Feel stuck and need advice
Hey everyone,I'm in a bit of a pickle and could use some advice. I started off as an Analyst at a big-name investment bank and then moved to a new PE fund hoping for a better experience.
On paper, it looks amazing: the hours are pretty sweet for PE, the people are great, the pay is on point, and there's room to grow.
Sounds like a dream gig, right? But here's the catch:
- The deal flow is crap
- The mid-level and senior folks lack expertise in any specific sector
- We're missing credibility in the sectors I'm most interested in, so getting deals done there is tough
- I end up doing a lot of basic, boring work, and when we do look at deals, it feels half-hearted and infrequent (maybe once a month, if that)
I feel like I'm actually backsliding in terms of my skills and financial acumen. I was ahead of several of my peers, but some of whom who are at better funds have now eclipsed me by what feels like a significant margin.
They're dangling the carrot of better pay and maybe carry in the next fund, which makes it hard to just walk away. But I'm feeling stuck and worried that if I don't leave, I'll miss out on really honing my skills and being competitive in this field.
If I were to run rate this, even if I did get promotion, I think I’d just have to leave the industry if I ever left this fund. As it stands, I wouldn’t be competitive and I don’t see that changing.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Stick it out for the potential financial upside or jump ship before I fall too far behind?Thanks for any thoughts or advice!
most of your cons sound like pros to me
I’d say that’s a very short sighted perspective… a career is a long time. Hard to have one if you aren’t in the business of doing the things essentially to performing your job function at a high level over the long run.
Woe is u
Deal volume is down across the board so timing is part of what you're experiencing. But yes if you don't respect the investment accumen of your peers and you're not working in the industries you're most interesting in, it would make sense to lateral. Why do you think you'd need to leave the industry? I admit it's a tough lateral market right now but why wouldn't you give it a shot? It doesn't sound like you have a pressing timeline so you have time to try.
If you end up leaving please forward my resume to your HR department on the way out
If you don't do anything how are they raising another fund? how many platforms are getting done/year? Deal flow in the market is down which could explain it, but if these guys are a bunch of chumps like it kinda sounds I'd be concerned about this carrot they're dangling if they don't have a track record to fundraise off of. but ngl pay/WLB seems nice and many may be envious of that, but I do agree with your sentiment that experience/reps are pretty key when thinking long term.
No experience in PE or investing professionally, so I am speaking out of turn here. Why not stick it out at the fund, see if the financial upside they mentioned is actually there, and hone your skills off the side of your desk. Grass is always greener. You may go to a shop where you get better reps but WLB sucks and you burn out. Personally, I would stay where you are valued (at least it seems that way from above), focus on staying sharp and building your network with your extra free time, and continue to outperform where you are at. As long as they reward, pay, you appropriately it sounds likes you have a good gig going
What’s the downside of applying to top tier PE funds while continuing to work at this easy shop?
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