When to decide if you should lateral up or not? Does trajectory even matter/difference it makes?
Incoming analyst at a top coverage group (non-m&a) at (BofA/Citi).
Have heard from word of mouth coverage groups don’t get nearly if at all as much modeling exposure that m&a does. If relevant for PE recruiting, is it worth trying to lateral to a EB, GS/MS for better exits?
Know this might trigger a few folks but just trying to make the best decision for my career ahead. Thanks yall.
If at BOA FIG, lateral. If at BOA, lateral.
On the corp dev side, we simply do not care. We have people from okay-ish MM's and people from top BB/EB backgrounds. We care more about actual deal experience/relevant experience to our industry.
Afaik, for the PE side, the typical rule is that if you lateral, you should do it before you get the associate promote, as by then, exits for PE dramatically fall off a cliff. Not super familiar with modern PE recruiting timelines, so not going to comment on what the best thing is from that sense.
In terms of whether you can "improve" for PE by upgrading firms, I think common sense and historic consensus within finance is that the top BBs place better into MF PE, and it doesn't matter for most MM firms. So if the goal is to end up at an MF, then the clear answer is yes. How likely is it in this job market, and/or is it worth trying to focus on leaving when BoFA has been very happy to fire juniors recently, is up to you to determine.
Super helpful response. Thank you very much. Quick question on MF PE… if you’re looking to gain the resume embellishment for future career growth (have the brand) as well as the learning … is it worth to go through the pain of lateraling… or better to just stick it through the MM assuming you can land one? Reason I ask if I see most those who go into MF or UMM always end up reverting to a MM and if it’s better to get the brand name… might as well take the the harder path as those folks might be preferred rather than the homegrown associate at the MM looking to go from Sen Assoc to VP… curious to hear your thoughts?
The vast majority of my friends who did MF PE are at MM PE firms or not doing PE bar 1. My 2 cents if the goal is to stay in PE as someone not in PE but works for a PE port-co and knows a lot of people in PE (yes better than a Apo stint for the long-run despite their insane comp for associates): I think the absolute best landing spot is finding an MM firm that will scale and grow with the firm. This is simply because growing firms = typically have higher odds of promotions and speed of promotions, and that's one of the big bottlenecks in PE investing careers.
Yes, you can lateral, but the reputational gain internally for being an insider is huge for longer-term promotions as it essentially means you have 2-3 more years to gain internal supporters/mentors+ not always going able to lateral to good firms as many (especially these days) promote from within and a lot of firms have a mentality of wanting to develop investors familiar with investing style. Now, the real problem with this is the fact that it's very, very difficult to find MM firms that can scale, and frankly, a lot of MMs are JAMMBO's. Additionally, it's very hard to figure out interests in terms of industry or investing 2 years out of college to where MFs are quite appealing because it means you have more flexibility in moving after your PE stint.
Totally fair, and valid perspectives. If you had a chance to boil down key factors filter through JAMMBO’s and increase the likelihood of finding that scalable PE firm (have a couple growth equity ones off the top of my head I’d love to PM you about), what would those indications be? Will be an An1 in just a few short weeks, so incredibly grateful for these POVs. Thank you.
Not super familiar with GE specifically, very different from traditional PE since you're typically writing minority checks rather than taking control. That distinction alone changes the investment approach quite a bit.
If I were evaluating a platform (especially in the MM space), I’d focus on three main things:
Differentiation, dig into the team, portfolio, and strategy. Are they doing anything that stands out? This could be vertical specialization (industry, geography), or a legitimate operational edge (everyone claims this, few deliver). Most firms sound the same on paper, figure out if there’s substance behind the pitch.
Fundraising traction – PE is ultimately a sales business, to LPs. If the firm has raised funds in the last 1–2 years, especially in this market, that’s a strong signal. A lot of firms (especially JAMMBOs like Onex and AmSec) are stalling out or fading entirely.
Returns – At the end of the day, this is the biggest driver. No amount of "strategy" will overcome weak performance, and vice versa. Look at Audax, no real differentiation, but consistently strong returns, and they scale easily. Good performance can paper over a lot.
That said, JAMMBO status isn’t always a dealbreaker; some generalist platforms scale just fine. It’s just harder, since their story to LPs relies almost entirely on returns without a clear edge. I’d look for firms with some credible path to scale, whether that’s sector specialization, a value creation playbook, or a real sourcing edge. Greenbriar and Arlington Capital come to mind as firms that feel different off the top of my mind.
Happy to share thoughts on specific firms if helpful. just drop names. I don’t know every MM platform, but always down to be helpful (and I’m sure others can chime in too).
Again golden advice sir! Thank you. Have heard from folks in my network on Haveli Momentum and ClearHaven… but could be totally wrong on that end.. always guessing “where has the train chugged most of its coal and if there is any more steam down the line…” metaphorically
From Google searches, it seems like tech PE places. Sadly, not a tech guy or in the MM space, and too far removed from the space directly to have too much knowledge of PE firms directly playing in the MM space. Will say in the MM Tech world, have heard good things about HGCC, STG, and AKKR from people Ik there. Fact check and get opinions of actual tech people on those 3 firms, don't know much about them outside of some people have had positive experiences there. Your experience may vary.
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