Hi all. I’m currently an analyst working in a healthcare group of a bb. I’m curious which funds have the best healthcare practices. Interested in terms of funds that focus strictly on healthcare (I.e a water street) and funds that focus on a range of industries but have a large healthcare focus (I.e a harvest partners). Any insight into which firms are highly regarded in healthcare would be much appreciated.
| +50 | Everyone Seems Perfect in PE | 20 | 2d | |
| +30 | What's Next? | 6 | 1h | |
| +28 | To all associates coming up on the 2 year mark, how bad is it to have no deals done? | 7 | 1d | |
| +27 | Easiest way to make about $2mm/y | 19 | 9h | |
| +26 | VP Level - when to follow up after final round | 10 | 11h | |
| +22 | What happens if you go for on-cycle and don’t land an offer? | 24 | 2h | |
| +17 | Vista Lateral Associate | 4 | 1h | |
| +14 | EBITDA walkdown to cash flow for debt service | 10 | 4d | |
| +14 | What do you hate the most about second round diligence? | 9 | 3d | |
| +13 | Why is Blackstone so dominant? | 9 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Probably MDP, GTCR and Linden first, then Cressey then Water Street / Round Tree MDP / GTCR both good firms and have been around a while. Both HC teams are strong. Linden pays high price for stuff (not like stupid, but for sectors they like which is important for people in HC pre Covid given where valuations were) but overall good people. Their JPM hosting is pretty stylish if that matters. Cressey has some well connected people and has some good companies but in my view more LMM. Water Street bottom feeder type. Don’t know Round Tree - must be pretty LMM
MDP's returns lately have been subpar, some HC investments have performed poorly. Know a few people there currently and their reactions about working there are rather muted. The firm isn't what is used to be.
GTCR is a total sweatshop but returns are solid. Heard better things about their HC group compared to other groups (their fintech team is one of the worst on the street in terms of hours). Pay is fantastic (on par with most MF's)
Cressey is a solid firm, really aggressive on buy/build strategies and de novo platforms. Have been known to pay up in processes, and I disagree with your comment on them being LMM, they are very much a MM player. Hours tend to be a bit longer.
Linden definitely is known to pay stupid multiples (talking mid to high teens). some investments have gone well for them but i imagine the current pandemic is going to cause a lot of their portfolio to be written down in terms of valuations. Hours are sweaty, pay is pretty good I believe. They also have a pretty bad rep in the HC investing community.
Water Street is known for not really playing in auction processes, more focused on proprietary deal sourcing / getting involved in companies with some hair on them. Have done very well recently. Hours can also be a bit longer, pay is on par with other MM firms in Chicago.
Round Table (not Round Tree) is a healthcare focused fund north of Chicago in the burbs. Definitely solid returns, smaller deal teams and less structured deal investment process (work with a guy now who worked at RT for a few years). Culture is solid and hours are fine.
Waud - Heard pay is a bit below the rest of MM HC firms in Chicago and hours can get pretty shitty. I know of a few people who have had poor experiences there (know a guy who left after a few months into his associate stint because he disliked it so much). Looks like they are trying to do a CEO strategy, similar to what GTCR has been very successful with in the past (partnering with an executive to find a platform company for that executive to then run). Not sure how successful they will be with that. No sense on how their returns are. My impression of the firm is probably a net-negative
Flexpoint - A very good friend of mine works there on the FIG side currently. Per him, they have had some success with healthcare in the past but FIG is really the focus of the fund (majority of capital deployed is into FIG, HC kind of takes a back seat). Seems like hours are a bit longer than average, pay is slightly above average for Chicago MM funds. Doesn't seem like a bad spot to land, but I would be concerned about getting a deal done if I was an associate there.
BPOC - Historically a very well respected fund that has had some struggles in the past few years. Had trouble raising their most recent fund due to a few investments that went poorly, but the firm restructured and let some Partners go. Current partnership seems very competent and have made some very good investments more recently. Hours seem very chill and I would say pay is on average for MM PE funds in Chicago. Deal velocity also seems a bit slower than other firms in Chicago. Buddy of mine did two platforms in his two years there, but the associate before him didn't get one done, so it could be hit or miss.
Returns at Northlane have been good AFAIK, can't go wrong with them especially with newest fundraise. I also know Martis is one of, or the best in DC that does just healthcare.
Pretty good LMM shop. Aggressive in processes, a coupe of the senior guys are very bland and lacking of personality. Junior guys are a mix (good guys or tools, no in between it seems).
Anyone have thoughts about the larger PE funds that have a HC arm like TPG, Carlyle, KKR, BX?