Infra PE Research Analyst?
Hi all, I currently work on the buyside in the fixed income department as a product specialist (technical sales guys) but have always been interested in Real assets specifically infra & being in actual investing seat as opposed to the distribution side.
After networking internally l've been offered a role as a research analyst focusing on Infra and natural capital. Specifically my focus will be on renewables and things like Forestry & potentially Agricultural investments. The job is essentially conducting thematic research and deciding fund strategy. le. if we should focus on deals in spanish solar or danish wind etc. From what I gathered the team act as internal consultants to fund strategy & perform relative value analysis & return analysis to weigh up risk & return. Would also come in on deals but wouldn't actually be underwriting them although we would need to understand the models.
The job is also going to require a lot of autonomy & creativity as currently it's being headed up by one person who's come from Blackrock & he's the only one on the team. For context this at a MMAM firm that invests in Infrastructure in the UK (think M&G, Allianz, Abrdn, Aviva Investors).
Could I potentially head to an Infra PE role at somewhere like Brookfield for example after a few years of experience here? If not what kind of opportunities would be open to me (i.e. wouldn’t mind joining an energy coverage group or M&A team at an IB if it could make that transition easier but is it possible at all?)
Directly to big name Infra PE from this role would be unlikely. But moving to a PUI/Energy group in IB after a year or two should be entirely doable assuming you have an otherwise decent profile and can convey strong sector interest and knowledge. You should expect to come in as an Analyst even with 2-3 years of experience. If you make that jump, then Infra PE opps should be feasible after another 1-2 years.
How about if I transferred internally to the deals team, the deals worked on are smaller but is still the same experience?
If your question is can I move from Abrdn/Allianz CP/M&G/Aviva Infra PE to Brookfield/KKR Infra/ISQ/EQT/Stonepeak etc, I’d say you’re closer but still an uphill battle. Of the names you listed, I think Allianz CP or Abrdn would probably be more respected and I can think of a couple precedent upmarket moves from those places but not M&G or Aviva fwiw. I think you’d benefit more from a good banking brand in infra (I.e BB/EB PUI, Macquarie, RBC etc) and more opportunities would open up through that route. Of course, you also have to decide if this is a path you really want. If you want Brookfield, you are signing up for 90-100+ hour weeks in a shirt and tie, so think carefully. The Infra PE career path does not generally lead to a well-balanced life so no sense fixating on it unless you’re absolutely sure.
thank you for your advice! I’m honestly not too keen on doing a stint on the sell side especially if I’d come in as an analyst 1 as I’ve worked for 2 years in b4 accounting > 1 year fixed income and now moving to infra.
I’ve also been accepted to an MSc program (part time though but can change to FT) in Infra Investment & Finance from UCL could I recruit directly from there you think?
If you’ve done 2 years of Big 4, then I think An2/3 (or even Aso 1 at some places) is more feasible so long as i) you can kill a modeling test and ii) you come off as a strong communicator and carry a more polished presence than typical fresh grad. I had assumed you were only 1-2 years removed from graduating.
As far as the masters, I don’t think it does a ton for you. The blue chip Infra PE shops aren’t going to be recruiting associates from there so I don’t think it’s a short cut. The fact that you've already done big 4 actually hurts your brand somewhat imo, making it more important to get the sell-side experience with a strong IB brand. The masters will help your story in interviews to answer why infra and to sell your sector interest, but I don’t see it a trampoline to jump to blue chip infra PE. So in a way I think if you do it at all, it would be better to do it part-time and continue gaining more relevant work experience rather than commit to a full time program. The people I know who have advanced the fastest in Infra PE did not do a post-work experience masters/MBA.
Given you’re ~3 years in and have a somewhat non-relevant big4/fixed income/research profile, I would prioritize trying to get to Infra IB sooner rather than later. It would give you a far more high probability and accelerated path to infra PE. If you stay longer than a year in this research role then transfer internally to direct PE team and spend a few years there, you’ll likely still find that the big Infra PE doors aren’t open and come to the conclusion that you should have tried to do IB all along and that you’ve just extended the timeline to get to the same place. On the flip side, by doing the latter, you may be able to do other things through your 20s like maintain strong friendships or meet a significant other that blue chip Infra IB/PE makes difficult..
Thank you for all your insight I really appreciate it!
For context I actually have never graduated as I never did an undergrad degree. I joined b4 out of A levels and after 2 years left for FO AM since I hated audit. The Infra team didn’t even initially want me but I impressed them by building a few complex models from scratch and they decided to give me a shot. That’s also why I’m going forward with the masters as I was accepted off the back of my experience in b4/Fixed Income and I’m honestly not keen at all on going back for an undergrad at this stage in my career. I’m 20 almost 21 so if I did go university I’d be graduating right now but just took a different path. I don’t have an undergrad but know that I need some sort of qualification or I won’t have as much mobility in my career.
I don’t suppose some of the IB’s that you mentioned would “look down” on my background as I don’t have an undergraduate degree but instead just a postgrad MSc from a target university? I’ve gotten looks from some DCM groups at smaller european banks (think Socgen, Danske Bank) but I’ve never actively pursued them as I was always interested in real assets.
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