FT Advice: PE at Family Office or IBD interviews??
So I already posted this over in ibd but it wasn’t getting much traction, and I think people over here will be better suited to answer it anyway.
I'm a rising senior at a semi-target liberal arts school. I have a strong resume/academics and last summer received a fair amt of BB interviews. Instead I worked for a v. large family office, in the PE division.
The summer has been great and I have learned a ton. The quality of life cannot be beat (60 hrs a week, really cool people, relaxed work environment). What I am worried about, however, is whether working in a place like this will be a good launching pad for a career in PE. The deal flow here is very slow; most are co-invests/directs sourced by the sponsors we have relationships with. There is also a significant amount of time spent managing the money we have directed in sponsor funds. Finally, I suspect I would be more in training mode for the first year, and wouldn’t be staffed on many live deals. I would suspect I would only be on 5-10 deals total if I were here for 4 years.
I love PE, from what I’ve done this summer, and I am passionate about pursuing it as a career. If I want to be best prepared, should I try to land a BB IBD job for next year??
Thanks. I really appreciate any advice!
So let me get this straight. You're afraid of accepting a job at a pe firm because you're afraid working at a pe firm isn't the best place to start a career in pe.
I'm not saying that you don't have valid concerns with regards to the deal flow but you have to realize how ridiculous this question sounds.
What does a "large family office in the PE division" mean?
The company I work for is a family office, and part of their portfolio is PE; both directs/co's and money we have with managers. There is a dedicated team who works on thie part of the portfolio.
He is asking this question because he will be working for basically a Registered Investment Advisor who will make co investments or direct investments in PE funds.
Although there is a lot of qualitative work there is not a lot of quantative work like in a direct PE firm. This would be my guess.
The network you will develop in the PE role will far outweigh the benefits of having Morgan Stanley or whoever on your cv - you will be gaining proper experience, running models, speaking with CFOs and learning what is involved in PE - go to IBD you will learn how to correctly format a slide book and double-check numbers in someone else's model.
Plus please dont underestimate the difference between 60 hours a week and 90-120 - you will be happier!!!
Mothafucka, you do not realize how monkey-fied your way of thinking becomes in IBD. A year into my analyst stint, I can identify erroneous double spaces between words when viewing a hard copy of a book. My corporate finance acumen has improved greatly. I know how a Reverse Morris Trust works. I know how to properly value NOLs. I can set up GAAP and non-GAAP tax schedules. I can build complex models. I know that I should always feed hard codes into a sensitivity table. I blaze through books using the Align function in PowerPoint.
And I still can't identify a strong investment without consulting an interview guide's take on what makes a good LBO candidate.
Please choose wisely.
Yea I realize it may sound ridiculous, but its not a pe firm, its a family office where one component of the portfolio is pe. There is a huge difference between this and working at kkr, or a mm fund. We don't fundraise, we dont source many deals, and a huge amount of our capital is deployed into funds as opposed to actual investments. Alot of the day to day is simply listening to managers pitch funds, updating our marks and then 'researching.'
That sounds kind of cool.
I hate double posts.
how big is the family office in assets? one benefit is permanent capital if it's just family money.
i would think the experience is similar to being at a FOF/co-investments group at like a hamilton lane. it won't get you a job at KKR but should still be an interesting experience. does the group lead any deals? what are the backgrounds of people in the group?
It would rank in the top 5% of FOs in terms of AUM. Capital is definetly permenant, PE dedicated capital is ~10% of the total capital. Backgrounds are very diverse but most of the younger guys came straight here from UG or after a few years at a bank. Upward mobility here is also a problem, there is little in the way of a set career path yet leaving is looked down upon.
Your point about not getting a job at KKR is what bothers me. I'm not really looking for an interesting expirience, my goal is to work in PE for a company aggresively pursuing deals. I'm pretty sure I would be a strong candiate for a BB full time (assuming anyone actually hires)...should I pursue this?
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