Hi everyone! Long-time WSO lurker, thought I would give back by offering a Q&A. I feel that my experience touches a lot of topics of interest to this community, and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. My background: * Target finance school in Europe for undergrad * Summer intern in MM IB in London * Switched to an EB (LAZ / EVR / MC) for full-time, where I worked for 2 years in London * Switched to PE and worked 2 years in a co-investment fund in London * Now in my second year at an M7, interned at an MBB in NY where I will return full-time Would love to discuss any aspect of my experience, and any questions you might have!
Trending Content
Career Resources
Why are you switching to MBB?
While I loved my time in finance, I felt that I was specializing my skillset a bit too much and was eager to explore areas outside of the financial world. Also, being uninterested in pursuing PE longer-term, MBB offered the best platform IMO to re-orient my career towards more strategic roles.
Test
Works!
My pleasure.
I did my internship at an MM in London, then applied and interviewed for full time at EBs and BBs, which is when I got my offers. So I started full time at the EB! As mentioned in a comment above I did not network in making the move but would highly recommend for you to do so early in your internship at the MM if you are considering this move.
My pleasure!
I think my experience compared quite favorably with my BB friends in London. Pay was a little better, the teams are much smaller so you get significantly more client exposure, and you even get to be a little entrepreneurial because some teams are not fully built out in EMEA for EBs.
US EBs don't have much layman prestige in London - people outside of IB / PE have no idea what Evercore, Moelis or Centerview are. However, for roles which are typical IB exits (PE, HF etc..) they are well recognized. London is an interesting market because you don't really necessarily need to be at GS TMT to get the top exits, you even see Big 4 accountants get solid PE gigs. As an EB analyst you have access to most opportunities but aren't in a much better spot than the average BB. I did get headhunted constantly so it is an attractive place to be.
Top EBs in Europe are: LAZ and Rothschild no doubt (they are on par with GS/MS/JPM), they have European heritage and are much much bigger there. Then EVR and MC, which have decent dealflow, solid exits, and benefit from their US reputation. PWP, Centerview, Greenhill etc are all respected but mostly on the back of their US brands, and I personally didn't see them as much as the other names I've listed.
Hi! Yes sure thing.
I would say it is mainly 3 things:
Modelling skills: There is this notion that sell-side Analysts have a stronger modelling skillset than co-investment peeps. I personally modelled a lot more on the buy-side, because my fund liked to model things from scratch and then compare to the lead investor's model, but recruiters often fear that you do not necessarily model as a co-investor but rather play with the model that the PE firm provided you.
Culture / Type of People: In most cases, people at PE firms have worked in banking for a few years and therefore like to pick people from IB. They feel that IB shapes you in terms of work ethic, quality of work product and cultural fit. Also, having slaved away themselves in IB for a couple of years, they want someone who has gone through a similar experience ;)
Exposure to the Deal Lifecycle: As you know, co-investment execution is often short and sweet, and deals can be done in a matter of weeks. Investment bankers get more exposure to the whole deal lifecycle, from the initial idea, to the approach, and through the negotiation stages. As such, having guided PE firms through all the steps to close a deal, they are considered to have a better understanding of the PE investment process that co-investors do.
I hope this makes sense! I would personally focus your experience almost entirely on the co-investment side of things, put your 3 most impressive deals on your CV (organize your CV like an IB/PE CV), and heavily emphasize your modelling involvement. From there, your best shot is likely at family offices that invest both in direct PE and FOF, or in the direct investing teams of large pension funds / SWFs. I would heavily network at those places directly with people working in the roles you want, and hopefully something comes out of it :)