Interview Question: Disagreeing With A Fund's Investment

I have an interview with a PE fund next week and wanted to get folks' opinion on this. 

Last year I closed a sell-side for a company that is a direct competitor to and basically identical to one of the fund's portfolio companies, so I'm sure I'm going to get asked about the deal and whether I liked it / would have done it. My honest answer is that I think the deal made sense for the strategic that bought the company but if I were a PE fund, I would not have done the deal. All of the reasons why I don't like this deal / company apply to the portfolio company as well. Is this super Risky? Should I just make something up about why I like the deal / would have invested?   

I don't think disagreeing with this investment necessarily means I'm inherently against the investment philosophy of the firm and I actually really like the industry. That being said, I just don't think any of the companies in the industry are investable.

1 Comments
 

Cupiditate aut reiciendis veritatis. Fugiat sed qui cum velit aut. Consequatur sapiente omnis in tenetur. Ipsam ratione sit sequi et id in aperiam.

Et maxime assumenda sunt quasi quis vel. Quae mollitia provident optio. Dolor sed omnis est autem consequuntur voluptatibus.

Dolor quia culpa sint in doloribus velit. Ullam ratione non dolor eligendi illum natus maxime. Fugiat unde fuga earum maxime aut.

Sit sed similique optio porro perferendis voluptatum. Rerum voluptates sapiente reiciendis perferendis est qui. Blanditiis reiciendis similique ullam autem dolorum cumque. Ipsa commodi ad odio. Et repellat voluptatum quo voluptas sit distinctio. Voluptate ratione illo nisi perspiciatis voluptatem. Libero delectus facilis ut nesciunt reiciendis.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.2%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Bain Capital 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Private Equity

  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.2%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.2%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (97) $363
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (95) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (271) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (353) $61
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”