Thoughts on Blackstone adjusting their recruiting process?

This article will probably do a better job explaining than me, but in summary, Blackstone is changing their recruitment process to increase the number of universities they are recruiting from. The article mentions they are especially trying to recruit from historically black colleges/universities to address the inequality in the hiring process.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Do you think other megafunds will follow? How does this have an effect on people in IBD trying to go into PE? Will this actually help the inequality within these roles or is it just for PR?

 

Makes sense to me. Every good company having ivies and UMich just ensures other colleges can't earn prestige.

If more companies expand their target school list it will probably make undergrad institutions more competitive in the sense that ivies can't just rely on having good connections and being ivies anymore. The value of degrees from other (sometimes cheaper) colleges will increase as well. Feels like a win.

 
Intern in S&T - Equities:
Makes sense to me. Every good company having ivies and UMich just ensures other colleges can't earn prestige.

If more companies expand their target school list it will probably make undergrad institutions more competitive in the sense that ivies can't just rely on having good connections and being ivies anymore. The value of degrees from other (sometimes cheaper) colleges will increase as well. Feels like a win.

Older dude who graduated from a "target" school here. I cannot agree more with this sentiment. Hopefully it's not just a "change" for show as it often is in our industry.

I used to do Asia-Pacific PE (kind of like FoF). Now I do something else but happy to try and answer questions on that stuff.
 

My initial thought is that this makes total sense for Blackstone. Now they get to vet talent themselves from undergrad, hire at a much cheaper cost, and then determine who is actually worthy of becoming an associate instead of letting GS, MS and whoever else decide the top talent. Plus now they have talent that they can work 100+ hours a week for less than their overworked associates

 

As someone who just accepted an offer for junior summer at an IB with plans to move onto PE, I feel kinda fucked over

 

Why? Most of what positions they're referring to in the article aren't regular PE. BX has so many divisions that aren't impossible to get, such as secondaries which no one should want to work in but they get kids cause they're BX. Plus, unless you're Dell's son or that chick from Harvard that's top of her class and insane internships you weren't getting Blackstone PE out of college anyway.

 
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Please explain why nobody should want to work at Strategic Partners?

Is it because they get paid Bx money?

Is it because they just raised an $11.1 billion dollar fund (as did most of their secondaries peers), and manage 25bn+ across the platform as of 2020?

Is it because the MD that runs their division just made a $1 million dollar donation to Morehouse college right as the rest of the economy began free falling, not giving a fuck because he apparently has money to spare?

I always laugh when I see the way secondaries are discussed on this forum. Most people haven't even heard about this explosively growing niche within finance. But to the extent the WSO kids do know about it, they are more often than not self-important prospective lemmings like yourself, who have nothing of value to contribute other than shutting up and trying to be less useless for 10 weeks, and who will probably flunk out of their superday altogether (never to return) babbling about "nobody would want to work in secondaries", implying it's not "real" PE and therefore beneath them.

You literally know nothing, prospie. If i had to guess, you're the type of guy to accept a position in a third tier US coverage group of a foreign bank (if you're lucky) and come on this board stunting about "BB or bust". You're probably also the type of guy who leaves after your analyst stint for a junior seat at a downmarket, sub-bn AUM PE fund where you will never see an iota of carry but still beat your chest about "buy side strong side".

Or maybe I'm wrong (doubtful) and you're a 4.0 stud from Wharton about to start at an EB, in which case we will be sitting in the bullpen together soon and I have a news flash for you champ - the prestige game has seen its golden years already. Goldman is run by a DJ and dresses down on Friday. PE funds are now recruiting their talent from 50+ undergrad schools directly. It's not 2008 anymore. Life isn't an LSO blog post. It's not cool to be a douche, and the ones who engage the most in that game are ironically the ones at the MM banks your weird intern hierarchy denigrates so much.

What is most likely is that you are getting economically and professionally clowned on by people who work at the best secondaries shops - they are laughing at your inability to recognize what is actually experiencing secular growth in high finance because you're so blinkered from years of preftige posturing on WSO.

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