Leaving IB 1 year early to be Associate 1 MM PE; perception and future exit ops?
If I leave IB after 1 year (analyst at top BB, okay group but having rly bad deal flow this year) to be an associate 1 at MM PE, what would recruiting look like going forward, if i wanted to leave my MM firm in the future? Will HH and UMM/MF firms be more/less inclined to work with me? For context, I think I'd get a better learning experience at this MM fund but know it's probably not where I want to be long term. thanks!
1 year vs 2 isn't a huge difference honestly. I would say that I wouldn't leave before your second year at the same PE shop though. Only reason to leave would be to go get an MBA or promotion at another shop.
Thanks, this is generally what I heard as well. Seems like I'd have the option to either stay for 2 years and get sr. Associate promote (of course, contingent on performance) and then lateral at the Sr. Assoc level, or recruit for Associate 1 via the ongoing Summer 2025 recruiting and do 1-2 years at MM before restarting as an Associate 1 in 2025 at a large fund.
A bit hesitant about the latter working in practice as it'd be a weird discussion to have with headhunters.
I don't think what you said in the comment will work at all. HHs and UMM/MF recruiting teams are not going to want you to leave your top BB job to join a MM PE firm and that will count you out of most large firm processes. Barring some really unforeseen situation (i.e. you've signed offer but later get laid off and need to find something to fill the time) they won't allow this. They hire from BBs because the training is consistent and you will work on a ton of processes even if deal flow isn't there right now, a MM fund is a real black box and they have no idea what type of work or reps you'll get there.
It's totally fine if you want to jump to PE early / hit ASO early and plan to stay at the fund, but you won't be looped into recruiting for larger funds as MM PE is a completely different strategy. I would only take this offer if you like the fund and intend to stay, or at least intend to stay in that industry and are happy with the MM space.
long story short if you want UMM/MF you need to stay in banking
Not OP, but what about switch to a boutique bank for second year and then recruiting for PE?
Like an EB? that is fine, I'm assuming you're looking to upgrade bank/group - just be prepared to do a third analyst year unless you land something offcycle
OP here, thanks for your thorough response.
Given the rigidity of PE (e.g. traditional 2+2), do you think leaving banking after a year early haunts you for future PE roles?
I've seen plenty of people leave banking early for this type of thing, and if you are looking at the opportunity as a great fit and the fund you want to be at, that makes sense. You don't seem particularly interested so I would recommend you keep it moving, figure out what you want and try to land that so you're not feeling the need to jump around a lot. Your current seat is the best for optionality/recruiting, so don't move just because you want the associate title or something fresh.
Most PE is no longer traditional 2+2 and out, think that is a common misconception of prospects on here - majority of PE shops at this point are either VP track or at least promote their high-performing associates. You're not going to be shoved out to MBA at 2 years like you used to be - and voicing a preference for career track/promotion track jobs is is absolutely fair game with HHs.
Finally, if you are unhappy in banking and already wanting out, I would encourage you to think long and hard about what you want. UMM/MF PE is going to be much of the same
Left Top BB IB after a year to work an an emerging growth fund as an Analyst. Is there any optionality from here to move to later stage growth fund for 2025 associate?
Why did you make this decision? How big is the team and what is there track record?
Wanted to focus soley on investing and the offer I recived was from a pretty well known shop within TMT. Specifically wanted to look at pre-ipo companies on the earlier side and it all fit the bill for me it felt like.
Pretty unlikely to get looks for traditional recruiting for 2025 unless it's a very well-regarded fund or has a really great record. You could network with other growth people (or talk to the growth HHs) but my guess is you're not going to get much traction at larger funds until you hit ASO 1/2. With a non-traditional current role you are looking to fill an open spot on the team, not coming in as an ASO they signed 2 years in advance like the IB kids.
To anyone reading this thread... it's very difficult to move upmarket so don't jump to PE just cause you got an offer and hate IB. Spend a minute figuring out what you want to do before just accepting the first parachute out of the place.
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