Post-MBA PE/Buyside Recruiting from Wharton (with megafund background)

Hi guys -

Can folks help me get a sense of what post-MBA buyside recruiting looks like at Wharton (and Columbia too)? I understand that HBS/GSB typically has the the most representation at megafund PE (at least where i work), but for someone who has the "right" background (i.e. top tier banking at GS / MS, megafund PE at a BX/KKR/TPG with closed deals on resume)?

My goal will be to target primarily MM and MF PE roles post MBA, and selectively also target hedge fund roles. I'm most likely ending up at either Wharton / Columbia for school so wanted to get a sense of any uphill battles i might face given it's not HBS / GSB.

 

Columbia has a much stronger presence in hedge funds/Asset Management/public equities than it does in PE. People do make it to PE, but it's a real slog, and I think it's pretty rare for someone to make it to a megafund post-MBA out of there.

I'm pretty sure Wharton will position you better. I don't know of many people with megafund experience who went to Columbia though, so maybe you would do better than the typical candidate.

Booth might be a solid option as well if you can't make it into HBS/GSB.

 

Wharton does get on-campus recruiting from several MFs, I know several people that have scored jobs out of their MBA. It's probably a step behind H/S but definitely above Booth/Kellogg/Columbia. Depending on location, Booth and Kellogg might position you better for MM PE than Columbia. Obv the NYC location is a benefit for networking, but IMO the Chicago schools are generally better regarded in the rest of the US, especially for non public equities.

 

my sense so far is that most megafund associates who do end up going to b school usually only go to H/S...W is not something they would consider (at least based on my experience at my current fund).

For those who are in Wharton, is most of the competition for PE recruiting coming from former MM PE associates? My 5 min linkedin search doesnt seem to indicate there is a large MF PE associate population at Wharton but just trying to understand the "lay of the land" for Wharton PE recruiting

 

That seems somewhat true. Curious to hear, with that type of background, i.e GS / MS -> BX / KKR / TPG, my understanding is that it's a typical to get into H / S, no? Do you have a bad gmat, bad undergrad school name, gpa and is non-traditional in anyway? Not trying to undermine or anything, tremendous achievement but guys like you usually go to the top 2.

 
Best Response

Yeah that's why I was confused. I want to say "you never know" but, idk, with your background I would have pegged you at having a better shot at H than S, so I agree with not getting your hopes up. For what it's worth, I have no grand expectations for Stanford but I'm not counting it out til the ding comes. I don't know if you read Poets and Quants, but the "handicapping your elite MBA odds" gives pretty good perspective. In my experience reading MBA blogs (so, no experience at all), you seem like you should be a lock at Wharton.

 

My sibling is a Wharton MBA alum with your type of background - from what I have heard from him, the population of former megafund associates at Wharton is extremely small. Most TPG / KKR types have a HBS / GSB or bust mentality and won't even consider Wharton, so if you end up there your competition might be less since you're one of the few handful of MF guys who "settled" for Wharton.

 

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