Portfolio Valuation → Investment Banking: Realistic or Copium?
I’m starting in Portfolio Valuation in NYC this summer. Goal is pretty standard WSO delusion: lateral to IB after ~1–2 years.
From what I can tell:
Some people say PV is “deal-adjacent” and you touch models / PPAs / PE clients
Others act like you’re one Excel tab away from becoming UBS ops
So which is it?
Am I:
A) On a somewhat legit path to IB if I grind/network hard
B) In a respectable but non-IB track (corp dev / PE ops / etc.)
C) One busy season away from explaining NAV marks to myself at 2am wondering where it all went wrong
For context:
NYC office
Targeting MM IB (HL / Lincoln / RJ type, not pretending I’m going to Goldman TMT)
Willing to grind + network aggressively
Main questions:
How realistic is IB from PV vs TAS / A&M / Kroll?
Is there a “timeline” where it’s basically too late?
What actually differentiates people who make the jump vs don’t?
Appreciate any honesty — even if it ruins my week.
(And yes, if the answer is “you’re cooked,” I’d prefer that now rather than after I memorize 14 ways to value illiquid credit funds.)
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's the breakdown of your situation and questions:
1. How realistic is IB from Portfolio Valuation (PV) vs TAS / A&M / Kroll?
2. Is there a “timeline” where it’s basically too late?
3. What differentiates people who make the jump vs don’t?
4. Are you on a legit path to IB or destined for corp dev/PE ops?
5. Honest assessment: Copium or realistic?
Final Advice:
If you’re willing to grind, you’re not cooked—just make sure you’re strategic about your approach. Good luck!
Sources: Q&A: 1st year VC analyst (~750M AUM), Big4 Valuation to IB, Transitioning from tech to a serious finance job (yes, you read that right), https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/going-from-mm-investment-bank-to-mega-fund?customgpt=1, A Guide for Switching From Commercial Banking to Investment Banking
Very hard will need to sweat but possible - good luck
5 years will be late.
Circa 2018 ish, you could get promo into senior associate/ associate and jump into boutique IB / Corp dev, or like FP&A, FLP type roles portfolio analytics, as a stepping stone before the IB / Corp dev role closer to your actual goals. Also even like DCM.
But in this economy, many ex bankers competing, with MBAs moving downstream to FP&A and still striking out. So higher chances the window will be ~2 years from now / after a promo
I am getting interviews with boutiques with ok deal flow around the country. Would you say any ib role is better than pv in ny? Or does pv in ny in a few years open more doors.
Am open to stating in the industry and lateraling to HL
To rephrase your first question as "are all IB roles better than every PV role?", I wouldnt go that far but I would still give the edge to bankers.
Staying in IB/ finance means you will be judged by the number and quality of your deal reps (understandably).
If you move to industry (outside of finance firms) further away from IB (e.g. FP&A / strategy type role, and to lesser extent corp dev), people are more familiar with the rigors of banking than PV so that will be a plus. You'd need to soothe any concerns of you returning to banking aka using their role as a stepping stone (aka ex banker moving to do in house PV for BoA is going to get those concerns vs FP&A for idk, Home Depot)
PV is niche. As with all non revenue generating roles, teams will be lean with minimal juniors and directors in VHCOL areas and relying heavily on headcount offshore or in lower COL stateside.
The flipside is ex bankers are a dime a dozen - there are more banking seats to lose than PV seats. Would I still give an edge to bankers (provided you can model easily AND explain each line item) - yes.
Extremely doable. Has been done many many times before, just check LinkedIn and filter by past roles.
Very realistic. I and many others did it. 2021-2022 was the peak of these exits when banking comp increased across the street but PV comp stayed in line with accounting. Resulted in lots of people jumping to real IB because deal teams needed laterals that were proven professional commodities (hence the pay bumps). You have to position the PV experience thoughtfully, lean in to what you are good at (modeling, data, client responsiveness, awareness of PE landscape / underwriting themes) and be transparent about getting up to speed on M&A processes. You will take a haircut to experience but still get paid more. It is harder in this environment since lots of laid off bankers, but still achievable with some grit and creativity.
Not OP but what do you think about chances of lateraling to the investing team? For context, I’m an A2 in IB considering a valuation role at a PE, but my long-term goal is to move into investing. The role is advertised as sitting alongside the deal team (as opposed to in a separate valuation group) and potentially getting exposure to portco processes like refinancings or exits (though it’s unclear how much the current team is actually involved in those - I think it’s little)
I think much harder to go from valuation in a PE fund to investing than from valuation consulting to IB. Investing roles are more scarce, have less on-the-job training, and are drawing from a more qualified applicant pool (existing bankers / PE professionals / consultants).
Part of my spin for Vals -> IB was being a known quantity when it came to client service and analytics in a client-facing seat, but being candid and hungry about needing to learn M&A and financing processes. I think the storytelling of internal valuation (back office) to front office is much harder in comparison.
FWIW, all internal valuation jobs will say you work next to the investment team. It isn’t really true. They are investing, you are monitoring the portfolio and marking it to market. Maybe doing some strategy work from time to time.
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