Transitioning to SM HF Analyst from LP PE

Hi all,

I'm based in Asia and currently in a pivotal moment of my career, and am considering a transition to jump to public equities from LP PE. Any advice will be appreciated.

Background

• I graduated from a top 10 US university in 2022 and joined a PE buyout / co-investment team of a big LP. I was promoted to associate last year and but felt less motivated and doomed in my current job because of the geo, lack of learning, and the scarcity of deal flow.
• I have interviewed with some of the MF PE's Asia office as well as local names since last year. I got a verbal offer from a big name but unfortunately the offer was cancelled due to headcount shortages. Other funds asked me if im ok with purely portfolio management with close to zero chance to deploy as well as a need to go to MBA  after 2-3 years (which I was quite reluctant). The falling nature of APAC PE (Im not Indian or Japanese) and recruiting failure made me question PE in Asia for the long term. 

Reality Now

• I started to look at public equities-related opportunities this year as I have always had an interest in fundamental or value investing. However, the transition from Private Equity to public is very tough in Asia not to mention that I come from an LP background, which people will doubt my ability and experience.
• I recently had some good conversations with a PM from a SM HF ($300mn AUM TMT focused), and he gave me a shot to join his team next year.

The PM seemed to be thoughtful and nice to talk to. Nevertheless, I still need more diligence about the fund, and I'm also very concerned about my future career path, as I understand from this forum that the future of working in SM HF generally seems very gloomy. At the same time, I also think that LP background is hard to recruit, and this is a rare opportunity to jump across industries and really learn about it if the PM is solid. Any advice, thought, or reality check would be hugely helpful.