Investment Team --> Portfolio Ops?

I know this question usually gets asked the the other way around, but has anyone done an Associate program on the Investment side of PE and then switched over to Portfolio roles (with or without MBA)? For context I am in my second year as an Associate at a MM firm in a Tier 1 city, and am starting at H/S/W in Fall 2023. I came from a tier 2 consulting firm (think OW, LEK, Parthenon), but primarily worked in the PE practice, so work was more diligence-focused.

I get that traditionally firms look to hire from industry companies, but wondering if someone with a strong MBA and a traditional PE background could break into that side of things. I have always been highly interested in portfolio ops, but wanted to try the investment side of things and got a surprisingly good offer so decided to accept. I think my skill set is better suited for the Portfolio side, but not sure if that door is completely closed now.

 
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I can't answer your question but can offer an observation as I had exposure to Port Ops at a MF and knew some people there (I was in a different middle office role, not deal team).

The thing about PO is that there aren't many mid-level people. The senior folks (MD+) were generally either former MBB or had held C-level roles in a specific industry before joining PO. Then there was a skeleton staff of analyst/associates from either undergrad or consulting backgrounds who did the support work, but their impact was limited given their lack of actual industry experience. Some of the MDs didn't even have any junior staff supporting them, they basically were one-man teams covering a sector or function. So the juniors basically hit a ceiling with their skillset and left for other opportunities or business school after a couple years.

That said, your background is a lot stronger than any of the juniors who I knew in PO, but I'm not going to speculate any further as I don't have direct experience working in this role. I just wanted to offer the anecdotal observation that advancement is kind of opaque in Port Ops when you're not coming in at the senior levels. Plus, there aren't many seats, and when there are open seats, they're not broadly advertised, so opportunities are a bit harder to discover.

Lastly, I want to caveat that the above may or may not be true at other funds, I have no idea. 

 

I don’t know what your background is, but since you touched on it I am curious (because I am in a very similar situation): what do you see these young PO/value creation analysts do after a few years there?

I am currently working in such a role (and love both the work and my team), but it’s very clear that you need to get experience elsewhere if you want to become a senior in that field. After 4-5 years in such a role could I switch to a corporate or an investment role? And if so at what level of seniority?

Very tough to find people in similar situations so it’s tough to get an idea of what a typical career trajectory is.

 

Can’t give you a great answer because my experience is with a very small sample size. Off the top of my head, one was promoted from associate -> principal and is still there, a couple went to business school, and one joined a MM firm in an investments role.

If you’re still at the analyst/associate level I would imagine most doors are still open for you coming from Port Ops.

 

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