Going into Direct Lending
My background: 7y in Audit, 1y in TAS.
I recently interviewed for an analyst position at a direct lending firm. When I was given an offer, I was offered the role (and the comp, I think) as an associate.
As the absolute joy slowly subsides, I realize that the expectation for this role are also going to be higher since this is no longer an entry level analyst role. I am not phased by this but I would like to do well.
Question: My start date is in about 2 months. What can I start doing now to hit the ground running come start date? What will be my daily be like for the first 2, 6, 12 months?
Any help is appreciated. If anyone had a similar pivot in their careers, I would love to hear about that as well.
Congrats! Usually they like to hire as analysts even for people with experience. Sounds like you weren’t sure if the comp is “associate”? What did they offer. Also I wouldn’t stress too much about expectations. They interviewed you and made the decision to hire you as an associate.
Edit
Yeah that’s market associate comp for MM funds. I’m guessing NYC? Comps are even higher for MF credit and some big players like golub, Antares, owl rock, etc.
You’ll be assigned to deal teams as deal flow picks up. Will most likely be you and two other individuals, one of those will be more senior. You’ll be working with the other more junior individual of going through materials from the Sponsor(s) like CIM, investment overview decks, financials, basic diligence. After that you’ll start writing up a memo of your findings and present it to Investment Committee and do more follow up due diligence.
Best of luck and congrats on the offer!
Couple things:
- Get proficient at excel. Data aggregation, lookups, pivot tables, nested if statements, etc. The basic stuff but important you have a working knowledge of this for data analysis. If this is Antares, they don't dig as deep into the data as other firms but may perform some rudimentary analysis here or there that feeds into the memo. You'll have examples of prior similar analyses (i.e. cohort / churn, waterfall, etc.) from other deals but every deal is different and you may need to create some stuff from scratch for a new deal.
- Get familiar with 3-statement models. Pretty sure you will be provided some sort of template and perhaps the Company only does cash-flow based LBO models but having a working knowledge of items that drive the three statements is key (i.e. working capital days, cash taxes, etc.). There's a ton of resources online that should get you up to speed here.
- Spend some time thinking through the drivers of different industries / business models and what potential credit risks there may be and how to model out a downside case. This is less of a requirement as the other 2 but would show you're hitting the ground running.
- Least important: get familiar with credit agreement - key parts, covenants, etc. You won't be required to negotiate docs in your position but once again, this would help you standout.
This is so helpful. Thanks! Do you mind if I DM you?
I'll shoot you a PM
Following
Quia nobis velit tempora soluta fuga. Repellendus dolores ut nesciunt sit quo. Eos quibusdam modi nobis rerum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...