Ares or Vista?
Which is a better place to be an analyst?
Trending Content
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
April 30, 2024
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
deleted
Vista analysts definitely model lol
Do you fancy them or something
This is how I see it from what I understand about their respective analyst programs:
Comp: Heard Ares pays street and Vista is on the low end, but you are also in low COL Texas. I'd say draw unless Vista is way lower
Culture: maybe Ares if recent cultural changes are true though both are likely rough
Hours : Ares
Technical Experience: Ares (more involved in modeling and working with a variety of business models than Vista)
Investment style: believe Ares is industry generalist for analysts and you work on LBO's and distressed investments in more traditional, slow-growth industries. Vista is focused on fast growing enterprise software and often employs a rollup strategy. This is just personal preference (broad investment learning vs narrow/focused)
Location: Austin vs LA, personal preference
Fund performance: Vista is absolutely crushing it, Ares' returns have lagged
Exit Opps: tbh I don't think there is really anywhere you could get from one but not the other, probably Ares if you want HF/distressed/credit/traditional PE and Vista if you want VC/Growth/startup/Tech PE, but I think this would probably come down much more to the individual.
training/structure: both been around for a while, draw
Upward mobility: It seems like there aren't as many analyst to associate promotes at Vista as you might expect based on their website (could be just because they choose to leave, would be interested to hear if anybody knows more about this). Think Ares offers associate promotion to most analysts
Overall, I'd say if you for sure want to do tech investing, go with Vista (especially if analyst to associate is feasible) and Ares otherwise. Just contributing what I've heard though, would be helpful if anybody could push back or confirm any of my points
Disagree a bit with comp, culture, and hours for vista. Vista pays above street for analysts when you include base, bonus+carry, and tax savings from being in austin. Culture and hours are pretty standard as well.
They give carry to analysts?
Are we talking about the same Vista? Because from my experience comp, hours, and definitely culture have left something to be desired...
I did a superday at Vista today. Was told that 85% of senior management started as an analyst or associate. If you get a seat they intend on seriously investing in you, and it is possible to ride it out to partnership level, otherwise exit to top tier VC/growth shops.
That’s sort of a throwaway marketing comment made to young monkeys to give them a tingley feeling in their butt hole.
The same can be said by just about every single PE firm. It doesn’t mean they invest in jack shit.
It just means that you joined the industry 20 years ago when it was still fledgling, punched your golden ticket for the PE rocket ship, and have been making so much money (almost all of it illiquid and tied up in unvested carry) that you didn’t even think about switching firms. As a result, you’re now 45/50 and still at said firm (eg Vista, Thoma Bravo, Leonard Green, etc) and most likely sit on investment committee and some other made up committee they give out to senior partners like third-world dictators give out war decorations to their loyal servants.
Means absolutely nothing about new incoming analysts/associates or how much they invest in you.
The junior ranks at PE firms are largely consumables. Not saying that to make you cynical, but to give realistic expectations. Know what you’re getting into, know what you’re trying to get out of it, know what they are trying to get out of you.
They’ll pay you with warm and fuzzies if you’re willing to accept it as currency. Just know when you go and try to use that funny money elsewhere, people will laugh at you and ask for cold hard cash.
Yeah this is pretty inaccurate lol
Mind saying specifically what you find inaccurate?
Would definitely take Vista. Top performing fund in the fastest growing segment of the economy. If you can make associate there you are golden
I think it more so depends on what you’re interested in. To just say “go Vista because they’re one of the best firms out there” is poor advice imo. The truth is, if you want to live and breath software (not tech, but software specifically), there is perhaps no better place to be and their returns prove as much. That being said, a poster earlier in this thread made a really good point that depending on where your interests lie that should probably be a criteria you weigh heavily in your decision. Overall both are awesome gigs and you can’t go wrong, just think it’s important to call out the actual content of the job which might be overlooked by prestige, returns, etc.
Anyone have any info on HF exits for Vista analysts, or anyone have a list of funds that have taken vista analysts in the past? Would you get looks from top SMs? Vista's obviously focused on enterprise software -- would you only get looks from tech focused funds?
Also anyone know HF exits for ares analysts?
Curious, why would you leave Vista to go to a HF? If you’re so bent on HF, why not go straight there. Why do you need control investing training?
From Linkedin I saw:
Vista - Coatue, Dragoneer x2, Flight Deck Capital
Ares - Steadfast financial, Junto Capital, Hitchwood Capital, Farallon, believe someone to Elliott as well
Probably more, some HF's don't have a proper linkedin
Following
I interviewed with both for SA and would take Vista if given the choice. The Ares people came across as kind of weird/dry/rude in both the info session and interviews, which I have never experienced before. My first interviewer at Ares also told me that they basically throw their analysts to the wolves, and they don't stop being like a "fish out of water" until about a year in. I didn't get the vibe that I would be getting a lot of support as a junior. Meanwhile, at Vista, they assume you come in knowing nothing and spend a lot of time developing you, especially your investment intuition, while you gain more modeling responsibilities throughout your two year analyst stint. The only hesitation I would have with Vista is that you might be pigeonholed a bit into tech, but I'm not really sure about that.
-
Voluptatibus et et iste et nobis voluptas nulla. Aut eius quod impedit dolore. Consectetur est illo omnis ut aut similique consequatur. Ea vel repellendus neque voluptatem rerum et velit. Alias optio velit omnis sed illo consequatur expedita.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...