16 Comments
 

I'd prob pick TH Lee over Genstar, with geography being main deciding factor. Genstar has been consistently crushing it and has expanded like crazy but I don't see myself going to the West Coast. TH Lee has been around for ages and has been doing pretty well lately. I visited Boston several times while growing up and liked it and it's close enough to NYC (ideally wouldn't leave tho). From TH Lee's website, it looks like people focus on different sectors whereas with MDP and Genstar, it might be generalist. This might not be the case but it is not clear to me from their websites. Generalist PE initially appealed to me but after thinking about it some more, it kinda feels like it might be a hassle. It's going to be harder to master a particular sector if you're looking at 4-5 different sectors consistently (could also be cool to get broad exposure though idk). 

They're all established players and realistically speaking, I'd prob take an offer at any of the three

 

Have heard not so great things from MDP regarding culture (associates there are worked to the bone, no respect from seniors). Similar at THL, they have higher turnover of associates and are known to bid on everything (aka lots of diligence sprints that go nowhere). Both have great b-school exits though. Genstar people have seemed nice, worked with them on a few deals. Think you really can’t go wrong but would be careful on culture, especially at MDP and THL

 

I'd pick Genstar based on their returns and trajectory but as everyone else said, pick based off location and fit. Out of curiosity, are you interviewing with any of these funds?

 

Dude, you got good feedback above. We can’t make this decision for you. I know you are stressed right now but you have to be the one to make it. Only you know how you felt when you interviewed, how you feel about these various geographies, how you feel about investment styles/industries, what your priorities are long term, and what the comp looks like. If you still feel like you need more data, go on LinkedIn and find ex-associates (or vp if you are vp) and ask them if they’d be willing to talk about their experiences. Have specific narrowly targeted questions in mind. That’s going to give you usable feedback since you’ll have the context of the individual. Rather than an anonymous forum where who knows who is on the other end. You will have a great career step from all three so it’s just a game of figuring out what lines up with your preference set best from here.

 
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