Glamor of this industry is in the garbage unless you’re slinging your own deals. The people are insufferable.
You have 20 year veterans rich on paper but they are only veterans in the sense of excel formulas. Still stuck running numbers for senior management, limited liquidity, all their assets are levered to the tits. Their comp agreements force repurchase of shares at FMV if they try to leave. FMV is whatever senior management values the shares at and hint it’s probably 20-30% lower than actual FMV. Rekt. However, the 20 year veteran is so brainwashed that it doesn’t even bother him, he’s too busy worrying about why the numbers in the spread sheet have a .5% variance to the FDD report.
Then you have the recent analyst/associates at the IBs slaving away 100 hour weeks turning deck and model comments on the mandates they are working on. They sent emails out at 4am, 4/5 days this week but still have convinced themselves they are doing this because they actually enjoy the work. In reality they are making sub $30 dollars an hour over the course of a year while wrecking their mental and physical health for a shot at a Mega Fund PE job where they get to do it all over again in a different environment. They end up at a respectable MM PE shop.
You finally make it to PE and realize that the senior managing director at a UMM/fringe MF shop doesn’t even get to fly first class when he goes to portco meetings. He gets economy plus but you don’t care because you know he has tons of carry. Only to find out he’s really just subsidized by his firm and living on credit.
[seen on X]
Don’t know which PE firm this is but only flew first class + stayed at 5 star hotels at my firm with the occasional private jets if traveling with really senior folks. While lifestyle sucks after a certain point, but fun in your 20s
Random question but what do you mean by "really senior"? Like group heads or executive team?
Head of PE / leadership team level…group heads don’t really have authority to travel private unless it’s a super remote location.
I may have gotten lucky to have portcos and targets in relatively major metropolitan areas but yes, I can see how you could get screwed if you just go to middle of nowhere America.
Surprised that you fly economy. I always flew first class whether in banking or PE.
Really - we flew economy and stayed at Marriotts. We were going to the middle of nowhere to DD MM companies - there were no 5 star hotels to be found anywhere near there.
I worked at a top performing UMM firm.
What kind of bum ass firm are you with to fly economy? I'd quit on the spot if that were true.
Ouf I’m at a well-known solidly MM firm and everyone below Principal flies economy (if flight is less than like 4 hours). Didnt realize associates everywhere else flying first class lol
Hilarious that they explicitly give first class flights to senior folks and economy to the junior team. Speaks volumes about the culture
Sounds like HIG
likewise
Ditto in Euro PE
Yeah finance ain’t what it used to be, esp with tech going so crazy
What kind of kumba-yah PE fund are you at?
PE analysts at my firm fly first class when they travel with partners. And it’s a MM/UMM.
this comment is making me laugh a lot, thx
While the WLB sucks, as someone sitting on nearly $1M in net worth before the age of 30, I don't think any other career could've reliably got me there unless you're some AI data scientist /software engineering wiz (which I mostly certainly am not) or come from wealth.
If I can ride this for another 4-5 more years, I should be able to have a nest egg of $2-3M and (fingers crossed) if my carry can sort of materailize during that time frame I will be set for life (barring any extremes) at the age of 35.
While it sucked (and still sort of sucks) when I look at my friends not in IB/PE I don't think I missed out on too much. I think people have a tendancy to glamorize their 20s. I'd much rather be set by the end of my 30s and look forward to the 30-40+ years of life in financial security.
With that being said, don't think I'd want to continue the rate race after director lol
How much do you have in unvested carry if you're willing to share?
What kind of bum ass fund is this. My IB pays for business class for analysts if the flights are over a few hours.
You guys get flights???? My fund bought one of those short school buses and we take ~10 hour “field trips” to our clients driven by a partner.
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