How much admin/boring work are you doing in PE?

Question says it all. Things that I would put in that category are, for example:

  • Managing Q&A (e.g. sending XLS trackers back and forth)
  • Scheduling all sorts of calls with our DD advisors or the sell-side
  • Coordinating work of our DD advisors or other team members (e.g. asking for updates, updating seniors)
  • Keeping track of legal docs (e.g. staying on top of versions, relaying proposed changes)
  • Turning comments on IC materials
  • Internal compliance/”deal checklist” stuff

Some days this takes up like 90% of my capacity, especially on live deals. Was wondering if this a common experience for PE Associates/VPs?

 
Most Helpful

Turning IC comments is not admin/boring work...

 

I’m surprised people really think PE is banking 2.0 or “simple admin” work at the Associate level. Maybe it’s just my firm, but there is a lot of thought that goes into the analysis whether that be on a model, QoE, market study, etc. I can’t just push things along without the understanding drivers or having an informed opinion on the value opportunities…

 

Sorry, maybe my wording is misleading - with "admin" I don't mean things my PA/admin would take care of. Instead, I mean project management tasks that may be important for execution but don't really advance my understanding of the company or directly advance our investigation of whether we should do the deal.

Of course - Q&A is an important part of DD and so are calls where we speak to our advisors. At the same time, I'd say spending two hours reconciling four different XLS Q&A trackers and following up on missing answers is hardly why anyone would want to go into PE :)

 

I mean project management tasks that may be important for execution but don't really advance my understanding of the company or directly advance our investigation of whether we should do the deal.

This is what I call bullsh*t admin. Things that don't teach you to be a good investor. Q&A / DD is 'admin' but it helps hone your skills. So I agree with your nuance. 

 

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