What do PE exits look like at a "top group"

What would the exit opps from a typical class at an elite boutique/top BB group that is known for good PE placement look like? They can't all be going to Carlyle/KKR/BX right? How many or what % go to a top 10 PE megafund, MM, and HFs?

I'm asking because I'm trying to evaluate how good a group I have an offer from is, and I have a list of where the previous analysts have gone. Thanks

 

Exit ops from top groups are pretty diverse. Obviously you have the healthy choice of megafunds, but the best analysts in the best groups DO NOT want to go into PE.

In my experience, these are the overall preferences:

  1. Hedge funds and AAM: SAC, O-Z, Soros, Avenue, Citadel. At some groups you see a lot of people jumping to VC places like Accel Partners
  2. Some people prefer going to b-school. 1) HBS, steep drop 2) Stanford GSB, drop 3) Wharton
  3. Megafund PE. The usual suspects: Blackstone, Apollo, TPG, Warburg, etc

In reality, no one wants to do PE at the top groups. A few of the 1st years in my group even skipped PE recruitment because they would much rather work at a hedge fund than play out the formulaic "repeat banking for 2 more years except at a PE shop and then go to b-school" route

You also get people who go to law school, TFA, Peace Corps, go into corporate development, switch to S&T, lateral banks as an associate (if not fast tracked), nonprofit, startup, etc but to a much lesser extent than the 3 paths above

Even some of the suckass guys in my group would go on to places like Golden Gate, Kelso, or w/e. Basically, the PE industry is so developed at this point that headhunters are calling 1st years in November aka 3 months on the job. I think you'd really have to TRY to not get a good PE gig.

 
Best Response
Solidarity:
Exit ops from top groups are pretty diverse. Obviously you have the healthy choice of megafunds, but the best analysts in the best groups DO NOT want to go into PE.

...

In reality, no one wants to do PE at the top groups. A few of the 1st years in my group even skipped PE recruitment because they would much rather work at a hedge fund than play out the formulaic "repeat banking for 2 more years except at a PE shop and then go to b-school" route

...

Even some of the suckass guys in my group would go on to places like Golden Gate, Kelso, or w/e. Basically, the PE industry is so developed at this point that headhunters are calling 1st years in November aka 3 months on the job. I think you'd really have to TRY to not get a good PE gig.

From what I can tell, many if not most analysts still consider megafund PE to be the top exit opportunity. It seems a bit of an overstatement to say that "the best analysts in the best groups DO NOT want to go into PE" or that "no one wants to do PE at the top groups."

I agree with Solidarity re the range of potential exit opportunities, but most of the people I know in top groups did megafund recruiting as their plan A -- not just at my firm but at other BBs and top boutiques as well.

To the OP's original question, I would say that in Wall Street's top 5 groups (the usual suspects that everyone mentions), analyst placement into top 10 megafunds and top 10 HFs is ~50% among the analysts who pursue those opportunities. Trying to be objective here -- by top megafunds and HFs, I mean by size (AUM), which generally correlates to "prestige."

 

I'm not going to do a ranking but this holds true for essentially all the top groups at the bulge brackets. Most groups at GS / MS place the lights out, and same with the top industry / M&A groups at the other banks.

To the OP--ask the analysts / associates in the group about past placement. If you're at a top group in your bank, then I wouldn't worry about it. People on WSO are overly obsessed with KKR, Carlyle, etc but there are plenty of PE shops out there. It's perfectly okay to work for a TH Lee or a Madison Dearborn...

 

Interesting thanks. Also interesting that you mentioned that it was HBS then a steep drop to GSB. I thought Stanford was at least on the same level, if not "better" since it's so much more selective, than HBS

How much does deal experience play into account for recruiting? I assume first years won't be working on the multibillion deals in their first six months...

 
abcdefghij wrote: would you consider this a top group?

Hellman & Friedman Highline Capital KKR Och-Ziff Capital Berkshire Partners SRS Apollo Capital Partners Bain Capital Centerbridge Taconic New Mountain Capital Oak Hill Bain Capital Start-up Hedge Fund Glenview Capital Carlyle TPG-Axon Capital Silver Lake Partners Silver Lake Partners Blackstone Advisory Texas Pacific Group KKR

Looks pretty weak

yeah wtf is KKR, never heard of them

 

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