MBB -> PE vs IB -> PE
Hi,
I'm studying a bachelor's degree at one of the best European universities. In the future, I would like to work in Private Equity, but I have also always wanted to try working in MBB (it seems to me much more interesting and interesting than IB and has a better WLB).
Do you think that working at MBB would limit my exit opportunities to PE/HF? I would mainly aim for UMM PE in London and Frankfurt. I could also transfer to IB, for example, after a year at MBB, but I think it would slow down my career progression.
MBB -> IB is very unlikely. Barely happens.
MBB -> HF is even more unlikely. Happens only in exceptions (e.g. you worked at an HF before or know someone)
MBB -> PE is definitely feasible. Just take a look at PEs in Frankfurt (e.g. Cinven, Bridgepoint, Advent). You'll find plenty of ex-MBB there (a surprisingly large share of ex-BCG actually; though, if you are set on PE, I'd recommend Bain)
Hope that helps
Thanks for the helpful information! On the other hand, I suspect the transition to VC is easier with MBB experience. Do you think I should apply to Roland Berger too? Do you know how much the salary is in VC (funds, accelerators) compared to IB/PE?
Yes, I think that MBB prepares you better for VC than IB does.
Across the board, the average VC only delivers a return when there's a bubble. Also taking into consideration the unfortunate startup landscape in Europe, I guess most VCs will pay substantially below PE or IB. That being said, VC is very different from PE and you need to be passionate about the field. Some of my friends ended up at some large VCs and they hated it.
And finally, I hate to break it to you but getting into MBB or top IB is not that easy. In Germany (I guess you are German), most successful candidates have several relevant internships. A typical way looks something like Big4 -> no-name M&A -> MM IB -> BB SA -> BB FT. For MBB, it is fairly similar. So the answer to your question of whether you should apply to Roland Berger depends on whether you already have enough prior experience to succeed at MBB. If not, I highly recommend going for Tier 2 and Tier 3 firms first.
push
MBB to PE is very feasible if that is what you want to do. There are some funds that don't hire ex consultants but these days a ton of attractive funds hire consultants. Also be aware of sample biases. In banking I'd say ~90% want to exit to PE whereas at my MBB approx ~5-10% have that goal. When it comes to staffing preferences, the majority of people wants to do anything non finance/non PE/CDD related lol.
If you have an interest in finance it should not be too difficult to exit to a solid fund.
Out of curiosity, what do people after MBB want to do (and do)?
Bear in mind that I am speaking for Europe (Germany). In general among the junior class finance is super unpopular. The reason why is that a lot of juniors are afraid to work with numbers / models and also are afraid of bad hours. PE practice and anything transaction related (i.e. M&A / IPO support) is notorious for long hours.
I'd say a ton of people at my firm come in with a very specific interest. i.e. you have newjoiners with a background in engineering who are super passionate about climate-tech. You have a lot of people interested in digital / tech. Others are very much interested in life sciences / healthcare.
As compared to banking, much more people stay after coming back from an MBA/PhD leave. Those that leave after time will mostly go to corporates, some VC and also a lot of start ups.
PE in general is unpopular. You typically have approx. 5-10% of people in the firm with prior finance background (through University or internships) who actually like to do do PE. Bear in mind that I am not at Bain, where probably there is a self selection of PE / finance interested people.
wtf, lol!
This also astonished me, lmao. We have preference lists floating around for new joiners and the staffers told me that most people cross anything BESIDES finance related work.
In general I would say the vast majority would like to work on digital and consumer goods related projects. I mean ... we are at MBB and not an IB. You have a lot of girls (not to make a generalization, but that is the pattern I observed) who would love to do large scale marketing projects particulary for consumer goods firms.
These are people who couldn't walk you through a DCF. Why would you expect hat they would like to exit to PE?
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I also wonder the same question! Ultimately, PE is the end goal for me. Many people say you should go to IB then PE. But I've previously worked in banking (but alas not IB, rather custodian) and I think I prefer to go the MBB route. As the replies here suggest and from a few of people that I see have made the switch from MBB to PE.
Just to be clear if you really see PE "as the endgoal" you should def. be in banking. PE exits are possible from consulting but the overall likelihood to end up at any PE is much higher coming from banking. Basically every fund recruits bankers. Not every fund recruits consultant.
On top of that you really need to be at MBB to have a good shot at PE recuriting. If you are at a T2 bank, heck, even a MM bank you can still exit to MM/lower MM funds. If you don't work at MBB but rather a T2 consultancy firm your chances for PE reduce drastically.
Just to make that clear.
Thank you and I completely agree unless it's MBB the chance decreases drastically to make the transition to PE.
bump
If you want PE/HF just do banking
It's just a 2 year pit stop anyway
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