I work at a less well known direct lending firm covering UMM sponsor backed direct lending across senior, uni, and second lien, some PIK / mezz fund. We cover the US MM/UMM direct lending space.
The name of my shop is not well known but I am curious to know if a move to a better DL shop is possible from a less well known fund (e.g., thinking of moving to golub/hps/antares).
Is it the skill or pedigree that matters more to trade up brands. I want to be covering the same deals - just at a better name fund. Thoughts?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, moving to a better-known direct lending shop like Golub, HPS, or Antares is definitely possible, but it often comes down to a combination of skill and pedigree. Here's a breakdown:
Skillset: Your ability to underwrite, structure, and negotiate deals is critical. Demonstrating a strong track record of working on complex transactions (e.g., senior, unitranche, second lien, mezzanine) and showcasing your expertise in the UMM sponsor-backed space will be key. Highlighting your deal experience and ability to execute will make you stand out.
Pedigree: While pedigree (e.g., educational background, prior firm reputation) can open doors, it becomes less critical as you gain more experience. If you're early in your career, pedigree might weigh more heavily, but as you build a strong resume of deal experience, your skills and results will matter more.
Networking: Building relationships within the industry is crucial. Many of the top DL shops value referrals and internal recommendations. Leverage your network to connect with professionals at these firms and express your interest.
Target Firms: Golub, HPS, and Antares are all strong names in the direct lending space, but they operate at slightly different tiers. For example:
Positioning: When making the move, emphasize your desire to work on larger, more complex deals and your ability to contribute immediately. Firms like Ares, Golub, and HPS value candidates who can hit the ground running.
Ultimately, while pedigree can help, your deal experience, technical skills, and ability to network effectively will be the most important factors in trading up to a better brand.
Sources: Ares vs. Golub Direct Lending, Lending/LevFin vs. MM IBD vs PE summer internships, Top firms for distressed investing. Solving for brand and deal experience more than ability to growth within the organization., https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/who-has-heard-about-these-teams-citi-tts-deutsche-gts-jpm-tss-baml-gts?customgpt=1, Is Apollo that bad?
100% possible, and you are likely an ideal candidate. They will want to deep dive on exactly what sort of diligence you are doing and understand how developed your credit brain is. But if you pass those tests you should be able to get an offer
Thank you, I appreciate this insight. We do a lot of diligence on some great credits backed by tier 1 sponsors. It is just the brand name of the fund is not well known. Otherwise the deals I work on are great and would not want to change much about my current fund aside from brand and compensation
how does one find these jobs. these firms promote from within
If you are covering UMM, Im assuming this is a large/well known fund? am I assuming that incorrectly?
I work at a "small" credit fund focused on Uni and Mezz - v. flex across cap stack (without getting into details) - but we invest in credits for UMM sponsor backed assets - diligence is heavy (would define as more detailed than Lev Fin / and traditional Uni) but less than PE - we do larger and concentrated bets hence heavy on DD than most DL shops
Highly focused on operating model assumptions, and bespoke structuring. Amazing experience - but want to upgrade branding and pay
Are you leading deals or buying into them? What's your experience with docs
Some we are sole lender - others we are co-investing / club lenders along the players mentioned above - still diligence heavy - we do our own expert calls, op model builds, downside analysis, etc.
This confuses me a bit. In your above comment you say you are a small fund but invest in UMM sponsor backed assets. UMM implies commitments of $500mm+ minimum so if you're leading the transaction and not co-investing, you are likely having to put up $250mm checks a piece minimum, how would leading this work from a small fund size?
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