Clarification on Hedge Funds and Private Equity opportunities

It seems quite hard to get to grips with a career path into private equity and hedge funds, so therefore I turn to you. I'm an undergraduate and will next year be applying for my first internship.

If I aim to later join a Hedge Fund or possibly a private equity group which is the right way to go after undergraduate ?

Considering hedge funds, should I join a S&T team at a BB bank after undergraduate and then try to enter when I have some experience ? I understand that undergraduates join the sell-side at investment banks and then go into hedge funds ? Does one really gain any valuable experience on the sell-side for hedge funds or is gaining experience at an M&A team more valuable ?

Secondly, for private equity do undergraduates usually start directly at private equity firms and then work their way up from there ?

I will appreciate all answers, Victor

2 Comments
 

S&T can lead to working for a hedge fund, as can equity research. M&A within an IB will prepare you better for a transition into private equity. Both of these paths are based on the nature of work someone does out of undergrad. That's not to say that someone who traded fixed income can't get an MBA and then work for Blackstone, or that someone who did M&A at Goldman can't end up at a hedge fund. There are cases of undergrads going straight to PE, although that's a bit more rare due to a limited number of openings and extreme competition.

 
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