Curious if anyone has insights on comp (bonus range, total comp) and exit opps/long-term career development from an analyst position at Ares Secondary team out of undergrad? How does the summer analyst return rate look like?
On a prestigious end, how does it compare with an offer from mid-tier BB or low-tier BB?
Much appreciated!
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way ahead of any BB offers
Could you elaborate more on why it’s better than any BB offers? I heard their returns are pretty low given this hot secondary market.
Yeah, it simply isn’t… I had an offer there out of UG, didn’t take it over a mid (?) BB. No one I talked to besides Ares folks recommended any different.
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Work at an adjacent fund but what I can say is:
Ares is building out their secondaries offerings (see the Mubadala co-raise for the credit fund) and will see a rapid influx of quality talent. Their most recent fund has performed lacklusterly but decisions were made under the legacy Landmark management on the whole. I'm confident that future funds will be robust under Ares' platform and guidance. Ares is miles more prestigious than any mid-tier bulge and the trajectory of its secondaries group is only upwards. If you're sure that you want to pursue secondaries, then this is a golden opportunity. Growth outlook for the industry is immense and I know many people who are dying to break in. Secondaries work, however, is pretty niche at times and breaking into direct traditional buyout is typically very hard. What you should be weighing is whether you want to step into a secondaries role now or give yourself greater optionality down the line (choosing between secondaries or IB as a whole).
I can't speak directly to the comp/culture at Ares but likely on par/slighty above street at the junior level.
What are some other players in the Secondaries space to look out for?
TIA
To drop a few names, on the larger end, Apollo S3. Smaller side, Hollyport and Banner Ridge are interesting to me.
Larger Firms: Neuberger Berman, Whitehorse, Lexington, HarbourVest, Coller, AlpInvest, Hollyport, StepStone
Larger Firms to Avoid: Hamilton Lane, Ardian, Glendower, Commonfund
Smaller Side: Portfolio Advisors, Apogem, Sweetwater, Keystone, W Capital
Credit Strategies and Other: Apollo S3 (new group have gotten mixed feedback), Kline Hill, FoxPath, Stafford off the top of my head, lots more but primarily based out of Europe
Work at similarly sized secondary fund and have two close friends at Ares and I wholeheartedly disagree.
The Landmark team still drives most deal flow at the firm and have a lot of influence on day-to-day operations. The firm's positioning is terrible a 50-75 mm bite size on the CV side isn't large enough to make them a lead investor and their lack of a FoF program makes them a deprioritized syndicate partner. Their performance isn't going to improve as the secondaries market becomes more competitive. Turn over at the junior level at the firm is extraordinarily high for a reason.
Adding to this, wasn’t the latest fundraise so poor because of all the senior departures? The juniors I know there are constantly getting worked.
Great position at one of the most respected investors out there but please stop it with the prestige-whoring.
Not to hijack, but does anyone know which headhunter Ares uses to fill their landmark roles?
They use the same lady at Winston and Roark as everyone else
Curious to know what Bonus Range looks like for analyst and associates?
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