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Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s what you need to know about buyside full-time analyst opportunities:
Top Processes for Buyside Recruiting:
Key Skills and Preparation:
Recruitment Channels:
Opportunities Beyond Buyout:
Competition and Spots:
Why Analysts Choose Buyside:
If you’re currently at a solid shop like CVP, JPM M&A, HL RX, or Laz RX, you’re in a strong position to target top buyside opportunities. Focus on leveraging your network, refining your technical skills, and preparing for the specific interview styles of your target firms.
Sources: Buyside Jobs out of Undergrad, Am I missing something about buyside exits?, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/goldmans-new-policy-for-investment-banking-analysts-3-reasons-why-it-wont?customgpt=1, Best PE Analyst Programs vs Opportunity Cost (top IB), Good time for a new analyst to join L/S hedge fund?
bump
Bump
which ones
Depends on your definition of “best”, but here are some that come to mind that usually recruit FT. All analyst classes are very small and have different recruiting situations.
Silver Lake, Warburg, Bain, BX may hire 1. Goldman Sachs Asset Management PE buyout and special sits / hybrid equity teams (they often hire from within Goldman IB pool tho). GTCR, Roark Capital as well but this is in Atlanta.
Oaktree credit (may be especially relevant if you’re in RX), I think Silver Point still hires but not sure and think this was Wharton exclusive.
BAM, Millenium (believe this already opened), I believe CAP and p72 are perpetually hiring but have a less structured ft undergrad process so may have to network into BD rep
Fidelity recruits for fixed income, but I wouldn’t quite put this in the same tier as the others. They may hire for equities too but very exclusive process. Think Wellington/cap group may as well too but again sporadic hiring and taking maybe one person each
Congrats on JPM
For PE, programs that take FT are BX, Bain, WP, GA, and Vista. Doesn’t look like SL is taking analysts this year; it looked like KKR was verging towards cutting program, and given state of its TMT team, makes sense; not even sure if Vista will go ahead this year given portfolio performance. WP and Bain run legitimate processes that are ongoing. Bx and GA happen towards end of summer—might hire 1-2 depending on summer analyst class.
If not interested in PE, all the pods run academy programs u can apply for right now. On SM side, only way to get in front of those guys is either a cold email, connection, or increasingly, a pitch comp. Unsure how non-PE groups function at MFs but from what I understand it’s usually a function of how many summers they return / maybe they have 1 spot if an intern renigs or does poorly. If you’re in a good I-banking group, might want to stay away from vanilla DL/RE just given tough market dynamics. If you want to end up at a special sits fund — figure out a way into a good rx banking seat. Just need to connect with someone in the group to stay on top of this.
On the special sits point, what would you consider "good"?
PJT/EVR are really the top dogs, but most of their analysts target PE or L/S equity (which tells you something abt the current state of SS, but that’s another conversation) so wouldn’t really be your competition. In the SS world you have privates (Apollo, Ares, etc) and HFs who do public, private, or both (Silver Point, knighthead, Mudrick). I tend to find that their analysts usually come from HL, Gugg, CVP, PWP, any solid MM firm with an rx practice where the analysts don’t go to the equities side.
How's Sculptor?
Assuming this is for their RE team which is solid, they bid on some really interesting stuff.
Yeah, comp is also insane for someone coming out of undergrad.
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