Pivoting out of Energy M&A
Hi WSO,
Recently been thinking about my longer term prospects in this industry. I’m in an Energy coverage team (primarily worked on LNG related M&A) at a bank that does alright in the space (not necessarily one of the best).
While I love the work, I don’t think I would want to stay in it forever. Partially due to the longevity of the industry, and also because I’d like to try something new. My thoughts were either:
- Moving to a PUI coverage team - larger number of roles, although a less seamless move
- Moving to a clean fuels / energy transition team - opposite of the above
- Moving to a credit / structured financing role - did a couple of project financing related deals (didn’t close unfortunately) but found that to be one of the most fascinating things, likely the biggest stretch for a move
Would be great to see if anyone has either done this move / seen something similar, especially in the last 1 year or so. Not fussed whether buy-side or sell-side, I’m open to either at the moment. Thanks in advance!
I would assume PUI is actually well within reach and has the ability to be seamless. A lot of the groups have merged their energy and PUI teams together and requesting an internal change given a positive standing should be reason enough for them to allow you to transfer, specially if you have already put in time.
My group saw one of our associates transfer to our NY-based PUI team which was counted as an internal transfer.
Thank you, appreciate it! Do you think an internal transfer is the better play vs. lateraling to another bank? Wouldn’t say my bank has the strongest footprint in PUI in our region so I’d be open to moving to a better platform, but I suppose the trade off is that I’d be losing any internal goodwill etc.
It's very possible - especially moving to a credit fund or structured finance role. There's a lot of turnover and plenty open roles. If you haven't already, try reaching out to recruiters at Spencer Ogden or One Search and searching for analyst/associate roles at PF banks. Shouldn't have any issue making the transition to the roles you listed.
Thank you for that! I’ve been reaching out passively to headhunters / friends at similar shops to get a sense of this. I don’t really have that much “tangible” credit experience - it’s mainly been on this complex acquisition / project financing piece we worked on for almost a year which ended up going nowhere.. Aside from that, I feel like I’d need to really get up to speed with self learning to be competent in a credit role, but don’t see myself having that much time. Any advice on the best resources to dig through that would have the best impact? Can tap into anything we’ve worked on in the past but trying to work out the most efficient approach
Any of those would be a pretty easy move, even P&U you will easily find a seat. Energy pigeonholes you a bit, but you have the ideal background for all of those roles. If I were you I'd casually network with all three, not to try to get interviews but just to understand each space a bit more and figure out which one you like best.
Any interest in infra? Little bit "sexier" than vanilla P&U, can have a project finance component as well. very common move from energy
Sunt maxime enim atque natus repellat non. Eveniet modi accusantium sunt maxime. Nihil ea et aliquam quidem non sunt.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...