Distressed PE / PC Associates: Help
Hey everyone,
So I am joining up with a RX group at a pretty well known MM IB (Blair/Baird).
I'm interested in going buyside, but I don't know if I have the stats to do it.
I have a 3.75 GPA at a school which has some name in the PA/NJ/DE area. I have 3 internships, i'm diverse, and I have a 730 GMAT score. I didn't take the SAT/ACT for family reasons.
I'm not looking for anything fancy like Ares Special Sits or anything, I just wanted to know what everyone thinks about what might happen on oncycle next year, and my chances of ending up at a special situations / distressed PE shop.
Is there anything I can do right now to prepare for it since Oncycle is getting earlier and earlier?
Not sure this directly answers you, but I would reach out to people (especially if you can find people with your same background) at shops you are interested in. The distressed world is pretty small, and when I was exploring special sits roles people were generally receptive of inbounds.
If you haven't already, immerse yourself in Reorg, read the Distressed Debt Investing blog, and read the Moyer book. Those + work exp should get you ready to put together some cases / theses on big names, which I would send to people and ask if they'd take a look.
Is it weird to reach out to people when I haven't even been in the job yet?
Don't think so if you are clearly just asking for advice / connecting - especially if you can frame the diversity part tactfully if reaching out to another person who would relate (though diversity connection aside it's fine to do).
I don't mean to hijack OP's post, but what's the outlook for a long-term career in special sits/distressed PE - lifestyle, sustainability in terms of exciting work, etc.
Current SA at a top distressed fund (think Silver Point, etc). OP, I don't mean to hihack your post, but have you considered planning for a 3 year analyst stint, lateralling a few months in, and spending 2 years at a top/better RX group (PJT/Moelis/Evercore/Lazard/HL/GHL). I would recommend this in the current climate for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you will get the absolute best exits available to anyone in banking from any of the shops I just mentioned. Secondly, you would have 1-2 years instead of 0-1 years to prepare for on-cycle. This should be a massive advantage in your favor, especially if on-cycle continues to happen relatively early like this year. Getting a top firm on your resume may also help as you lack the branding in terms of school/firm/grades/group otherwise. To me, it seems like a sacrifice of a single year for a complete upwards shift in career trajectory.
+1 for this plan. Really like it. Also wouldn't think of it as losing a year either - that experience will be useful in the long-run and you're getting paid decently. Very different than other courses of action that people take to pivot/upgrade, like doing an MBA, which has a much more significant opportunity cost
Ah yeah,
The problem with that is that I really like the folk I'm working with. Like the culture is great and I get great distressed M&A reps. Like during my SA I was working on 3 concurrent distressed M&A deals at once and since its such a small team I got exposure to everything.
Honestly I can see myself being a career banker there, I just want to see what else is out there.
I don't get why if I know how to do the work and get a bunch of deal experience, why is it so hard to translate that to exits?
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