I’m currently an associate director at a mezzanine fund that focuses mostly on direct mezz investing with some venture debt and minority equity transactions. My role primarily consists of executing mezz transactions (screening, performing diligence, financial modeling, etc.) with a slight emphasis on origination. I enjoy my role and the team I work with, but the long-term financial ceiling isn’t as compelling as other avenues. That being said, I’ve begun to consider some other options.
One of them is to go to a lower/mid-market boutique as an investment banking associate. Comp for this role is likely $150k - $200k (current comp ~$130k) and the hours are probably a decent uptick from my current role (I’m currently at about 50, imagine this role would be 60 – 70+).
Long-term goal thus far has been to stay within a “merchant banking” type role (perhaps moving to a boutique) or to move into real estate private equity. Investment banking hasn’t been on the radar until recently.
Would this be a smart move? I don’t see myself as an IB partner, the plan would be to go there for a few years, get some great experience and then move on, with the possibility of getting a more lucrative exit than what I can get now.
I’m unclear on making the move to this investment bank would be looked at favorably externally en lieu of progressing in my current role. For additional context, I'm in my late 20's and don't have any prior IB experience.
TL;DR - Considering leaving mezzanine finance to LMM/MM investment banking - Not sure if it’s the right move
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I would just recommend lateraling over to a larger mezz or credit fund ex. Golub, Ares, Madison, etc. comp will be significantly better as you definitely are underpaid and you’ll be able to have a transferable skill set that can be utilized right away
Do you have an idea of what comp would be as an associate or AD at Ares etc?
$200k-$225k all in as a first year associate, similar to buyout shops
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What type of firm are we talking here? Is it a legitimate group that does lots of deals (how many annual deals per MD for instance)?
The boutique is "top 3" in my city (I'm outside of the US and in a mid-tier market). Transaction sizes range from $20M - $250M but will likely hover around $30M - $50M - reflective of the mid-market in my part of the world. Not entirely sure on how many transactions they do per year, but they are known as an active shop in my area.
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