IB -> Growth Equity vs Straight to Growth Equity
I wanted some opinions on this topic. I am interested in a career in GE long term, but contemplating whether I should do an analyst stint in IB and try to break in to GE or try to break in straight out of undergrad. Lots of people on here argue that going straight to GE will not give me enough technical/finance skills, as many roles focus mainly on sourcing.
Background: finance major, so have a basic understanding of finance. Will also intern in IB next summer at a BB/EB.
My question is: is the IB skill set really that differentiating? How proficient do you need to be at modeling? Would I even use those skills in GE?
I also have a hard time believing that Analysts at the top Growth Equity firms (GA/Insight & MF Growth) make $150k+ and do nothing but cold-calling. There has to be more substance to the role, no?
Sourcing is not all analysts do at most of these places, it is most of what they do. Diligence responsibility comes as you prove yourself within the sourcing model. As a first year analyst at a MF growth arm I did around 80% sourcing, second year it was 50/50
Thanks for the insight! What are the actual skills gained from sourcing? Is this an opportunity to grow industry knowledge in the industry by speaking to executives or is it more like pitching your capital to companies? I understand that there won't be a ton of modeling as a first year, but are there aspects of market research or company evaluation incorporated into the sourcing model or is it straight up dialing from a given list of companies?
I would be interested to hear what you think the pros and cons were for you in going the MF Growth route out of undergrad instead of doing IB first.
Not to hijack but can you quote some associate comp figures for MF Growth and other GE firms (GA, TA, etc) if you know them?
And approximate hours/week?
The analyst skill set at GE shops is primarily sourcing which while important in many respects is not nearly as helpful for the most part as the skillset gained from a top tier IB shop. This is just my 2 cents. I'm sure people might disagree
I'd do IB --> GE
This is what I've been hearing. Considering the person above said that their Analyst years was 80/20 sourcing/diligence in Year 1 and 50/50 in Year 2, I wonder if this is comparable to the skills learned in IB. There seems to be so much powerpoint formatting and b/s admin work at the Analyst level in IB, especially in Year 1. Just having the exposure to the deal process in IB is exciting to me and I think I would be able to learn a lot from people through actual work, but more importantly, through listening from seniors.
I wonder if being proactive and showing interest at a Growth shop would allow me to gain more deal exposure or if things are much more strict.
What do you learn in banking that you don't get in GE?
Running broad sell-side auction is the primary one from a sell-side persecptive. Then advising a larger company on roll-up strategies is the other from buy-side. Both are useful as I now run a business that's frequently involved in roll-ups
Interesting. So it sounds like it might be more of the process familiarity rather than the accounting / modeling? As far as I can tell, given a few late nights, most of the accounting / modeling you can pick up on the fly.
However, perhaps I'm underestimating some level of implicit understanding of corporate finance and transaction dynamics that comes with two years of modeling / IB. Anyone is welcome to weigh in.
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