to shut down their analyst program for a few years in the late 2010s due to poor performance. Warburg and SL are newer and I can't speak to their track record well (Also only hire FT by poaching banking interns, they don't have a dedicated SA role). Vista also doesn't let Analysts touch the models, which isn't optimal for exiting the firm.
I've heard the best analyst programs are Bx and WP. Are KKR/Vista/Silver Lake really that fleshed out already?
Are you in the US or EU? My friend was ”advised” to seek other roles 6 mths into his MM PE job
Dude please delete this thread. It was super easy to find you and the firm you work at
Or change your name….
Rlly? How tho? All we kno is that he's a AN1 at UMM/ MF. Several MFs have analyst programs now ...
His previous WSO name was just his real name but backwards, and the other comment he posted was with his second account (and there he used his full name). Found his LinkedIn in under 10 seconds
Following. I moved from banking during my first year to a growth fund (due to layoff). I’m the sole analyst and it’s difficult to tell if I’m getting exposure to the right things at this stage. Getting a lot of face time with management and we have closed a couple investments so far but the modeling has been light. I think I’m going to need to self study on the weekend to replicate a legit PE training program because all I have under my belt at this point is IB training from last summer.
Thoughts on how long to stay at a LMM fund and how to trade up to a more institutional platform when the market improves? I get regular inbound from HH for similar strategies but I don’t want to take those calls without a game plan. Have been a little concerned that I didn’t get to finish off my IB analyst program but realize I could be in a worse position if I didn’t manage to break back into FO finance. My initial idea was 2+2 so I’ve found myself on the buyside a lot earlier than planned.
Also at a LMM fund and would like to know more about lateraling once the economy recovers.
How did you find the GE analyst opportunity? HH or networking? Trying to find a buyside role after leaving IB but struggling to get traction with HHs.
Just want to note that this guy is at one of the large established MF analyst programs (i.e., one of the ones mentioned above as being very good) so obviously YMMV on experience and learning. Even if it’s a MF, starting in IB is still the best option for some folks
you mentioned working remotely - does your team have an office?
I will suggest you go into office everyday if you have team members in the office, it's much better for learning the other stuff IMO (i.e. shortcuts, or just popping by over their desk and asking for their thoughts, overhearing conversations about problems they are facing in a process and learning).
I personally have found it quite helpful to be in office, and have taught my intern lots of shit
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