From MM IB to UMM/MM PE. Which path is preferable?

Hi everyone,

My goal is to enter MM PE at minimum. I will be interning at a known MM bank (international, with NYC office) next year. I have two plans:

  • 1) Recruit for full time for a BB/EB, network, etc etc in the next couple of months. If I can't get into BB but receive return offer, continue recruiting even during my full time at the MM. While doing that I need to recruit for UMM/MM PE, so I'm juggling alot of things. Recession can makes things tricky with employment if I'm the new guy at a BB.
  • 2) Settle for the MM bank, get the return offer and just work on MM/LMM PE recruiting. If I get into LMM, stay there for a few years and move to MM PE. A longer game, but less stressful.

So far I'm leaning to #2, but I'm not sure if I'm missing out on something laid out in #1, or if there is a disadvantage I should be aware of in #2. Do I even need to be at a BB if I'm fine working at a MM PE firm? How durable is latering from LMM PE to MM PE? Does coverage/product group matter if I'm at a MM IB firm trying to get into MM/LMM PE? Thanks.

 
Most Helpful

I was trying to help, but you are coming across as a snarky dick. Here’s some advice from someone 8+ years ahead of you aside from don’t do that to people trying to help you.

Maximizing your salary 4 years out is myopic, your above questions and these questions in general ultimately are unanswerable because “what is better” is an individual path that needs to match your goals and what is important to you. A shitload of arrogant snarky kids like you focus on prestige or thinking the largest private equity firms will get them rich and frankly you are empirically less likely to be a billionaire going into PE today than you would manufacturing. However, if your goal is being a millionaire, PE gets you there pretty quick, but you likely can do that with many firms.

There was a thread the other day on “are you happy”—most people I know in finance who aren’t happy are the ones who no amount of money is enough, but they also fail to recognize that as a truth or set any financial goals, so rather than taking risk to become a billionaire or something, they take a risk averse path working 90+ hours a week for a very long time to be moderately more wealthy than those with significantly more work life balance, future career opportunities, or control of their life.  
 

Whether you should leave a MM firm or not depends if you think working for Blackstone is so much more important for your self esteem than working for a less known firm in Chicago or Boston. If maximizing money 4 years out is actually your goal, I’d argue go to a low cost of living city and work for a MM/UMM firm and you’d be the best off. Additionally, you might even be better staying in banking for an A to A promotion then jumping ship somewhere else.


But if you aren’t willing to answer basic questions It’s hard for experienced users to help you. You instead are going to get a bunch of interns like yourself commenting on how “recruiters won’t like that” despite the fact that none of them have ever hired or interviewed for a private equity firm.

 

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