PE directly from undergrad

Blackstone, Cereberus, Audax -- those are the big ones. I've heard KKR comes for the Summer and FT now at every select places. Bain Capital Ventures has been recruiting for the past 2 years. I heard from a friend at Harvard that Goldman's Infrastructure PE was hiring this year.

On the other hand, sometimes certain firms send out 'one-time opportunities' to undergrads. There will be a posting from your school's Career Services -- XYX PE firm is looking for someone. e.g. Monitor Clipper Partners was recruiting recently.

I got my break by cold-calling Principals and VPs at my current PE firm. I got really, really lucky.

2. Compensation: base seems the standard 60K everywhere. That's what my friend who goes to Audax is getting. Bonus is variable. I've heard the Blackstone guys get up to 200K or more. Audax told my friend that bonus should range between 100 to 120% of base. Bain Cap Ventures has some sort of "deal fee" or something. If they invest in a company you source, you get money.

3. I should think so.

4. Blackstone is a 3 year contract, heard this first-hand. Mine is a 3 year contract. Don't know about others. You probably need an MBA to get promoted.

5. I guess it depends on the firm. I don't plan to and I don't think the BX guys will either. Audax is a great firm and I don't see why they would, but I heard the lifestyle is nuts. My guess is that his is all over the place based on personal preferences.

Audax is MM - not even close to large-cap status.

Sounds like Bain Capital Ventures has a similar recruiting profile to that of their fixed-income fund, although the BCV fund is much, much smaller than any of Bain's core PE funds.

What do you think of Sankaty? How is the comp -- in line with top HFs or more like PE? Or less?

I know a fella who turned down multiple BB offers for Sankaty. Didn't know it was that good...

Don't know what Sankaty's comp looks like.

I was doing a third-round interview for Bain Capital's traditional PE group and one of my seven interviewers was an MD at Sankaty Advisors. Not sure why he interviewed me, but during the course of our discussion he told me about their analyst / associate dynamic (since I'd have two years at MBB under my belt when starting, I would have come in as an associate). I suppose if someone knows that they really want to work for a fixed-income fund it could be a nice gig, but it's not like people transition from Sankaty into other groups at Bain Capital.

blackstone pe recruits undergrads from wharton and harvard; any other school represented in their pe group's analyst class would be an exception.

silver lake started hiring undergrads formally in the fall of 2006 (i.e. the first kid they took is nearing the end of his first year) and did so more extensively in this past fall of 2007 where they hired 3 analysts, all from wharton. it is not that they hire by "exception" but just that they have started doing it recently and only at W.

kkr's PRIVATE EQUITY group does not formally hire undergrads. what curiousmonkey is referring to, and what a lot of people i've heard be confused about is that kkr FINANCIAL, i.e. their debt hedge fund much akin to sankaty mentioned above, has begun to hire SA and FT. this is a completely different opportunity than PE and although interesting in its own right, it should be clearly differentiated from the true PE experiences coming out of undergrad which to my knowledge are blackstone, silver lake, audax, with various smaller shops and other one-off opportunities like cerberus (heard about a kid at harvard and a few others over the years, but i don't think their analyst program is formal like the 3 i just mentioned).

hope this clears some of this up.

Are KKR Financial hires for San Fransisco (headquarters) or NY?

KKR Financial hires go to SF, if I remember correctly

any other PE firms that hire straight out of undergrad, besides the ones already mentioned?

I know there are a few guys on the board who jumped to PE from ug - it would be cool to hear about their experiences doing this, and maybe what they did the summer before.

Hey all,

Came across this thread and thought I'd offer my insights. I went directly from undergrad to PE (I currently work for a small MM fund). The larger funds mentioned above hire undergrads so few and far between that I'd advise you look elsewhere if you're really intent on skipping a 2-year banking stint. That being said, here's my advice:

- Make sure you focus on the type of fund you'd like to work at. So many people automatically want to work Blackstone PE because of its prestige. While its undoubtedly top notch, there are tons of other opportunities in PE besides large cap buyouts. There's firms like The Riverside Group who invest in smaller mid market companies. There's firms like Audax who are true middle market players. There's a ton of others who specialize in specific sectors. Simply saying "I'd like to work in private equity" is like saying "I'd like to work at Goldman, but I don't care what division".

- Be as opportunistic as possible. PE jobs directly from undergrad are not commonplace. As such, network with everyone you know (friends, family, alumni, etc). I know everyone says this, but it's simply the most effective method of landing a job. You might sit down for coffee with an MD who takes a liking to you, and grants you a formal interview even though that fund wasn't initially looking for another hire. You just never know.

- Do your homework. If you're granted an interview, you've got to be as impressive and knowledgeable as possible. That doesn't mean being able to recite the DCF section of the Vault interview guide. It means being able to formulate a well thought-out opinion, and having the confidence to back up your assertions. In PE, you need to be able to think like an investor; unlike banking where a lot of the work is repetitive and monotonous.

- If you land a job in PE out of undergrad, congrats. That being said, you need to remember that you know nothing. You might strongly disagree with the investment thesis laid out by your MD, but there's a reason he lives in a penthouse on Central Park West and you live in a studio on the Lower East Side. I'm not saying your MD is always right, I'm saying that he's right more times than you will be. Essentially, be humble and learn as much as you can.

I know this is pretty brief and I'm sure there's a lot that I didn't cover, but I need to get back to work. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask or PM me.