Hey guys.
Second year analyst at tier 2 banking (think UBS / DB) firm. Trying to recruit for 2018 summer position in private equity. My interest lies mostly on Consumer / Retail space, but I have only done deals in Tech / Industrial / Energy space.
Should I try to convince myself that I should say I'm most interested in those industry, or would it be okay to go with C&R space?
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Go with what you know
Yeah I think this is the right call (note I'm still in banking) because from what I've seen consumer deals have different models and people focus on different metrics than what you will see in tech / industrials / energy. Example is focusing on same store comps, models really focused on revenue build by store and not necessarily having a full 3 statement model. Not in a consumer group but close with people who are and they seem to do things differently in the MM space at least.
It's fairly common to go from covering one industry in IB to a different one in PE, as long as the sector you get in PE is relatively 'vanilla' (i.e. everything except FIG, energy, RE, etc.). Consumer/retail definitely counts as a vanilla industry. I mean it does have industry specific metrics but my sense is that it doesn't take all that long to get up to speed and the metrics you use to value a store aren't going to be all that different from those you use to value a manufacturer (especially relative to say, a bank or an E&P company).
Just have a good reason for it, and know that you won't be able to "shop around" in PE recruiting like you may have in IB recruiting - sometimes you'll just have to decide something is good enough and take it when you have a 48 hour exploding offer.
I did not go through PE recruiting, so I will defer to those who did. When I was looking to leave banking, I interviewed for corp dev roles at several corporations that operate in industries completely unrelated to what I covered in banking. A few asked why I was interested in their industry, but none ever pressed me once I gave the standard the industry is growing/the industry is interesting/IB skills transfer regardless of industry answer. The modeling, financials (and what to look for when reading them), etc. are all different in my current role, and the adjustment has been fine. My advice would be to move into whatever space interests you the most. As your career progresses, you will eventually no longer be paid for your technical knowledge like you are now, but rather for your industry knowledge. This is why top MDs rarely, if ever, switch to different industry groups. Your next role will obviously not be your last, but that's just something to think about as it relates to trying to find where you may want to be at next.
Again, I never went through PE recruiting, but I just wanted to provide a different account.
Private Equity Groups (Originally Posted: 09/28/2015)
Of the most typical groups seen in a private equity fund (Cross Industry Private Equity Sponsorships, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Credit, etc.) what does WSO believe to be top picks in terms of exit opps, prestige, on the job skills and why?
retooled question due to Monkey Shits
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