MD Dating My Mom!

Now that I have your attention...I have an SA offer from a top MM coverage group (think Baird/HL). I have upcoming Superdays with a BB (think UBS/DB, generalist offer with no group guarantee, although my current networking connections are all in a top group) and a MM Tech PE firm (think AccelKKR/LLR/OpenView). Main considerations are, in order, long-term career ops (either staying or exiting), culture, and comp. Any insight is appreciated. 

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Ngl he got me.

Okay, conventional wisdom goes that BBs give you the most optionality throughout your career, but if you end up at a mediocre team at UBS, you'll have zero deal flow and end up worse off. If you want to exit finance altogether, the BB gives you the best optionality by far, even if it is UBS. So if you're looking for flexibility, either go with the top MM shop or the BB, MM if you know you want to do finance and BB if not. If you know you want to do PE, then either the top MM team or the tech PE shop would be the best option, but I still have to stress, it depends on whether or not the BB has actual deal flow. 

Maybe my advice is outdated since I did PE recruiting back in 2021, but deal flow will be important to give you reps and to be able to speak about it in interviews. If the team at UBS/DB has none, it will not help you as much as getting a lot of reps at a middle market shop.

Best comp will be the MM shop. 

Culture will be highly team dependent.

MS me if I missed anything.

 

Very helpful. BB is definitely one who's deal flow is highly group dependent. All of my networking (two senior contacts and an ASO R1 interviewer that liked me) are in a top group with a ton of deal flow...but group placement can go awry sometimes. MM group is drowning in deal flow. Definitely want to stay in IB/go to PE (only other consideration would be law school), but I can't figure out whether SA/analyst role at tech PE shop is almost entirely sourcing vs. deal work. BB and MM both in NY, PE shop in Tier 2 city. 

 

Does the MM shop do big deals or just a lot of 500mm stuff? If they do really big deals, I think it'd be a relatively safe bet. 

 

AKKR > UBS/DB; they are one of the best Tech investors out there; top-quartile returns. They are also more of a lower UMM given size is 5.3bn. An outcome to AKKR would be an elite exit from UBS/DB and a respectable exit from any bank. More dicey on the other two names, which are not as well-known or large.

 

Then just think of how that firm would evaluate relative to outcomes from the BB you are going to mixed with how sure you are of PE. If it'd still be a top quartile outcome from your lower BB, would take the PE offer (prob the case if any non-shrinking or flat momentum fund above ~4bn fund size) assuming you are reasonable sure of PE. As to how to evaluate a firm; lots of good comments on WSO about it. Think it's a mix of fund momentum, ability for you to get promoted, and industry reputation (some of the older firms have better reputations than current fund size).

 

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