It seems to me that working for a private equity firm/hedge fund is less "fun" or social than working in a IBD or S&T group at a large bank. Most private equity funds have less than 20 people and probably only 5-6 associates your age, so is it less like a college dorm and more like a regular office? Common to see people remain at the larger firm simply because of the social factor?
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"The Social Aspect
This is one of the most overlooked aspects of investment banking vs. buyside jobs. With banking, you have a group of other Analysts working alongside you and you chat with them in your downtime, go to Starbucks together and enjoy models and bottles with them outside work. It’s almost like living in a dorm in college all over again.
With buyside jobs, this disappears. You might be the only Associate; you might even be the only person under 30 in your office, depending on the firm. Private equity firms and hedge funds tend to be much smaller than banks and don’t have as much of a need for an army of Analysts and Associates to do work… there simply isn’t as much work to be done.
This may sound less significant than the other factors I list above, but don’t underestimate it. I actually know of some 2nd and 3rd year Analysts who were reluctant to leave for this very reason – yes, the pay and upside might be better, but not having any close friends in the workplace can make for a bad experience."
There are a number of threads by HF/PE guys saying it's not all it's cut out to be. It seems like (from what I've heard) the environment at PE shops is a bit more formal and definitely more toned down. You're undoubtedly working in a smaller environment and closer to the head guys.
Yes, I agree. That is one of the biggest downsides. I don't think anyone turns it down just because of that though.
There's only like 4 FO people under 30 at my PE firm.... it can get dull at times. You have to enjoy hanging out with the older guys and messing with the secretaries / accountants... it's very different from working at a big firm.
It depends on the firm and the culture. My firm is small but we crack jokes and watch youtube videos. Of course there is no one older than 40, so that my have something to do with it,
I would love to work at a large firm that trades mainly energy, where the trading floor is rowdy/fun despite people being smart and working hard, and where people love taking big risks with their capital and making huge returns.
Sadly, Enron closed almost a decade ago, lol.
Nowadays, dorky/overly quant people are hard to avoid, and people are more focused on minimizing volatility than they are on making returns.
Alexpasch I think you are going to be disappointed, in places where people "love taking big risks with their capital and making huge returns" it also results in huge losses every once in a while wiping out those "huge returns" and while you may be able to find a tiny hedge fund operating that way you will not find a large firm. As it is unsustainable.
I agree with everyone about the social aspect of the buyside, I've worked at a BB and a hedge fund, I was the only person in my 20s with four other FO people. Everyone got a long and we put up great numbers. In the the first year not one person went out for a drink with anyone else or did anything outside of work. I"m not making this up, everyone got a long well and at conferences people would drink and go to dinner together but back at the office it was all business, come in, generate ideas, maybe 5 minutes of small talk in a day then go home, rinse, repeat. Luckily I've done a great job of developing a network from the sellside otherwise while the job is awesome it would be depressing if you relied upon the job for social interaction as it is truly zero. I can't imagine a small buyside shop where people didn't actually get a long with each other. That would be pure misery. Someting to consider if most of your friends are work related.
although you work very long hours and its nice to have people your age/status/level alongside you, work is still work, not playtime
at the end of the day, you should have friends who are not just work friends that are around no matter what job/career/path you take or are in..
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