Principal Investments -> Top MBA -> PE?
Hi all, hope you are staying safe in this current environment.
I am new to posting here, but I have been browsing this forum since 2012.
Below's my current situation and would love to have your advice if possible:
Right after undergrad in the US (non-target), I moved back to Asia to work in the principal investments team of a financial services company (majority-owned by a MF) and have worked there for ~5 years. My main responsibilities include:
- Build investment models and prepare IC memo (representatives from the MF sit on the IC) for new investments, though only a few deals went through in my 5 years here
- Helped start a new business where we underwrite and pitch distressed opportunities to distressed funds
- Monitor portfolio companies
This fall, I will be attending one of the top business schools in the US (think H/W/S) and am wondering what I should do if my ultimate goal is to get into PE (thinking distressed/special sit, but not fixated).
Currently, I am mapping my options as follows (assuming all goes well):
Option A: Summer internship (EB RX) => full time (EB RX) => try to lateral into PE few years down the road Option B: Summer internship (BB IBD) => full time (BB IBD) => try to lateral into PE few years down the road Option C: Summer internship (PE) => full time (PE) Option D: Summer internship (EB RX / BB IBD) => try to recruit for PE full time
After I spoke with a few people, it seems that Option C is a bit risky as summer internship at a PE fund may not lead to full time offer due to headcount, dealflow. etc. Option D may also be difficult given that I have to accept the return offer from the summer internship pretty soon, thus giving me no to little time of recruiting for PE full time.
So, I am thinking if my options are limited to Option A or Option B. Also, would Option A or Option B be more preferable than working at a MM PE fund as I know quite a few MM funds recruit on-campus?
Sorry for the long post, but would love to hear your advice! Thanks a lot.
I'll add my two cents as someone who is in a very similar, albeit not identical, situation to you (pre-MBA corporate strategy work with some M&A/DD in-house, but hoping to transition to PE for a career; will start at non-HSW M7 in the fall, so in these two respects you have a leg up to me).
A and B will be extremely tough--I've heard until you get to be at least a mid-level VP in IB the jump is very hard. C and D are very hard and require a lot of networking, extracurricular PE involvement (e.g., buyout competition, investment thesis competitions, work on the side to prove your worth), and, frankly, luck. A good outcome would be a LMM/MM PE shop ($5B in AUM, likely $1B in AUM). I think C is generally viewed as a little more likely/better for success than D, but I did speak to one guy who did consulting pre-MBA, GS summer, then a FT job at a large sponsor--he admitted he totally lucked out in a great situation though.
Happy to chat more man, we've got a long road but you're in a great spot and still early career.
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