Leaving IB early after accepting PE offer
Hey guys - I recently accepted a summer 2018 PE associate role with an upper MM fund. For those of you who are at banks on a calendar year bonus cycle, what is the norm for departure date? Ideally, I would like to take ~3 months off to travel before starting in PE. Given that my bank does not offer a stub bonus for departing analysts going to PE (i.e., a pro-rated bonus), the forgone base comp isn't enough reason for me to stick around. Would this be frowned upon by PE firms?
Congratz on the PE offer. Although I don't know too much about how your future employer would think if you left, I'd love to hear your story on your recruiting process. How did you get the offer, why you recruited "off-cycle" as opposed to the standard 1.5 years before, and what type of firm you are headed to.
Thanks
my mentor left his IB job after 1.5 years and spent the gap time between his new PE job and leaving his banking job to travel around the world. His PE job was at a mega fund and base on my conversations with him, they didn't seem to care that he quit before the traditional 2 years.
I really don't think leaving 3 months early is going to be an issue, especially since you wouldn't be getting your bonus anyway. When a PE firm hires an IB analyst, it expects the analyst to come on board with a certain skill set and level of experience. Obviously, if you were to leave a year early, that might prevent you from getting to the level you'd be expected to be at, but 3 months isn't really going to matter. Plus you'll join the PE firm completely refreshed and believe me, the last thing a PE firm want is to get associates who are burned out from the get go.
Just to play devil's advocate a little bit, 3 months at the end of a 1 year analyst stint can actually be quite meaningful. If you assume the first 50% of the first analyst year is spent learning basic processes of the job (like spreading comps), then the remaining 50% is spent learning how to work in real transactions. Taking 3 months off would cut the transaction learning period in half, which could be impactful.
And I hear your point on coming to PE 'refreshed' - definitely important. I was fully refreshed after my 3 weeks in Central America, though, and perhaps felt like I had lost a bit of my mojo by drinking mojitos on the beach for 20 days straight. I wonder if I would have just sucked if I'd taken twice the amount of time off - seems likely.
Analyst stint are usually 2 years so 3 out of 18 months of transaction experience is only 17% ;) Obviously, there's potential to learn a lot in those last 3 months, but my experience has been that 2nd year analysts going to PE tend not to get staffed on anything important during their 2-3 last months as senior people don't want to have to switch analyst midway through a deal so I would think you would not be missing out on a lot.
You might have felt sluggish after 3 weeks on the beach, but imagine what 2 years of bschool does to you ;) It definitely took me a month or two to get used to working again after 2 years of non-stop drinking, travelling and sleeping in every morning. Just felt so tired and slow even though I was lucky to start at a relatively slow time. In a sense, it's like when pro athlete come to training camp after the off season, they are a bit out of shape but don't have the physical / mental tiredness that comes later in the season when they've been doing something really intense for a while. As a VP, I would much rather get an associate that is a bit sluggish, but hungry and motivated than one who is at peak performance, but kind of jaded. Obviously in this industry dominated by intense type A people, not everyone thinks like me.....
Why don't you just contact the PE firm and frame it as a discussion of acceptable date ranges for leaving/starting? If they don't care then you can do whatever; if they do care, well then at least you'll know.
~3 months is no big deal. more important things the PE firm worried about...
Have you gotten to know any of the more junior associates? Email/call one of them to ask their opinion. They will know how things like that are viewed at your new employer with limited political risk to you.
i've heard that they do care, and offers are contingent that you finish the analyst program. this feels obvious to me. whether or not they hold it against you is something else.
would just ask.
.
Congratulations on the offer!
Leaving IBD early after getting offer in PE (Originally Posted: 01/15/2016)
Hey all,
I have a question. If you're currently in a 2 year IBD program and you get a summer 2017 PE offer, can you quit your current job (bum around for a year, volunteer, travel etc.) in the interim? I really can't tolerate my current job and have no intention of staying longer than a year. That said, I've prepped extensively for my PE interviews and have solid deal experience so I'm confident I'll land something. This is a serious question because I'm really burning out.
Thank you!
You can, but the PE firm you're signing up for in 18 months could get pissed and revoke the offer.
Oh and fyi, I don't care about my bonus...I have other financial sources
So you have the offer already and just want to quit in the interim and bum around and you seem to have money? Do you really think your PE job will be much better? lol
Stop being soft
Hey guys, don't judge. Not looking for a debate, merely if it's feasible and has been done before without repercussions.
Has it been done? Who knows?!?! I'd guess yes given the thousands of analysts over the years that have transitioned to PE. Yes, someone has probably done what you're describing.
At the end of the day, it's about perception. I would think any person at your new firm (associate onward) would perceive you to be a slacker or a person that's avoiding hardwork given you just up and left your IB program 1 year early for no real reason but you felt like it. Nothing at all is new about analysts hating their jobs. Analysts before and after you have/will hate their jobs.
If I were you, I would do the following:
1) Unless you're being violated or blatantly disrespected at your job, you need to take a minute this holiday weekend to understand the value of your seat. Thousands of young adults want your cube. Humble yourself and be thankful you even have a job in IB.
2) There is much to learn as a 2nd year analyst. You make the most of the projects and the responsibility you take on.
3) Dont be a lazy ass. If you leave early, go to a new job. Maybe some operational role at a fortune 1000. Or maybe start at your buy-side shop early.
The fact that your acting like you're in need of such a long break and you've barely just joined the adult workforce makes you seem VERY weak (maybe spoiled) to me. Life gets nothing but harder and more is expected of you as you move up. If you need months vacation now b/c you hate IB, I just can't see you in an associate PE role.
Most analysts do take some time off between the IB and PE transition. I had 5 weeks and that's a long time. I'd say that's the MAX time needed. Most of my buddies had 1-4 weeks.
Lastly, you don't even have a fucking PE offer. Chill
Ramifications of Leaving IB Early for PE? (Originally Posted: 06/16/2010)
Looking for some advice/information regarding the subject title. I am wrapping up my first year as an analyst (well, technically I've been at it for over a year now, but get paid on June 30 -- the real end of Y1) at a regional office of a decent middle market investment bank. I've gotten a pretty good experience thus far, working on a variety of M&A deals (only two have closed), and will be interviewing at a VC/PE firm in the coming weeks for an end-of-summer start. The fund is small (about $250M in their most recent fund) and they invest in a wide variety of ways -- mid-to-late stage venture capital, growth equity and buyouts for the VC/PE side, but also put some of that money towards hedge funds (acting as a FoF) and real estate. To clarify, my role would solely be focused on the VC/PE side.
At this stage, I'm still thinking I want to go the "path to glory" -- i.e. IB, pre-MBA PE, top MBA, post-MBA PE/VC. While I don't think the path is for everyone, I think an MBA is something I would greatly benefit from given my background.
Basically, I'm wondering two things: (1) Will leaving banking early to do PE at such a small shop preclude me from joining a larger PE firm post-MBA?; (2) Would I possibly be able to transition from the pre-MBA position at said firm to another pre-MBA PE role at a more reputable MM PE firm, or will these places just reject the notion of bringing me in due to my two years of experience? For what it's worth, through reading the job description and speaking with the person in charge of recruiting at the firm, the roles & responsibilities of PE associate seem legit: financial due diligence (i.e. modeling), help lead due diligence efforts on potential investments, assisting with management and tracking of performance of portfolio company management, and, of course, reviewing info memos and performing industry research. There's no sourcing and it is a generalist fund.
Thanks all for your thoughts and opinions. Obviously I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but would like to be prepared in case an offer is extended.
Sounds like a good opportunity. I'll disclaim this by saying I'm still pre-MBA, but I think your post-MBA prospects will be dictated more by what school you attend rather than the prestige of the PE firm you work at pre-MBA. I know plenty of people from MM PE that have walked into Harvard, Wharton, you name it. So I'd say go for it - the whole reason you went into banking was to get into PE, so why run on the treadmill for another year when you can jump out in front?
Disclaimer #2 - I left my bank for the buy side after 18 months, so perhaps I'm biased. Has worked out just fine though, I'm treated just the same as all those that stayed the full 2 years.
If you feel the fund you're interviewing for is a fit - go for it. Give your staffer the finger on the way out.
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