LDN Graduate for Distressed Debt / Special Sits (with Asia DD landscape fyi)
Hi All,
Big fan of distressed debt and special sits here. Currently incoming masters student in a pre-experience finance program in LDN (think LBS MFA / LSE MSF / Oxford MFE). Sincerely appreciate your input on the possiblity to land a distressed investing graduate role in LDN in '26. General recommendation or names of funds I should be aware of are also highly appreciated.
Background: undergrad in an Asia country (HK/SG). Was a summer analyst with apac distressed debt / special sits mandate at a US fund (think Apo HV / Ares / BX credit). Also did an offcycle at a MM fund doing European control buyout. Earlier experiences at MM banks doing rx / M&A with asia focus. Seriously interesed exploring the DD/SS opportunity in Europe as in Asia the door's not opening for fresh grad.
As a giveback to the forum happy to share my two cents on the Asia DD/SS landscape for those who may be interesed, as I saw the topic not much discussed here. I confirmed below with friends and tried to make it as accurate as possible while plz correct me if I get anything wrong:
Sector is highly private side focused with limited investable distressed public names (with the leverage loan market also shrinking). Legal enforcement is so bad in many countries so it's super hard to win deals in court. Instituional lending (private credit) is also weak as banks' liquidity is too strong in the region so (seems) more than half of credit investment fell into the special sit range. Low teens return is typically the sweet spot for Asia credit funds, and the special sits funds are more targeting high teens. Mandate could be arguablly more flexible and most of them similar to Apo's HV fund so they may also invest in non-control pe and public equity at the right price (and very seldomly go against the sponsor). Segment wise the biggest two markets is India and China (currectly non-investable) with each like 8-10x size potential of JP/KR. ANZ is big market with good legal enviroments so many funds have dedicated local teams. SEA would typically be more opportunistic.
Thanks all
Based on the most helpful WSO content, your background and aspirations align well with the distressed debt and special situations space in London. Here's a breakdown of advice and recommendations:
Possibility of Landing a Role in Distressed Debt/Special Sits in London:
Your Background:
Challenges:
Recommendations:
Insights on the Asia DD/SS Landscape:
Your observations about the Asia distressed debt and special situations market are insightful: - Private Side Focus: The limited investable distressed public names and shrinking leverage loan market align with the challenges in the region. - Legal Enforcement: The weak legal frameworks in many countries make court-driven resolutions difficult, which is a significant barrier for distressed investing. - Institutional Lending: The dominance of bank liquidity and the weaker private credit market explain the focus on special situations rather than traditional distressed debt. - Returns: Low teens for credit funds and high teens for special sits funds are consistent with the risk-return profiles in the region. - Geographic Focus: India and China have massive potential but are currently challenging markets. ANZ stands out for its favorable legal environment, while SEA remains opportunistic.
Final Tips:
Your background and proactive approach already set you apart. With focused preparation and networking, you have a strong chance of breaking into the London distressed debt/special situations space. Good luck!
Sources: Q&A: I'm a London-based Distressed Debt Analyst, Distressed debt / special sits investing - On the job, Direct Lending --> Distressed/Special Situations Investing, Unsure on what to do next or where to go as UK undergraduate, Distressed Debt Hedge Fund out of College - Prep Advice
Might be tough to land a distressed role directly post grad, but you should be well positioned to start at one of the large credit funds hiring Analysts (Park Square, Arcmont, BX, Apollo) and transition to a distressed shop after ~2 years.
Very interested in hearing more about the Special Sits landscape in APAC, would you mind sharing additional info on who are the key players / most active teams and headhunters?
Thanks much for your comment, very helpful. Would you mind mentioning few more names that regularly hiring graduates? Sorry understand it’s my homework but really not knowing much on this specific point and your help will be super helpful.
On Asia side Bain special sits and Ares (formerly SSG) are two large teams . There’s also many smaller team like10 ppl like Apo HV and oaktree. Not to sure abt HH but understand most of them are using few smaller HH so might need to check with the ppl inside the firms. Bain cap is running asso/summer asso every year which could be a good opportunity to transit
Very helpful, thank you for that. Out of curiosity, how important is it to speak / be fluent in one of the local languages? Do you see a lot of expats from NYC/LDN in those teams or it’s mostly local people?
For the credit funds hiring post grad in Ldn, I have the following in mind (not exhaustive, and in no particular order)
- Ares
- Apollo
- Ardian
- Arcmont
- Tikehau
- BX
- Park Square
- CVC
- GS
Note that for those places, 95% of the time you will need to do an internship before being hired as an Analyst.
Also worth flagging that if your goal is only distressed, it will be harder at the funds doing only vanilla direct lending (with no opportunistic / junior pockets). Doing 2 years in RX (at PJT / HL) would also offer very good placement into distressed funds, but given your background maybe worth evaluating both options.
Thanks much for the list and your suggestion!
For language it's really depends on fund's mandate / location. If you are doing in HK / SG it would be more likely a APAC mandate and local language would not be a big issue. Worth mention that there's no as strong a talent pipeline for these Asia credit / special sits funds (as rx nearly doesn't exist in the region and levfin is more lean to to IG side) so highly related skills might overweight. Concern could be potential career celling related to the ability to originate deals which may take more effort developing relationship along the career path. See many expats relocated from europe and US at the analyst/asso level actually, and bit more senior level might also be doable. Chinese was hot in last decades while it's no longer a big thing recent days as the China market gone. Meanwhile if you are doing in China / India / JP / KR it's more likely to have a local mandate where local language could be more likely a must.
Ares special sits only hires analysts in US, in London they don't. Generally, recommendation is to do 2 years in Rx banking
valuable, but why you write like you got access for 2 minutes to a PC to then run/hide and disappear again
Lol forgot my password for a bit
Many thanks for your insights! As an Asian student in EU who's really interested in special sits sector, do you mind if I DM you for a small career advice? Much appreciated!
Hi definitely!
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