MBB -> PE -> HF??

Has anyone done their analyst years at McKinsey/Bain/BCG, gone to private equity, and then are now working at a hedge fund?

Would love to hear your thoughts on recruiting (did you have a hard time getting interviews at your desired funds bc of lacking 2+2 IB/PE), and well as insight on the disadvantages/advantages of this path.

Cheers.

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I did this. It's certainly not impossible. If this is something you're truly interested in, it's not undoable. Getting a role in PE from MBB isn't really that hard - there are a lot of funds that have a track record of hiring MBB consultants. There's a lot of posts about this, so I won't repeat them. In terms of PE -> HF, I didn't find recruiting to be any different. After you do 2 years of PE, everyone sees you the same as someone who did IB->PE. After all, you've been doing the same job, learning the same financial and modelling skills, etc. If anything, I found some of the SM equity funds actually value your MBB experience, because you can relate to speaking with mgmt, understanding operational implications, think about big picture growth strategy, etc. I think it's more a matter of fewer ppl who are interested in this path rather than it being inherently harder to do. 

 

When you start in PE from Consulting, you will be immediately behind your peers who have learned how to model during their IB Analyst program, and have learned how transaction dynamics chug along. Having a third year in Consulting will help you be able to deliver operational or commercial insights while you ramp up on financial skillsets and transaction processes. This will be invaluable as being seen as a "contributor" from day 1, rather than a net drag on the firm until you are ramped up on financial skillsets and transaction process knowledge.

 

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