Best PE Analyst Programs vs Opportunity Cost (top IB)

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BX analyst program has been around forever and has extremely strong hf placement. Have heard that the KKR program is relatively undeveloped and poor, although I'm sure the name alone gets you pretty far. As far as programs that you haven't listed, BDT and GTCR have analyst roles in Chicago.

Has anyone heard back from Vista on their experienced analyst application that closed last Monday?

WP doesn't take SA, only FT. Bain Capital takes historically 1-2 SA but fills most of their class via FT recruiting. TPG used to take analysts ad hoc but think it's very rare / not a structured program.

a) For firms that emphasize staying in PE long term (which also correlates to short-term better learning experience IMO), would say Bain, WP, and Ares have the most focus on internal promotion to principal level (not very familiar with TMT so don't know much about Vista or SL, would also be a little concerned about Ares track record / fundraising recently). Think it's a hard sell if you want to switch to H&F or APO after 2 years—unless it's a location reason will face a lot of questions from HHs about why you're jumping funds so early.

b) L/S HF is more about brand name—any of these will do fine but BX + KKR will have an edge here; SIlver Lake and Vista obviously have done well sending people to TMT funds but not sure that's the ideal place to go in the short / medium term given high water marks. Would emphasize that you'll get the same interviews more or less coming from any of these programs though.

c) Same deal for 2 + 2 / general opportunities—brand name / size (i.e., BX, KKR) matter here a bit more, though any of these firms should easily get you into H/S/W. (Especially if you choose to return to a place like WP or Bain and they heavily push for you at H/S). More operationally focused firms (e.g., Bain, Vista, and TPG and WP to a lesser extent) would likely marginally prepare you better for roles outside of investing. 

That said, any of these programs are fantastic—recruit for all of them and if you're lucky enough to be choosing between 2 or more, come back to this forum w more specifics.

Re: programs you missed, Apax, GTCR, BDT as mentioned . Think I've seen an Oaktree and Permira intern or two but not full time analysts. 

Getting into any of these funds listed is extremely tough out of undergrad so I would not put all your eggs in getting an offer from them. To address your question, if you want to stay in PE long term getting a seat at any of the funds will position you better than starting out in a banking program. However, it really depends on what kind of investing you want to do. If you are interested in growth investing in the long run, starting off at a Vista or a Warburg will certainly give you an edge as you will have those reps and exposure earlier in your career. If you are interested in late stage investing in the long run, starting of at a BX/KKR/SLP/Ares will definitely give you a leg up.

The reality is late stage investing is very boring but the reason people still do it is for added optionality. Late-stage investing at the junior level is much more analytical work than growth investing at the junior level. The majority of deals you will doing at a late-stage shop are via auction process meaning you will have to go through a formal deal process. You will have to go into the data-rooms and analyze the company at the most fundamental level during due diligence. For this reason, it is significantly easier to go from late stage investing to growth than the other way around. One could argue a certain banking programs better prepare for late stage investing than growth analyst programs. 

Additionally, the job of a hedge fund analyst is much more similar to that of a PE analyst/associate at the late stage shops than the growth oriented shops. For this reason, you see a lot of BX/KKR/SLP/Ares exiting into top HFs after their 2 year stint. 

a) To answer your first question, I would break out the best programs into 2 categories;

Best to stay in growth investing long term - Warburg, Vista, & SLP

Best to stay in late-stage investing long term - BX, KKR, SLP, Ares, and Bain

b) The best for L/S HFs are by far BX/KKR/SLP, though I have seen a few from Ares/Bain 

c) Best General Opportunities: BX/KKR/Apollo/Carlyle have gotten so large that their brand outside of finance is much stronger than other PE funds though not as strong as GS. This lends itself to some unique oppurtunties.

For what it’s worth, those who go into the top IB groups/programs do have a pretty well-trodded path into private equity and even the big multi-manager L/S equity hedge fund firms. The recruiting system at the banks is like OCR at the top Ivy League schools or what have you. The recruiters love to recruit fresh banking analysts into all of those PE firms and hedge funds. It’s like for people who want to go to an Ivy League school or top college because of the great career opportunities it provides after graduation. 
 

that said, if you know you want to do PE 100% for a career then it would seem to make the most sense just to go to PE now. Ultimately comp will be determined based on your ability to raise/manage capital and generate returns from it, so best to start figuring out now your edge and how you can best do that. Each of those firms has crafted a niche and specialty in the market that allows them to compete for investor money and generate returns for them. If you are attracted to any of their styles/philosophies it may be best to just go with them and take it from there. Same goes with if you want to go into hedge fund investing. Better to start investing now/sooner so you have a more applicable skillset. If you want some 2+2 with optionality to do who knows what then best to probably just stay on the conveyor belt of undergrad, banking, PE, b school and then hedge fund/MMPE/tech or what have you from there

Some MM/UMM Analyst programs to consider also are Charlesbank, Crestview, Cove Hill, Sumeru, Baypine, and Arcline

Cue the question about whether you should take a MF PE position or PJT RSSG / GS TMT for exit opps

HF exits are incredible across the board. All of these PE analyst programs will get you inbounds and interviews from top SMs. A quick LinkedIn search reveals analyst program alum from Blackstone at D1, Bain Capital at Viking, Warburg at Dragoneer, TPG at Soroban, and far more - at this level, everyone interested has the opportunity. Increasingly, PE analysts are top choices for SMs because they're younger, the programs are so competitive, and they select for students with strong demonstrated investing interest and skill across the board. Hard to differentiate between in this regard, Blackstone perhaps a notch above. 

In terms of staying in PE long-term, would consider (1) historical principal-track promotion opportunities from the analyst program and (2) interest in staying on at that particular firm for the long-run (comp, culture, etc.). On both of these fronts, the Warburg and Bain programs are the clear standouts - both have meaningful analyst representation at the VP and above level, and fill a greater proportion of their associate classes through the analyst classes than others (signaling their commitment to those hires). The 2nd factor is of course more subjective and down to the individual, but Warburg and Bain are well reputed as career PE spots due to culture and generous economics from remaining private. 

Opportunities outside investing will be comparable to those trying to make the jump from most finance jobs but there is certainly an edge here to the GS/MS brands, which is a consideration if there's career uncertainty.

Outside of these, some other factors relevant to deciding between programs that some other posters have echoed:

(1) Strategy/Focus: are you interested in tech (Silver Lake/Vista)? Growthier (Warburg) or operational buyout (Bain)? Distressed angle (Ares)? Which verticals are you most interested in and which funds are strongest/most active in those verticals? These funds do vary in their investment styles, particularly at the margins, and it's important to determine which you're most attracted to.

(2) Program Experience: here, I would focus on how long the program has been around, the size of the analyst class / importance of the analyst class in the investment process, and the nature of the training and support received. This is an underrated factor that can mean the difference between a true learning environment with support and attention from superiors and streamlined integration into deals and staffings versus a disjoint experience where the analysts get forgotten about in the team. Anecdotally, have heard concerns about KKR's program (and a couple other newer programs) on this front and to a lesser extent Silver Lake, but these may have improved as the programs develop over time.

All in all, if you're interested in investing it's hard to argue with diving right in with a PE analyst program. Top choices based on these factors about would Blackstone, Warburg, and Bain (Silver Lake and Vista if tech) but all are unquestionably top opportunities.

Any insight on Sixth Street / Bain Credit / Ares analyst program and firm rep? Would you take these over banking? I know it's not straight PE but still.

This guy said (very few?) lmao 

What are thoughts on MF credit/distressed analyst programs? Little bro wants to recruit for BX credit and Bain Cap credit this spring (he liked his internship at a small PC firm last summer, which is partly why he’s thinking that over buyout PE) and was asking me about exits/reception in industry