Ask Me Anything: Former MS M&A / Megafund PE
I’ve used this site for years without ever contributing - figured my experience may be helpful, ask away.
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Figure someone will ask, so might as well - how well does MS M&A actually place into PE? And which funds do people most want to go to these days?
It depends on the year, but from what I’ve seen, the earlier PE recruiting happens the better off you are at a group that has had historical success. My year the headhunters / PE firms were caught off guard and didn’t have a strong view on their interview short list yet. Everyone in M&A was offered the full slate of interviews, even at places they had never spoken with. They just invited the historically strongest groups (saw the same MS, GS, JPM, Evercore kids at multiple interviews). That said I think in recent years there is less of a surprise and more of an effort to actually weed out the best candidates before interviews kick off. On your second question, despite what I’ve read on here I still think the most sought after funds have not changed and are what you would expect - in my mind that is: KKR, TPG, Carlyle, BX, Warburg, H&F, Vista, and a few others. But everyone has a different opinion on that.
Of course. The gap between the largest and best performing funds and the lower tier has only gotten bigger !
The big names are still the same they were 5, 6 years ago !
No Apollo?!
What did hours typically top out at? 60-70 normal and then 80-90 when it was time to grind?
How was your megafund experience compared to your time at MS? Is Mega fund really the banking 2.0?
It is unquestionably much better. More than anything else, there is a greater respect for your time and your value to the team. Others may disagree, but the toughest part of banking was the arbitrary tight timelines and disregard for the inconvenience that might cause you. The people I’ve encountered in PE value the associates’ input and try to be as efficient as possible with everyone’s time. There are still plenty of late nights and annoying asks, but it doesn’t even come close - at the end of the day you’re no longer serving a direct client and trying to make everything perfect for them. You’re trying to hone in on the answer of “is this business attractive / worth our time and why”.
Hey thanks for doing this. Really really appreciate it. I’m about to start this summer and I’m terrified because I do not have the GS/EVR pedigree like my future class...
How far are you into your PE career path? Do you like it? Plan to stay at MF or go downstream or different career? How often do you work full weekends?
Business school on the horizon? Why or why not?
How much do you see MDs? How much of a voice do you have when relaying your assessment of investments? Is it hierarchical or flat (eg my current job you can just talk loud over a partner/MD if they’re wrong for the sake of getting to the point more quickly)?
What do you think determines who gets the nod for VP? How much is likability (we can work with this guy the next 15 years, we like his wife, he’ll be a good fit here) vs raw talent (ability to start taking on VP deal QBing role as an associate)
What do you do outside of work? Any charities or junior boards or whatnot?
Did you have the same level of start class camaraderie when starting at a MF? If not, can you describe how it was different (guessing because everyone’s a bit more adult it’s different)
What are the most important skills in your job? Calendar management? Networking with top brass / the right bankers? Raw plowing through a data room skills?
How many hours of sleep do you get a night? Is it better to be an early riser or midnight owl? Eg in banking/consulting you’d have nothing to do all day because MD/partner takes until 5 to turn comments so if you could get away with it, better to come in late and get sleep. What’s the dynamic like at your shop?
Did you see anyone quit the associate program? If so, why?
Are you at a shop with consultants? What was that like for them? Who sank and who swam, and why?
I’ll stop here but if you’re willing, I have loads more... don’t want to overdo it / want to leave some thread space for others. Thanks again mate cheers.
Edit: one more, can’t resist: if you could go back to when you just started in PE and tell yourself one thing you’ve learned or one piece of advice, what would it be?
You seem committed. Keep it up!
This is a bear of a question, and I’m not even sure it’s completely serious. Might be easier to message me directly for this. Generally would say that for now, focus on the task at hand which is to be a strong analyst that works hard, anticipates the next ask, and can be relied on. Do this and I think the rest will fall into place. I know that doesn’t answer your question but there’s just too much there right now.
Thanks, I’ll shoot you a PM
To be quite honest, I think a lot of us would really appreciate it hearing the responses to the questions above. It would be really helpful, if it would be possible, to answer some of the questions, maybe piecemeal over time, in the public forum so we could all benefit from the responses.
Thanks so much for the time here!
Both in PM and in thread these have gone unanswered (giving the original poster the benefit of the doubt of course - I am sure they are busy / something came up).
That said, unlike the other answers in this thread, some of the above questions aren’t answered elsewhere on WSO explicitly (at least not in the spirit of how they’re asked here), so I don’t want to let this slip away.
Does anyone else with a similar caliber of experience (I would be keen to hear from anyone with experience at any respected fund) have answers to some of these questions?
Thanks again, very hopeful to get some color.
lol
Do you ever take 2 hour showers?
Target or non target school?
Not a top target, think Duke/Georgetown/Michigan. Leveraging the alumni base was key for me.
When you say you leveraged the network, are you referring to internships/banking or for PE? Curious because I’ve been told that networking at PE firms isn’t all that helpful from a recruiting standpoint if you’re interviewing on cycle (although I can certainly see benefits along the lines of knowing the fund and strategy really well).
plan on moving to HF at any point?
How much do you bench?
If you go to a MM PE fund out of undergrad rather than a EB or BB investment bank, can you still recruit for MF PE afterwards? Do analysts/associates from MM PE exit to MF PE?
I think this is a nuanced question, as it really depends on which fund you join out of school. I know that joining a megafund right out of school is the most highly competitive job there is - ahead of any bank or group. The kids who go to KKR/BX/Silver Lake out of undergrad tend to be the best of the best, and often end up moving the a top HF after their analyst/associate years. Haven’t seen as many examples of MM PE analysts moving to a MF associate role, but it’s certainly possible. Would probably just require a bit more networking and proactively reaching out to headhunters.
Do you intend to stay in MF PE or move out?
At both MS and the MF that you're a part of, how big of a role does the brand of the business school that one attends play in helping one get an interview? Obviously hsw top but how are the schools below that perceived? Are all remaining schools within the MBA business schools">m7 or t10 considered equal, or do some even stand out among them?
For MF, it’s generally HSW. MS had a wide range of schools - probably all within top 10-15 but it was less rigid for sure.
What was your first day like? Your first week? Your deal that you contributed the most too (excluding name)? Comp progression?
I touched on this a bit in my first response. Given how early recruiting has been happening it will be hard to have much relevant deal experience if any. Would instead focus on how you think about businesses from the investors perspective. Maybe you’re staffed on a few coverage accounts at best when the process kicks off - not ideal but try to think about these companies from the lens of a buyer. Interviewers want to hear you walk through why x company is attractive or not. It doesn’t need to be some deeply researched answer - think about how Porters 5 forces apply to the business and that would be a really good start. Beyond this, would make sure to do a few practice LBOs.
Can you give us a range of compensation at a megafunds for 1st and 2nd year? Would like to clear it up given not much clarity on these forums.
Hi! Thanks for doing this. I'm going to be starting as an analyst next year at a MF (BX/KKR/CG) at one of the PE groups (but not the main "traditional" buyout group, i.e. the energy / infra group). Was wondering what your impression of these groups is and if the exits / pay are on par with the traditonal buyout groups.
The group does traditonal LBO / majority stake / GE investments that one would see a normal fund do, but I am trying to get an idea if I will still be able to get looks at all the top HFs that a MF analyst would. Thanks!
how much of a role does gpa/UG prestige/college resume+ECs matter for MF recruitment?
Hey, thanks for doing this. How often do you see a candidate coming from a valuation background (think D&P, HL, Big 4 TAS) getting a shot at interviewing for a MegaFund PE. I am from a similar background at the end of the analyst cycle looking to transition to PE while remaining realistic. What are the odds?
Not OP, but I'll offer my perspective.
MegaFund PE is going to be a big stretch. The types of backgrounds that get MF PE looks are your Goldman TMT, MS M&A, Lazard consumer type folks, which is just a far cry from a valuation background. That doesn't mean you can't break into PE, you absolutely can, you'll just need to look further down market or use IB as a stepping stone.
I have a buddy who did a year at one of D&P, HL, Big 4 TAS, two years as a MM IB Analyst, and is now a LMM PE associate. He works 9-8 investing in an industry he's passionate about with great comp and a lean team - sounds like a great role to shoot for
whats his comp approx?
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