Leaving Infra PE
After interning in infrastructure M&A and then returning full-time before transitioning into a middle-market infrastructure PE role, I’m now six months in as an associate and realizing I absolutely hate the asset class. I thought I could push through, but the work feels incredibly dull and mind-numbing. Utilities don’t interest me, and I struggle to stay motivated. Despite being naturally ambitious, I often find myself looking for ways to leave work early. I wish I were doing something that actually excites me.
What does excite me is investing in consumer brands. While it’s riskier than infrastructure, it seems far more rewarding. I closely follow makeup, fashion, and other women’s consumer products, but I have no idea how to transition into that space. Would moving back to generalist PE be a logical next step? I just feel stuck with no idea of what to do.
I don't have much advice but maybe it's also a bit of a burnout... I'm in tech and the longer I'm in this space, the more I hate it...
That’s fair. I took a bit of time off between IB and PE but clearly it wasn’t enough to make me suddenly love this field
Target school (Top 10) and networking heavily into a top infra M&A team. Recruited out of my M&A team by a headhunter. Am DEI but don’t believe it was a consideration during recruitment (I was placed in the normal pool of candidates).
what are some top infra m&a teams?
Associate in infra PE here. The work isn't for everybody, it is very much grunt work at the lower levels where you'll spend hours refining a 40-year model just so that your VP can say to his boss that he really understands the market or whatever. It's genuinely painful at times but the skills you gain will be worth it in the lock run. Although I do recommend do get out before you are seen as being an infra specialist and will have a hard time moving. Unfortunately, most of the exits once you make associate are either other funds or developers. I'm personnally thinking of doing an MBA in the next 1-2 years in order to pivot out.
It is true — the technical skill set and analytical ability is unmatched. What do you think you’d want to pivot into?
Pretty niche but natural asset invesments, basically investing in farming land, forests etc. But I am also open to joining an M&A team as a VP post-MBA once you're less model focused and spend more time working on the deal itself in a holistic manner. I don't hate the sector but approaching it from the buy-side makes it super painful because of the long outlook you have to take when you are a buy and hold investor at the asset level, which is exclusively what I do.
Are you able to pivot to a BB IB role in power or renewables or do you need to do an MBA to get to banking?
If consumer brands are your passion, why pivot to a generalist PE fund instead of one specializing in this asset class right now? The skills may not be transferable, depending on fund size—analyzing a product sample and building a DCF model are vastly different.
Unlike utilities, consumer brands thrive on public information, driven by marketing. Have you considered starting a newsletter to showcase your expertise?
This is an incredibly helpful piece of advice. I think the partial reality is that I don’t have a strong reason for wanting to do consumer investing, hence hoping generalist gives me a better idea of what I’d actually want to do long term. I like brands and following them generally, but starting to read up on newsletters, in addition to starting my own, is a great idea to figure out what I even want to do.
Basically in the same boat. I'm at a core infra fund which is probably even more fucking boring as we only buy contracted renewable assets. The portco work is also so technical and unexciting - like I genuinely don't care why the transformer failed and the whole site went down for a month. My thinking is maybe things will be better at a core-plus or value-add fund? or maybe just pivot to infra debt where there's less portco work. But I feel like it'll be pretty hard to pivot into another sector within pe for me. Another potential path is maybe back to IB in an M&A group.
I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and think the fact that you’re at a Core fund makes these feelings even more dramatic. I totally feel you on not caring why a stupid transformer in a random field failed haha.
I think it is a lot better at a value add or growth equity type fund. The businesses have customers, have to win market share, and there is actual strategic business thought behind what you’re doing. A lot of Core+ deals start to cross over into what you’d be doing at a generalist fund anyways. Maybe that’s a path out? You’d have no trouble landing a spot like that with a Core infra background, especially at like a senior associate level.
Yeah exactly that's my thinking re core+ / value add funds. I do think the work will be marginally more interesting but the tradeoff might be more rigorous DD process and hands on portco work. What are your thoughts on infra debt?
Definitely get out of core infra, that is mind numbing work. My MM infra fund does core and core+, the core+ stuff is way more interesting. Infra isn't so bad when you're looking at operating businesses.
I also can't imagine that infra debt is more exciting, tho I get the appeal of no renewables asset management work.
My thinking re infra debt is most of the work will be debt sizing and downside sensitivity. Higher deal volumes, easier DD process since sponsors will provide everything for you on a plate, light to no asset management work. Comp at mid levels probably the same as PE. Sounds like a pretty chill gig lol
what areas/technologies would core+ entail?
could you expand what the portco work is?
Infra is by far the sweatiest asset class
Agree 100%
Incoming SA thinking about targeting the Infra group at my bank. I honestly think I like Core and Utilities because of the macro-critical nature of the industry and the tangibility of the assets. I'd appreciate if you could let me know if there are any other reasons you dislike the asset class other than the lack of risk? Was it more exciting on the advisory side?
Is value add in the same boat here? Aren’t you buying operating businesses? I’m coming from PE and trying to learn more but the investment thesis and business building element is something I like.
imo there's generally little value-add opportunity in infra. Most businesses already have super high EBITDA margins, leaving little fat to trim if you can't adjust topline (you can't in most cases given contractual revenue stream). for example, how much value add do you think there is for a toll road?
I’m referring to value add infra which I understood to be targeting more dynamic businesses than toll roads. Ofc little value add in buying a toll road. I’m trying to figure out how much more like PE some of the farther leaning out infra firms are and how much they will continue to operate that way. And how much of the PE mindset and operating thesis apply.
did you manage to pivot?
I could. More interested in trying to understand how similar or different value add is from PE. Some say it’s the same exact thing you are buying businesses. But there’s an infra angle seeking lower returns and other core parameters. Just not sure how boring it would be or how much of the business building / operating thesis element I would miss.
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