IB to PE?
I went to a non-target and I'm currently a first year analyst in a well-known MM bank. I’ve been getting emails from recruiters about PE opportunities, but I am strongly considering staying in IB. Almost everyone I've shared this opinion with thinks it’s close to insane. I understand there's a lot more money in PE, however, I tout the reduced competition in IB / less of a need for a costly MBA education (especially for a non-target). Is this really that bad of an idea? Would appreciate some more opinions.
I share the same opinion that IB nowadays can be better than PE. You are not alone.
I think you should make the decision based off which kind of work you enjoy more. Both are very performance based as your responsibilities grow...and you don't want to burn out/fail to deliver because that will destroy your comp. This applies to just about anything.
Incoming 1st yr analyst here, but have been part of deal processes at a PE shop. I feel the same about staying in IB. More money in PE? Not really thaaat much until VP+, and there's risk of your fund performing badly. More interesting work? I would argue against it, you're still pitching a lot - to your partners and to lenders. Also you close ~1% of deals, which is annoying. IB is probably a more risk-averse route with faster / more predictable promotion.
When making this decision, i think its important to look further than the VP role, when the bulk of one's comp would come. And in that case, i assume PE would take the cake. We all saw the quote this week from BBG business week..."More private equity managers make at least 100mm a year than top financial executives, investment bankers, and professional athletes combined." But, i completely agree. It appears to be a significantly more risk-averse route and that is the main reason I am not interviewing with PE funds at the moment. However, i think m_1 does bring up the most important point. We have long careers ahead of us and like the old addage dictates, do what you love.
Can you link the bloomberg article?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-10-03/how-private-equity-w…
Have you done both IB and PE for any significant period of time? If not, I don't think you have any qualification to opine.
You're still in the "deal" world so there are some similarities around expectations, lifestyle, type of people you work with, etc. but being a buyer is very different than selling a business as a banker. How different will depend on fund, bank, size of transactions, leadership, etc. The money in PE comes in carry / long-term incentives and yes, you take some risk to get the bigger checks. Pitching in IB is not the same as "pitching" ideas / investments to your partners or signing up a lender for a LBO deal.
Very important to look at a wide variety of factors, but in reference to comp, I've seen CUs on here that work in PE say that their IB friends are generally making more money. Also, I'm in a very similar boat as you. I don't think the PE grass is all that green, I really love my group and the responsibilities I have and am considering staying in IB for the long run. There is definitely part of me that has this entrepreneurial desire to go into PE and be an investor, but I dunno, we'll see
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