London vs US for PE in Long-term? (2023 editiion)
I am about to begin my PE associate stint in London after two years in banking, but fundamentally, I am concerned about my prospects in the UK and experiencing FOMO regarding the potential of PE in the US. For context, I am originally from an Eastern European country that is not part of the EU:
- The UK economy is a complete mess and so exposed to the disaster happening on the continent, while the US appears to be more resilient and secure energy-wise, and remains more resilient in terms of growth potential (especially with the AI revolution on the horizon).
- Taxes are chaotic and likely to increase go up further, while public services and safety appear to be deteriorating by the day.
- PE in London involves covering a lot of UK and European companies, which means there is a need to know languages and cultures in order to build meaningful long-term relationships. This appears to be less of an issue for PE professionals in the US (maybe I am wrong).
What counter-arguments would you offer to the points above? I still enjoy traveling around Europe, and being close to it is advantageous. Additionally, proximity to my home country is a somewhat significant factor.
I would appreciate hearing your perspective on this matter. Thank you!
Do you have an option to move to the USA? If not I don't really think you should be concerned right now. By all means explore an internal move or maybe an MBA in the US, but that is not guaranteed. Most of my British / European friends who left PE in london for H/S/W really struggled to get full time PE roles in the US and are back here, just with a weaker currency and US$ loans sadly.
Agree with your points honestly, except maybe language skills (I have no European languages and it has never been an issue for me; the vast majority of business is done in English, and nobody is going to care at any decent shop). The UK is not what it used to be, but London will always be here. It has lost its global pre-eminence but it is still the financial capital of the world ex-New York (although who knows for how much longer). Obviously, you will get paid 2x+ in the US and have a much bigger market and way more tier 1 cities to live and work in compared to the UK, but again unless you actually have an offer on the table, I wouldn't stress about this.
Ultimately this move for the vast majority of people who DO have the option is driven by personal reasons (family, relationships etc.). There are more things to life than maximising comp, and London is still a huge market with most major players here - if you do well, you will have a good life in any place. Personally, having spent some time working in the US, I definitively know it is not for me - but maybe you need that experience to be sure.
Would the same hold for seconding internally on the sell-side to e.g. NYC and using that to then recruit for buyside roles in places like NYC as a sell-side IBD associate either directly or through business school
My interest in moving across the pond includes comp but also factors like family/community, new experience etc.
Sure, definitely doable, but don't forget that on-cycle buyside recruiting happens in the womb in the US and you'll most likely miss it when lateralling, which negates much of the value. And doing it through b-school unless you're a US citizen / have US PE experience is very tough from what I saw.
I see, I guess a move from what you're saying makes more sense for family/cultural and if you plan to move to tech/corp dev after etc. rather than buyside due to the recruiting landscape or buyside if you're prepared to accept MM rather than UMM/MF
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