Moving to PE too early

Hello monkeys, hoping to get some advice regarding career moves (RE focused but anyone welcome).

Currently working for an in-house developer and we have no deal flow. Long-term goal is the typical acquisition seat in a pe-fund and I have opportunities as funds gear up to buy distressed or reversionary assets so making the jump is doable now and in the future. While we have no deal flow, we do look at a lot of opportunities and my role is expanding beyond UK to central Europe (hello Poland).

My dilemna is I trust my boss and he said to stay put for now. I had a very candid conversation with him about being bored and my aspirations and he said I am young and to enjoy this while it lasts. He goes out of his way to make sure I network more than my peers so career-wise he is making sure I am still progressing. He says if I stay another year he will help me land a spot. He has also reached out to give me higher discretionary bonuses. Point being - I trust him. But relationships are only great if I move to a shop that lets me originate or once I am 50 and can run a fund.

Question for the monkeys, has anyone moved to PE and thought they moved too early? Am I being naive trusting my boss? I feel like a career is long and spending another year isn't the end of the world but I don't want to waste my time and recruit for the same positions in a year's time as I could now.

 
Most Helpful

Acquisitions side for an LP here. Idk why you would want to move from that relationship but sure it’s worth networking/developing warm leads into PE should that be your ultimate goal. Be warned, it’s pretty slow on our end and I find myself mainly bidding 15-20% below guidance on the few active deals or helping asset management in this environment, so not exactly a fast-paced climate.

As a side note, you will have a “relatively easier time” moving up the ladder and running a small development shop than vice versa with PE. The amount of capital to kick off a PE fund is multiples that of a GP fund given the strategies and nature of the two. 

 

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