IB SA -> PE Analyst
I am an incoming SA 2022 at GS/EVR interested in infrastructure private equity. I am going to do my internship in a relevant coverage group (P&U/Transportation/Industrials). I was wondering if it's possible to go directly from IB SA to an analyst position at one of the large infra PE players (Brookfield/GIP/Blackstone/Stonepeak etc.)?
When would I have to start reaching out to people to network? Is it bad etiquette to network before my SA has even started? Are the firms I listed even interested in taking analysts or is it all associate hiring?
How would I go about setting myself up for this?
Ofcourse it's possible, just make sure you go to a God-tier target too...
I'm a non-target but have some alumni at those firms, going to start by reaching out to them first...
It is doable. I attend a top target and there was a guy in my finance club who is going from EB to MFPE Infra for FT. It'll be rough though, I'd start prepping technicals now if you aren't already familiar with LBO stuff.
Ok nice, that's what I was thinking. Do you have any idea what the timing looks like?
I'm aware it's going to be a fucking grind and a half coming from a non-target. Where did your friend do his summer analyst?
I am not exactly sure about timing but I would anticipate as early as March or April for FT. He did his SA at an EB, but not EVR/PJT/CVP, he was at a firm that is considered slightly below those three.
Definitely wait until at least a few weeks into your SA. I'd do some solid research before trying to network in, a lot of your list will have either no program at all, or extremely limited recruiting (think HYP only) for soph/junior summer and in some cases bring them back full time. Infra PE is such a small world that you're looking at maybe 15-20 FT analyst spots across all the big firms, and 80% are filled by the above target programs.
BX, Brookfield, BlackRock, MIRA all have some sort of analyst program. GIP I believe only has SA, not FT. Have never seen a Stonepeak analyst.
Your best shot at infra recruiting will absolutely be the traditional path coming from an IB program.
I’m going to strongly disagree with this - start networking early, but just make your story more broad: “I think banking this summer will be a great opportunity to get a lot of reps and develop a skillset, but I’m passionate about infra for XYZ reasons and see myself EVENTUALLY in an investing role in the space.”
Why wait? So the Harvard kid that already knows 2 analysts at BX Infra via clubs and sports can have an easier time getting the analyst spot? Get out there and get yours! (I go to H btw fwiw but have a lot of respect for the nontargets on this forum).
Will agree that OP should start early. Not too sure about Infra specifically, but for corporate PE firms have info sessions (may be on Zoom nowadays, but on-campus before) during the spring and some of them have applications due pretty early during the summer, so you should be comfortable with your level of connections/networking at each firm by then. Make sure to talk to people during the info session, and then I'd say it's a good time to start reaching out to alumni at the firm. Also, I don't think it's necessary to make your story seem indirect about why you're calling. In fact, I recommend letting them know you're actually interested in the analyst program specifically. (I went to W, but unlike commenter above don't really care about nontargets, so idk if their processes/timelines are different than for targets)
GIP takes analysts now. Very small class- one of my co-interns recruited there for FT.
Just curious, what got you interested in infrastructure?
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