How to gauge PE sourcing/execution performance if interested in HFs? How Competitive am I for SM HFs?
I am trying to get a sense of how my profile and performance would be looked upon should I try to recruit to a HF or look at BSchool. With the proliferation of BD/sourcing-focused roles in LMM/MM PE over the past decade+, I would assume there must be some benchmark or way for people to gauge a candidate's relative performance and value-add as a potential hire for generating dealflow. Unfortunately, there aren't many resources or helpful threads on WSO/Google I could find that cover this topic.
For context (some numbers slightly changed for anonymity):
- 27 y/o, non-diversity, semi-target school, business major, 3.4 GPA (lots of side hustles/internships I was more focused on vs classes)
- 6 YOE, 3rd year ASO working for a $1b+ AUM, sector-focused fund (GP is ex-MF) w/ avg. check size ~$50m-75m, investing across NA/EU
- Exp spans both sourcing and execution (time allocation I'd say 80/20). Have sourced 2 deals (executed 3) to close in my career so far with each deal stepping up in terms of the size of the target. All "proprietary" in that I independently built the relationships with bankers who intro'd us (non-sellside processes) or emailed the founders and got 1st contact myself.
- 1st deal was a $30m buyout ($10m+ rev company) at my previous job, off market 1-to-1 deal w/ no other bidders
- 6 months into this job sourced a ~$60m buyout which we unfortunately lost at final bids to a competitor ($20m+ rev) where it's become a platform they've executed 2-3+ add-ons to, off market in that there was no advisor but there were a few other bidders involved
- 18 months in closed a $30m minority investment into my 2nd deal ($20m+ rev), off market 1-to-1 deal w/ no other bidders
- Another minority deal I got us first looks at 10+ months ago ($30m+ rev, $50m+ check), before it was banked, was recently invested in by a top quartile fund which to me signals it would've been potentially worthwhile had my team not disliked some operational aspects (not an operational-heavy fund and it seemed more work was needed than we had resources to support)
- Currently in various stages of DD for several more deals I sourced over the last 2 years (IOIs accepted, all $40m-60m+ rev, checks from $20m-$150m+, mostly off market 1-to-1 deals) and I anticipate we close at least 2 before EOY barring any skeletons/disagreements post-LOI
- Should we close at least 2 of the above in the next 6-8 months, I will have sourced ~$100m-200m+ in equity deployed in ~4 years. If we close all of the above (Hail Mary, wishful thinking but still possible) it will be more like ~$200m-300m+
- Anecdotally with respect to public markets, I've run a PA of 3-4 long concentrated names at any given time + a handful of opportunistic shorts/option plays for 5+ years which has grown >10x to be worth low 7-figs. I recognize this isn't performance (i.e. luck) I can bank on being taken seriously by professional public market investors given the ridiculous environment the last 3 years and unseemly risks I've taken, but I think it speaks to my interest in the discipline and will get me at least some nods for the amount of research I'm capable of doing when looked at in combination with my deal exp
Looking at HFs my preference would SMs with mid to long duration hold periods, sector-focused approach. I am thinking about applying for BSchool in the next 2-3 years in order to develop some pedigree which could help w/ a transition to a HF. My targets would be mostly M7 barring H/S (assume my GPA 100% kills my chances there) as well as a few lower tier programs I believe I could get full scholarships for. Practice tests estimate my GMAT would land in the low 700s and with diligent prep I am confident I could score 750+ (anecdotally my SAT was 98th and ACT 93rd percentile w/ genuinely no prep, SAT taken twice and ACT once).
I don't have any people outside my firm that I can talk about these sorts of things with on a personal-level, so apologies if my questions are unstructured or more stream-of-consciousness. Thank you very much for any advice/input more experienced monkeys are willing to share!
You need to disclose family tree, your entire school history including "did you go to a target kindergarten?" So we can make a holistic assessment.
Pappy was a blue collar man and mummy stayed en la casa. Non-target K-8 but magnet high school. Blood type is O-, my balls dropped when I was 10, I'm of average height, heavier build, and I like my coffee like I like my women - strong, hot, and black. Anything else?
Aut aut fugit non at debitis consectetur voluptatem. Sint fugit et et excepturi sit veritatis dolore. Ut non laudantium reiciendis quis. Quia quis rerum aut eum dignissimos voluptas.
Aut tempora voluptatem asperiores. Omnis vitae asperiores neque veritatis aut a sint. Quia fuga aut aut molestias quia rerum laudantium. Deleniti et rem autem expedita cupiditate nemo qui.
Soluta exercitationem impedit dolores praesentium qui cupiditate. Similique fugiat voluptatibus qui cum aliquam asperiores molestiae. Voluptatem eius veniam vel omnis nihil.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...