EB PCA vs PE IR to start career?
Hi everyone,
Converted my PE IR summer internship but also received an offer from an off cycle I complemented at an EB in their PCA team (EVR/Park Hill). Enjoyed my time at both firms but the IR role had similiar comp and better benefits and WLB but I assume has less career flexibility down the line. As with most recent graduates I’m not completely set on what I want to do in my career but lean more towards the sales side of finance rather than the technical.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
This isn't complicated. You interned at both. Would look at the role the full time people did at each role and make a decision as to what you'd rather do full time
Choosing between a Private Equity Investor Relations (PE IR) role and a PCA (Private Capital Advisory) role at an EB like Evercore or Park Hill depends on your long-term career goals and preferences. Here's a breakdown based on the most helpful WSO content:
PE IR Role
Pros:
Cons:
PCA Role (EVR/Park Hill)
Pros:
Cons:
Key Considerations
Recommendation
If you're leaning towards a sales-oriented career and value WLB, the PE IR role seems like a natural fit. However, if you're still exploring your options and want to keep the door open to a wider range of finance roles, the PCA role at an EB might be the better choice.
Sources: Private Funds Group (CS/UBS etc), Q&A: Former MBB Consultant, Bain Capital PE vs PJT RSSG, , Breakdown of Post-IB Exit Opportunities
out of curiosity where does pca exit to? secondaries / funds? im assuming you can also exit to ir anyways right?
If you want to do traditional PE one day, do PCA and then move into a traditional IB group after 1-2 years and then move to PE. The IR role at the PE fund will keep you more narrowly on the IR path.
Do the PCA stint first. If you want to do IR after, it's a very easy transition (and currently extremely in-demand). The EVR/Park Hill/LAZ name does carry weight which you will feel later down the line. This is all from direct experience. You will have a different and complimentary skillset than the IR folks that came from M&A teams, which I feel like has benefitted me in carving my path within my IR team. Disclaimer that your WLB will suck as an analyst but ultimately I'm happy I did it. If this is PCA @ EVR, then it is an absolute no brainer and IMO one of the best offers you could get
May I ask what motivates you to the IR pathway instead of the investment career that is pursued by 100,000 monkeys in this forum? Many thanks in advance!
Thank for the advice, just to provide more context the IR offer is at a top MF so my thinking is that I wouldn’t be able to exit to a better fund after PCA anyway. Do you think this makes a differences to the decision?
Think it depends on which PCA team. If it’s GP-Led I would choose PCA, but if LP-led I would do IR cuz I feel like LP-led doesn’t open that much doors as well.
Do PCA for sure.
If you don’t like it you can move to IR in a year or two. Otherwise you can move into a secondaries or co-investment role which is also good wlb (at the right shop) and in my opinion way more interesting than IR.
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