Answering questions PE in Spain

Question

Good morning to all, 
I am open to give back to the community by answering (most of) questions about PE.
About myself, ending my second year as an investment analyst at a MM Spanish PE. Prior to this I was an off-cycle analyst while finishing my master's degree in industrial engineering. Did some internships in industrial companies and consulting.

jjmnj · Accepted Answer

Hey, thanks for doing this!

I’m currently working as a PE analyst ( hopefully soon to be associate) in Portugal, and would eventually like to move to Spain.

I’ve been following quite some funds in Spain (portobello, sherpa, etc), and night have some questions:

1) I know that many of these funds operate in all Iberia. Would you think a Portuguese speaker could break into PE in Spain? My Spanish knowledge is intermediate, meaning I can fully understand but I have a rather basic level when it comes to maintaining a conversation.

2) How’s compensation like?

gelport · Answer

Hi there! I answer below:

1) comps are gross/pre-tax

2) For spanish mid-market PE, including bonus and without considering carry: analyst level 40-65k€ / associate level 65-90k€ / senior associate 90k€-120k€ / ID >120k€

3) PE industry is always looking for talent, specially coming from top IB shops. Not best timing as many PE funds are currently in fundraising and fundraising is being quite hard due to macro environment + stock market valuations (to understand this better look for "denominator effect in fundraising").

gelport · Answer

Hi there!

In my view, whether someone studied in the UK or Spain shouldn’t be a decisive factor in the recruitment process. While it’s true that people often recruit from their own universities due to sentiment or alumni networks, a strong candidate is still a strong candidate, regardless of where they studied.

Salaries in Spain are typically lower than in the UK. Keep in mind that during your first years, most of your savings will come from your bonus — and bonuses in the UK are generally higher.

gelport · Answer

Hi jjmnj!

Totally correct, usually Spanish PE fund have an investment area that covers iberia (Spain + Portugal). However, apart from Sherpa I think that most of MM PE only do 1 investment (2 max) per fund. Most of your coverage/origination will be within Spanish companies and for that it will be helpfull to improve your Spanish.

Compensation should be similar, maybe a little bit higher. This depends if your firm gives you share of the carry or not.

At the end: A + B + C = aprox the same in all firms.

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Answering questions PE in Spain

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Answering questions PE in Spain

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