London - Aiming for MF from UBS / CS
Hi guys,
Currently AN1 at a good team at UBS / CS, curious to hear everyone's opinion on my chances of lateralling to MFs.
I am currently based in London.
Thanks a lot!
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Need to flesh out your profile a bit more (languages, gender, etc.) to chance you
Overall just know that it will be difficult to land interview at such funds, there is a clear difference for them between GS/MS/JPM and the rest (assuming corporate PE)
You really need to be proactive building relationships with headhunters early on and prove you are very competent once you get opportunities so they trust you in front of their better clients
Source is I recently recruited for UMM/MF and came across very few / if any CS/UBS people. Note that this may be different for other private markets asset classes
Had a friend from Barclays get a fair few MF interviews (firms like WP, Carlyle and CDR). Not directly related to your question, but shows it is possible to land them outside of GS/JP/MS. The Swiss banks may have a slightly different dynamic to Barclays, especially in London but I don't think there is an abyss in recruiters' eyes.
I mean I wouldn't say an abyss of course but you definitely have to put in more work (just to get in front of the funds) and have a smaller margin of error. Also believe there is some selection bias at play (GS/MS/JPM people more keen on PE than other banks)
What sector team was your friend in at Barclays?
Thanks a lot for that, really helpful.
I didn't provide any more detail for confidentiality, do you mind if I PM you?
Please do ping with your username here and I can reach out to you (want to keep mine safe if that is ok)
Just created this throw away account, you can PM me here! Thanks a lot.
How many current MF PE associates came from UBS / CS? Very, very few. The way to do it is lateral into GS/JPM/MS, and leave after your first year / year and a half there.
There is a big difference between GS/JPM/MS and other banks in MF recruiting in London.
I’m at an MF. Most of the candidates we interview outside of GS / JPM / MS are potential diversity hires.
Agree with the above, but would argue to move after 6months. Do it as quickly as possible, and benefit from recruiting benefits as well as superior training.
It will also look better for HH. Tell them you moved to a tier 1 bank as you wanted to aim specifically for MFs
Don't mind me; just curious.
Why shouldn't an analyst stay in GS/MS/JPM for 1-2 years and then move to MF?
Don't you think 6 months is too less and maybe not enough to learn everything yet? Why do you recommend moving as quickly as possible?
Also, what do you mean by recruiting benefits? and what does HH stand for?
I cannot deny, at “superior training” I laughed
Don't you think that lateraling will impact my buy-side recruiting as I will have to prove myself again, will be bottom of food chain, will have to build new relationships at whichever bank I lateral?
+ Don't you think that HHs will badly see my move of 1 year at UBS / CS + 1 year at top-3 BB and prefer someone who did 2 years at top-3 BB?
It is possible if you're in a top team, albeit certainly more difficult. As an anecdotal datapoint I did a 2.5 year stint at a top team at UBS / CS and we had 3 MF exits from the team within that period (2x Blackstone and 1x Apollo).
Even from a Top BB, you would still ideally need to speak another major European language if you want to have a good chance.
Unless you’re diverse in which case truly anything is possible.
I speak 2 European languages.
On your comment about diversity applicants, would you say that a ‘diverse’ student from a top target (lse/oxbridge) would be alright when it comes to applying for PE (after 2 years in Ib) even if they don’t speak a Euro language?
Ignore Title;
What is considered diversity?
BAME, LGBT+?
In a top BB group, would being Asian count (who grew up from a council estate)?
Asian normally doesn't count, especially South Asian in the UK.
Female.
AFAIK GPs don't keep track of economic background (free school meals, council estate, etc.) and don't consider Asians to be diverse.
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