Do you consider Advent, Bain, Berkshire, H&F (and other consultant-friendly shops) as top exits?

Mostly thinking about recruiting at consulting-friendly shops (left banking for MBB and have a story why that makes sense for PE). These are obviously great funds, but I keep hearing that you really only get to interview with a couple places during the on-cycle mad dash. Would you pass up on a first round interview at a top banking-friendly shop (e.g. Carlyle, BX, KKR, etc) to attend one of these shops’ processes instead (especially as a consultant, but also more generally). Any further detail on these funds in particular would be much appreciated as well (not that many threads from very recent years for Advent or Berkshire) - thanks!

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Short answer: yes

Long answer: yes

People will split hairs between the banking / consulting focused shops you mentioned but at the end of the day all are well-regarded MFs/UMMs that place very well into HSW. Where you interview and ultimately decide to take an offer is going to be a matter of personal preference (the experience you want to get in PE, geography, etc.). Is there a specific shop you'd like info on / specific questions you have? Otherwise it's hard to be much more helpful

 

Thank you - I think I’d love to return the Boston, unlike many. I went to school around the area, most of my friends live there, and my SO is going to grad school there too. It just so happens that several operationally-leaning UMMs / MFs are in Boston, so would love to hear your take on Advent, Bain and Berkshire in particular.

 
Most Helpful

Advent - relatively underrated firm. Has a better rep in Europe, but overall returns have been very strong. Impression I get is that it's slightly better on WLB and has pretty good culture. People I know who work there enjoy it.

Bain - associate experience can have a pretty wide range because they don't do that many deals and deal teams are big. Nonetheless, everyone I know who's been offered the option to go back post MBA has taken it. Pretty much everyone gets into H/S. Post MBA seems like a grind. Unclear how happy folks are.

Berkshire - know the least out of the three, but former associates seems to view the firm in high regard. Seems to have a good culture. If this tells you anything, they did a two or three week firm wide shutdown this summer to let everyone recharge. No way that would happen at a banker focused firm.

 

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