Is co-investment analyst role at a reputable fund out of undergrad a good idea if ultimate goal is MF/UMM/MM PE

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Depends on the fund and the MMIB. If it’s a WB/HL type MMIB, MMPE is very doable and UMM possible. If it’s a smaller MM without great PE exits then it’s probably a closer conversation.

Not as knowledgeable about co-invest space, but from my understanding it’s often very simplified vs direct PE (less diligence, less modeling, rely more on work of main investor) which has perks in terms of lifestyle but if the goal is classic PE it’s not as transferable.

 

Extremely helpful. It's more so on the level of Baird, HW, RBC, Lincoln. Would it be more feasible to 1) start at co-invest PE and try to network and lateral to direct invest or 2) start in IB and lateral to a BB/EB then recruiting for PE

 

All 4 of those banks are different in terms of exits, especially at the group level. Best advice I’d have is look at exits from both on LinkedIn and see what looks better.

Agree with what someone else said on lateral point - it’s easy enough to lateral from Baird etc to a BB/EB after a year, and then you’ll have even more PE options if you decide you want MF. But if you want MMPE, any of those banks will at least get some looks

 

I'm sure it's been done, but not common or necessarily a path I'd recommend. you'd be below people coming from just about any IB program, and would have a hard time convincing them you have enough IB skills to be a senior analyst

IMO the banking offer is the way unless you are 100% sure you want to do co-invest - you get so much more optionality with banking. you can find a pathway to UMM if you want, or you can get an offer for co-invest if you want a better lifestyle

 

Recommend you do IB instead - nothing against co-investing, as above posters said its a great WLB and depending where you go, pay isn't that much of a discount (i.e. your $ / hour may be comparable to direct PE at a junior level, excluding carry); but if your ultimate goal is MM PE, IB will give you much better optionality than a co-investing role

 

Is there someone with prior co-investment experience, who's now in a new role, that could comment on what their job search was like? I hear mixed feedback, and most of the feedback that I hear seems to be people repeating what they've heard previously rather than firsthand.

For what it's worth I'm currently in a co-invest role and get pretty similar recruiting interest to my friends at MM IB roles. Definitely not as good as friends in BB IB though. But when talking to headhunters, assuming you can spin your co-invest experience correctly (they don't understand co-invest PE roles nearly as well they do banking), I've had a decent experience so far.

 

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