More Info on PE/Exits in Canada From IBD??

Hi,

I just signed with a Canadian Big 5 for my SA stint next summer in Toronto, and have begun evaluating potential exit opportunities (want to be cognizant of these opportunities).

I know the PE space is Canada is pretty limited, but I wanted to know if someone could provide a little more granularity on this topic. Would also be curious in hearing about what other exits anyone on this board has made in Toronto?

20 Comments
 

Typical Canadian IB exits are either to PE, buyside ER, or corp dev. As for PE, there aren't too many reputable shops, but what comes to mind are Onex, Oncap, CPPIB, OTTP, Omers, Torquest, Birch Hill, and Clairvest

 

I'm a Canadian studying abroad but my friends tell me that generally the pension funds in Canada offer the best PE opportunities. CPPIB has a structured recruitment process I believe.

 

Precisely. Being that Canada is not exactly a major financial hub, most people who want to transition to PE care more about the work-life balance. Comp even at a top firm like Onex is way below even its US MM counterparts.

You would make much more staying in banking if you're in Canada.

 

Not true. Onex and Oncap are the only PE shops in Canada that pay 1st year associates substantially more than compared to if you stayed in banking as a 3rd year analyst. You are taking a paycut everywhere else, especially the pensions

 
Best Response

Not sure about Oncap or headhunters, but the Onex recruiting process begins around January in your first analyst year. The other pure PE firms in Toronto are more on an ad-hoc basis (ex. Torquest, Birch Hill). Unsure if pensions have a structured process but they hire armies every year so it doesn't really matter

If you're scheduled to do a summer next year, its nice to stay informed early, but I wouldn't worry about pe recruiting until you start ft (for Canadian banks), or at least until you sign back ft. Got lots of time

 

CIBC in the U.S. has a very strong Financial Sponsors group, and I know analysts from there have placed into PE shops like Audax. The guy who runs the Sponsors team is one of the best M.D.'s I have ever met and spoken with, really nice guy.

Don't know about their exit-opp stance in canada, but if you were to make the transition into one of CIBC's U.S. offices, you'd be in a good position to break into some nice PE shops.

 

call up IB headhunters in Toronto and ask them... you'll get good answers.

pretend like your an IB analyst, etc. just looking for info.

Thorek/Scott is a good one.

also ZSA

 

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