London PE Funds with the BEST culture - Tell me yours

Hey monkeys,

nice to come back here after a while.

Currently a 2nd year analyst (not UK) at tier-2 Consulting firm. I graduated in Corporate Finance and also did an internship at a top BB IB. I just passed through some family-personal hard times which led me to the conclusion that it's time for a career switch and I am willing to break into the PE Industry in London.

My LT goal

Being honest: I am in my 20ys and don't know it yet. Prolly come back to my country one day and work for a corporate but before I wish to develop the famous "investor-mindset" we are all looking for to add to my CO experience.

The decision to make

MM/LBO PE funds or Growth Equity?

From the internet (and our wonderful oasis), I think that I figured out that MM/LBO PE funds is the answer. I am more fascinated from the "crunch-the-number" part of the deal and think that, in the short term, these MM/LBO PE funds could give me the hard skills I need/want.

What I am looking for

Not interested in the salary. Not interested in the prestige. 

I am looking for PE funds in London with the best culture (so people, WL, mgmt culture...) where I can actually learn and observe the investor POV and, why not, leverage on my CO experience.

What I can leverage on

Disclaimer: I know competition is tough. I know it's even worse if not UK-based. BUT, I can leverage on:

A good network in the PE industry (even at senior levels).

My willingness to put 100% effort for interview-prep (modelling, review some basics of finance...).


This said, I already went through the related forum threads but still feel the need to ask you this question (actually feel more confused than before - lol). I would appreciate any advice on this and I am very interested on your story (especially if you are a CO guy that moved to PE 🙃).

Btw, feel free to DM for any insights on consulting.

Best!





 

I think 'best' culture is 100% dependent on your own personality. Each shop has their own 'type' of people generally and the best 'cultural fit' for anyone else on this forum might not turn out to be the best culture for you. My mates and I went through PE recruiting and sometimes we had different perceptions of the same firms/teams. I assume you already know this but the only way to figure out is to talk to as many juniors across different firms as you can (in person and not on an internet forum) and get a feel for yourself. 

 

Hey mate,

Although I agree with your answer, since the best "cultural fit" could be something very personal, I think that it could be useful to hear some stories from this place.

I mean, I am 100% sure that some ppl here can share stories such as " my bf is working at XXX, he told me he is fine, he likes the culture because..."... Of course, further investigation will be done but at least this could be a good starting point :) .

 

Not gonna list every MM/LMM London based fund and outline their culture but if you have any specific fund in mind reply to this and I'll let you know my 2cs (if i know them). Also, sorry to piss on your bonfire but really difficult to get a job in London at the mo if you don't hold a UK passport, it's become super super expensive for firms to sponsor candidates to get visas since brexit - a BB might do it but MM PE will probably just find a UK based candidate, which there is loads of this year due to insane IB hours last year.

 
Most Helpful

Lol good choice of funds, all top performers. I rate inflexion very highly, they have had exceptional fund performance over the last 15 years. We come up against them in processes and they're pretty impressive. Their investment thesis is based on thorough diligence and they're conviction buyers, they don't mind paying up for assets they want and they tend to get it right. Culture isn't quite up-tight, but its deffo formal, the people I've met at networking events are very well spoken and quite nerdy (only wanna talk about work and wear suits and ties). Not sure if they encourage individual thought from juniors. A lot of ex big4, I heard they like people who started in CDD then moved to M&A. Top MM fund, I'd work there for sure, super cool offices too.                      I don't know Epiris as well. They're much smaller in terms of deal flow and team size but also perform well. As far as I know they prefer backing MBOs but will also look at underperforming/stressed assets, an investment strategy which is rare in the uk mm - pretty cool if you ask me. They're also sector agnostic. Met them once or twice, seem much more entrepreneurial than a lot of other firms, they also hire straight out of UG (they like IB internships), which is unusual.               ECI are more similar to Epiris than inflexion, they like TMT and Business Services. Think they made an IRR of 35%+ in their last two funds. Also tend to raise and then exit quite quickly which is good for a carry perspective. Haven't spent much time with them but heard from advisors they're pretty focused, they’re super detail focused and are known for doing a lot of diligence in house. They're pretty top heavy, more senior management than junior staff. They're one of few funds in this space who actively like hiring management consultants OP.... Dunno anything original about Exponent or Montagu sorry. Montagu do bigger stuff, UMM, don't come up against them. 

 

I don't know any funds in this space where juniors regularly work 80 hours a week. The UK MM isn't typically sweaty like that. As far as I'm aware - we all work considerably less hours than our M&A counterparts. Very occasionally, maybe twice a year you'll have 2-3 weeks of long hours when you've promised a seller you can execute very quickly just to win the deal. I have friends at some of the funds that have been listed and a few others. I'd say we all average around 60 hours a week. I've been at my firm for 3 years and I don't think I've done an 90hour week more than 4/5 times and 80 hour weeks TOPS 15 times. A lot of people (maybe the majority) are hired from the big4 and there isn't an ib hours culture at all, people at my fund would be shocked to learn about the hours juniors post on this forum. It just really isn't like that. In PE we don't have inflows of work to be done by a certain deadline as to execute a transaction (unless we're doing a deal and only do 4/5 a year). Most of our tasks are open ended, I.e. doing some desktop origination for a bolt on, meeting with advisors to make sure we're seeing deals, doing research and writing a report on companies we've been intro'd to (found directly) with a model to show to a director who probably won't even look at it for a few days. On the whole it is not deadline driven, sometimes I work 45 hours a week.

 

Mind sharing any broad details on comp? I imagine a pay cut from current IB salaries given the culture and hours you’ve discussed

 

Both Advent and BainCap are very clearly MFs and you will work 80 hours a week on average (if not more) regardless of location for any MF

Source: I work at an MF and have friends at both Advent and BainCap

 

Based on my experience of interviewing and knowing people at various funds I have gleaned a few data points.

Horrific sweat shops: the usual suspects (KKR, H&F, Bx, TPG, Permira), BC Partners, General Atlantic, Silverlake, WP

Not as bad as horrific sweat shops but still don't have much of a life (I.e. probably as good as it gets if you want a brand name fund) Apax, CVC, EQT, Nordic, TDR, Advent, Bain Cap, PAI, TA. Also heard rumors that Apollo London is very different to the US office.

People forget that it's almost impossible to find a job where you get paid 10x the median salary in your age group and also have good WLB unless you are lucky or very talented and 95% of people in finance are not very talented.

 

Can confirm Apax and Advent are sweatshops. Same with CVC depending on team. Some awkward team cultures too. Just ask headhunters as it’s well known. A lot of historical attrition in some teams. 

 

Heard that Rhone have gone to shit. Didn't they split up?

 

A funds culture usually represents where the majority of the workforce have come from. Most of the shops I know (MM/LMM) that hire most of their investment staff from the big4 M&A/consulting tend to have a more chilled atmosphere/WLB that is similar to the big4/consultancies. 

The funds that mainly hire from IBs have a much more distinct IB culture facetime/shit wlb/more pressure etc. 

If I was to move funds and couldn't find any info on the fund through word of mouth, I'd look at the working background of most of their employees. 

 

Millionaires on paper yes, many fold over. In cash? Maybe just about

 

Beatae quo corrupti minima nam et. Delectus odio ex et voluptas quaerat laudantium quisquam. Et maxime laborum consectetur nobis sequi dolor illo veritatis. Unde optio ullam neque omnis consequatur aperiam.

Atque amet quia ipsa harum. Aut ullam reprehenderit quis minima.

Ut omnis sit dolores voluptate. Fuga veniam praesentium ducimus atque veritatis praesentium in neque. Et eum corporis enim nulla hic necessitatibus autem totam.

Et ut incidunt in dolores molestiae aut sed. Et ad sed delectus qui. Et ea ad iusto. Vel sequi adipisci natus soluta. Officia ab doloremque saepe voluptatibus. Aliquid eveniet id quas labore quasi. Quaerat ea enim iure et temporibus perspiciatis qui.

 

Commodi error occaecati quas totam ducimus. Laboriosam architecto commodi adipisci nulla hic. Reprehenderit tenetur laborum itaque. Occaecati est ipsam vero. Suscipit quisquam numquam et repudiandae molestiae sint laboriosam. Et sequi ex sit eos non laudantium aliquid ullam. Quibusdam corrupti ut consequatur distinctio dolor qui dolores.

Aut corporis ut perferendis dolor voluptatibus ut. Quia laborum ut est hic voluptatum. Sint rerum nihil vel qui consectetur. In porro quos porro est consequatur blanditiis sed.

 

Eius consequatur id est consequatur eligendi fuga nostrum et. Voluptatum cumque animi ipsum est molestiae quia. Ipsam et sunt fuga autem velit laboriosam. Molestiae velit qui quaerat quia necessitatibus ratione tempora.

Magnam vel similique recusandae unde sed praesentium qui. Occaecati quis facere sit culpa ut. Est et voluptates tenetur ipsum temporibus. Quasi iure magnam expedita animi quia enim iure. Officia dolorum eligendi et et consequuntur nihil.

Quis nisi sunt esse officia. Et sit eligendi a consequatur. Numquam autem itaque labore est eos exercitationem sunt. Et molestias et nihil delectus doloribus. Illum veritatis dolores totam qui ea est ut. Repellendus vel sunt illum laboriosam doloremque et qui. Qui earum illo delectus suscipit enim et optio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (21) $586
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (89) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (204) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (386) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (28) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (313) $59
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”