What happened to all the chill PC firms?
Feel like people used to have this impression that PC was a pretty chill, ~50-55 hour week asset class to work in. That was certainly what I was thinking coming out of banking. My experience (and that of a couple other friends) has been pretty meaningfully worse. Consistent 65+ hour weeks where you’re getting swamped with deals + amendments/incrementals/reporting for portcos. Feels like the intensity has maybe increased in the past couple years given the amount of fundraising/new entrants/ increased competition for deals. What are the chill PC firms? Are there any left? Was the good WLB ever actually true?
I only work at the sweaty ones but sometimes they get good when the market was slower in '23. I think firms like Midcap, Twinbrook and antares are pretty chill commercial banking esq seats but comp will be commensurate. Ares i've heard is a 9-9 shop but im sure that's group dependent.
antares is market comp now (i.e. 350k for associates)
What about VPs/Principals? Some firms have raised associate comp to appear competitive and then stiff ppl at VP... some bigger names do this too not hating
did they just recently do this for 2025? or have they had market comp for a while now?
A lot of IB, HF, equity young professionals jumped sides and everyone was chasing yield. Over the mid/long run, accelerated growth, volatility and credit don’t go well together.
Similar to Tech, everybody found out it was chill gig
65 is good wlb
Firms that dont lead many deals (aka are on the right) are more likely to be chill. Like Neuburger Berman, Monroe, Corinthia, Barings, etc
Gotcha, that makes sense. My sense would be that firms with more of an asset management background (e.g. Neuberger, Alliance Bernstein) would generally be chiller than places that have more of a PE heritage (MFs, Oaktree)?
You’re painting with a broad brush but generally agree
Generally true but some firms will hold a higher bar and do more diligence even if not leading the tranche
Do you live under a rock?
How large is your fund and what’s your typical EBITDA size? I generally have the impression as you move up market towards BSL land you tend to get more banking-like timelines from larger sponsors. Also dealing with naturally larger clubs in this space which is a huge pain if you’re on the left.
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