Good answer for why IB over PE

CompBanker:

There is no good answer...

~~~~~~~~~~~ CompBanker

CDNmonkey:

Investment banking typically moves at a faster pace and offers the chance to work on more deals.

I'm sure there's some people who have a passion for investment banking, but if you do want to get into private equity investing, I think this is an excellent answer. It's honest and highlights why investment banking fits perfectly in your career interest

TeamLRAM http://teamlram.wordpress.com

I understand that you're trying to script out the "ideal" answer for an interview and it's def. a valid question to post here but I think it's important to come up with a genuine answer, as opposed to just memorizing bunch of lines. Would you prefer being a broker or an investor? Banking focuses on brokering deals. If you like the nature of client servicing and if you're only interested in the transaction process, go for banking. If you're more interested in the entire investment process and following through after the deals, then go with PE. In the long run, both involve maintaining relationships and sales so it's a matter of preference in the attitude/mindset you'll form as a result of the 2 different revenue models. Would you rather be pressured to close deals or give favorable returns to LPs?

junkbondswap:

My answer assumes you are interviewing for an analyst role (as it doesnt apply to associate level hires)

You could mention the following: 1) Your personality is better suited for a more client focused, service oriented job in IB 2) You want to build a solid foundation/skill set in valuation and advisory services (many PE shops do not offer extensive training programs, which is a primary benefit of doing an IB analyst stint) 3) You want to work on a variety of deals and enjoy coordinating/facillitating transactions 4) You enjoy being a salesman

I think this is a good answer. Just be sure to sound like you mean it because they'll sniff out bs if you don't believe in these answers.

junkbondswap:

2) You want to build a solid foundation/skill set in valuation and advisory services (many PE shops do not offer extensive training programs, which is a primary benefit of doing an IB analyst stint) 3) You want to work on a variety of deals and enjoy coordinating/facillitating transactions

This. Not sure about the sales or client facing stuff as an analyst you really don't do much of that.

Getting to work on both a greater number of deals and a greater variety of deals though is a good answer and actually is a legit reason for preferring to start in IB over PE. Getting a solid foundation in finance by working a ton of hours on all different types of deals (including boring $100MM secondary offerings) is painful and definitely more boring than buyside work but there is value in it. I'd still start in PE given the choice, but I think that's a pretty good answer.