I can see that many members of this community focus on leaving IB for PE after two years.
For those who contemplate remaining in IB beyond the typical two- or three-year Analyst program,
what were the primary considerations and drivers of that decision?
For those who stayed on to become an Associate, what makes an Analyst a good candidate to earn an Associate position?
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For most years and most groups, you don't need to be a particularly great analyst to get promoted. You just need to not be at the bottom.
That said, those that stick out in a positive way are those who are:
- proactive
- interested in learning the job and doing it well
- learn quickly without requiring too much handholding
I think what’s not emphasized enough (certainly not on this forum where people are excessively focused on exits) is: just because you are a good sell side analyst doesn’t mean you’ll be a good buyside investor.
In other words, there are people who’d make better bankers while others would make better investors.
The biggest pitfall I’ve seen from sellside converts who’ve “flunked” out of buyside is the inability to understand that a deal is not “done” just because the deal closed. On the sellside, it’s a “churn” model where you move onto the next great pitch/live deal after you close your current one. On the buyside, you are “on risk” once a deal closes: you need to monitor your position, conduct asset management exercises if needed, advise on managerial duties with company management, etc. On the buyside, you can’t just forget about your deal after you close it: you have to live with it.
TLDR - Some people are better at managing risk while others just want to grind & churn pitches/deals. Generically speaking, the former is better suited for buyside while the latter is better suited for sellside.
“what makes an Analyst a good candidate to earn an Associate position?”
Don’t quit before the promotion. That’s 90% of it, the other 10% is not being a really, really bad analyst.
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