Upper MM PE Hours

wso_user:

Keep hearing that hours at megafunds are similar or close to banking. Is it the same for top MMs as well, or do they typically have better lifestyles? (CD&R, H&F, Berkshire, and the likes)

As with basically everything, it varies widely by firm. Generally, the Upper-MM funds have better hours than the MFs, though, yes.

For what it's worth, GoBuyside listed Genstar & FFL as better hours than Francisco Partners as far as SF Upper MM PE

ayoayo:

For what it's worth, GoBuyside listed Genstar & FFL as better hours than Francisco Partners as far as SF Upper MM PE

How legit is that site? Not questioning this data, just in general, do you have a perception?

Marcus_Halberstram:

GoBuyside, while a great idea and an ambitious undertaking, has serious issues with the survey data they have posted. They need a critical amount of data/survey responses in order to be useful and gain any traction and unfortunately they did that by letting anyone and everyone fill out the surveys. Case in point, go to a megafund for example which has like 5-10 interview experiences posted. One of the questions is "Did you get an offer?" they next question is "What was the compensation package?", which is a required answer. If I didn't get an offer, I don't know what the package is, and I can't even be intellectually honest and leave that question blank. Thats one minor thing, the major issue with the data they have is very apparent when you see the answers are all over the place... again this is most apparent for the more concrete quantifiable answers like comp. Essentially its a pool of WSO type contributors but without any certified monkey stars or any identity where you can realize that the datapoint comes from a (usually) reliable and well informed source.

In any case, I am a fan of what they are doing and I know people benefit from their services, unfortunately their database is just not credible, IMO.

Disagree with this point of view. The answers on GoBuyside are very accurate and more reliable than most WSO content, with the notable exception of compensation data. Typically comp numbers are just fabricated for those who didn't receive offers. That said, everyone posting interview reviews is a verified professional, so typically the reviews come from people who are telling the truth.

NorthSider:

Marcus_Halberstram:

GoBuyside, while a great idea and an ambitious undertaking, has serious issues with the survey data they have posted. They need a critical amount of data/survey responses in order to be useful and gain any traction and unfortunately they did that by letting anyone and everyone fill out the surveys. Case in point, go to a megafund for example which has like 5-10 interview experiences posted. One of the questions is "Did you get an offer?" they next question is "What was the compensation package?", which is a required answer. If I didn't get an offer, I don't know what the package is, and I can't even be intellectually honest and leave that question blank. Thats one minor thing, the major issue with the data they have is very apparent when you see the answers are all over the place... again this is most apparent for the more concrete quantifiable answers like comp. Essentially its a pool of WSO type contributors but without any certified monkey stars or any identity where you can realize that the datapoint comes from a (usually) reliable and well informed source.

In any case, I am a fan of what they are doing and I know people benefit from their services, unfortunately their database is just not credible, IMO.

Disagree with this point of view. The answers on GoBuyside are very accurate and more reliable than most WSO content, with the notable exception of compensation data. Typically comp numbers are just fabricated for those who didn't receive offers. That said, everyone posting interview reviews is a verified professional, so typically the reviews come from people who are telling the truth.

Although I definitely recognize the issues that come from any anonymous contributor/survey-based site, I do think the GoBuyside data is decent. Like NS said, they at least attempt to cull the userbase and ensure that it's mostly actual finance professionals instead of college kids talking out their ass. I by no means completely endorse anything that comes from GoBuyside, but have found a lot of the stuff they've put out to be fairly well supported. Haven't looked at the comp database though

My point wasn't that ALL WSO data > GBS data.

My point is that when you look at someone posting info in WSO you have a sense of who they are if they're well known on WSO. You can also tell if they are verified professionals or not. If you see CompBanker posting about what the MM PE recruiting process looks like, you value it more than if you see some else with 16 banana points, no certified user star posting about it who in his last thread was asking for BB bank rankings and networking tips for college students.

I stand by my previous statement. Having been through ALOT of PE recruiting ranging from $300m funds through megafunds and having a good sense of their interview process and comp packages, I just don't find the survey data very reliable and accurate.