Which offer to choose for fulltime: Ardea Partners, BDA Partners, DBO Partners, FT Partners, or JPM Corporate Banking??? URGENT
Hi is anyone familiar with the above banks that could advise me on which offer to take if I want to exit into PE after a few years? I'm interested in tech space but it seems like aside from JPM, FT Partners is the most well-known (and most notorious?) firm I have to choose from? Their exits also seem pretty good despite being a boutique as I see ppl have left for Vista, Parthenon Capital, Accel, and Coatue. Ardea seems intriguing as well as all the senior guys come from GS and most members of the firm did stints on the buyside before going back into advisory business, but the focus is on FIG so I would probably only be on the peripherals of tech through fintech businesses they advise?
DBO
Imo: Ardea>FT Partners>JPM Corporate banking (transfer internally if you are a top performer after 1-3 years to IB)>BDA Partners (they are mostly active in Asia I don't see what you'd do as a junior sitting in the London office)>DBO Partners (haven't heard of them)
From Ardea you should be able to move quite easily to a good BB/EB after a year or so, maybe also from FT partners although your deal experience will be very niche.
There’s a reason most of them came from their PE buyside exits after GS FIG back to Ardea. Chris Cole and the other senior partners have extensive and deep connections which results in fantastic dealflow relative to their size. The compensation structure is quite unique in that you get a cut of the overall firm P&L (everyone at the firm does) and so in good years the comp for analysts has been beyond what you would make at any MF PE associate role. I’m not kidding, over $300k for analysts in prior years. BUT if you want to move to PE do not go there. Ardea has a fantastic pedigree but don’t go there if you want to just leave to the buyside - this won’t serve your purpose. I’m surprised they’re even hiring new grads. They’ve only taken experienced hires up to this point.
I was wondering if you can expand on this - why Ardea wouldn't be a 'pathway' to PE. In theory, if the OP joins a top-heavy boutique IB with a lot of pedigree and is doing well, wouldn't he/she gain significant exposure that would make them an attractive candidate for PE? I can understand say the firm not being 'supportive' of them leaving vs. some other IBs where the IB>PE path is so common place they almost expect you to leave in 2 years. But doesn't that just mean the OP just needs to go through recruiting on the DL or maybe a bit more reaching out to recruiters directly? As for recognition - I'm not up-to-date on the latest in IB land, but all it took was a quick google search and skim of bios to see that Ardea is quite stacked at the leadership level to see there's legitimacy. Presumably recruiters in the space would be aware of this too.
Just want to see if I missed anything in terms of challenges OP would face if they went there. Ardea sounds like a good and unique opportunity to scale up responsibilities at the analyst level.
No you make a good point. They could certainly go to PE from Ardea. The immediate brand recognition is an issue and especially for headhunters so they’ll have to be more proactive (not sure what the recognition in the PE space is either). I just don’t think the firm would be supportive and if we’re being real, only one offer for an undergrad FT has ever been given at Ardea and it was accepted a year ago. This first experimental hire is starting this summer. So it’s going to be very obvious if this one person is “sick” during the on-cycle madness. So this is going to be the first time any PE shop will see the name “Ardea” flashed across a resume (if they decide to recruit) - there’s no alum pipeline nada. At other places it’s helpful to see where everyone 1 year ahead of you places and ask them for help etc.
Thanks for the expansion - so it looks like it is in relation to doing recruiting on the DL (or attempt to anyway) and needing to provide some education/communication on Ardea to recruiters. I think the second piece isn't too difficult - have a quick line in your resume that it's an IB founded by former GS partners, etc. The point on not having bank alums or people one year ahead to ask for help is good one, though I guess you could just ask your other older friends at other banks or boutiques that have made the transition.
But given OP's options, Ardea seems like a pretty good one. Same goes for DBO if it's a number of ex-MS bankers and if a lot of the junior talent have moved onto PE. Actually, if DBO has that track record, there's also a tried and true path there. But if OP also wants a good potential long-term path in banking, Ardea sounds like a good one.
FT Partners is known to be a sweatshop, but from an outsider's perspective it does look like they are quite legit in fintech if OP is considering that. I've met an ex-FT Partners person now in VC. Very thoughtful and knowledgeable.
FT Partners gives out great comp and focuses on a very niche but interesting space. Firm's also growing a lot. JPM Corporate has good internal transfers to IB if you're a top performer. Don't know enough about the others to give an honest opinion on. Choose where you fit in the most and where you could see yourself growing at.
How great is the comp? Top bucket is 100% of base. Bottom bucket is 40-50% of base.
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