Would you rather be at a direct lending fund out of school or at a LevFin team at a BB? How do exit opps for both differ? What option fares better in recruitment for other buy-side roles?
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Pretty sure lev fin, but will let more experienced ppl comment
I would rather be at a LevFin BB team.
Exit opps are likely to be broader from LevFin (direct lending, par credit funds, distressed debt, private equity, restructuring etc.) whereas from direct lending, you're likely to be more limited to other direct lending roles. Some people manage to move from direct lending to other buy-side roles, like special situations, but generally speaking, your exit opps will be more diverse from lev fin.
Hard to say on your third question. Some firms like people with buy-side experience, but almost all of the mega fund direct lending roles after c.2 years will be available for LevFin BB analysts without any disadvantage vs. buy-side analysts (they may even prefer LevFin candidates due to the wider range of experience and BB training they'll have received).
Ultimately, there's no 'right' answer though. Direct Lending pays well, is probably here to stay, and offers a more balanced lifestyle. BB LevFin can be very intense, but also very exciting, and likely offers a broader range of exit opps.
I would say LevFin. Like above said, exit opps are way better, but you're also on way bigger & more interesting/complex deals. A lot of these direct lenders focus on small to mid-cap counterparties, not my cup of tea personally and I think a decent amount of people would agree, but to each their own
Levfin if its a group that models, Direct lending at a reputable fund and generalist, unless you know you want a specific industry.
Interested to see what a reputable fund would be characterized as, I feel as thought I’d agree if the LevFin group holds the pen on the model and is a more prominent bank ex. CS/BAML/DB vs a no-name DL shop, but if it’s a reputable fund I feel as though exit opps can be great as well. Also depends if the shop does just DL, a lot of firms in the space have dived into mezzanine and equity co-invests as well giving them the optionality to invest across the capital structure, those seem to be great options imo. Interested to hear others thoughts
Golub, Comvest level shops
What's the take on those
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