MBB PE exit opps in London
I have done a few internships in IB and have a full-time offer lined up at GS / MS. However, I do not find the work in IB very stimulating and the hours are horrible. My long-term goal is to land a position at a leading firm in private equity / growth equity / VC. Consulting seems more interesting and the hours are a lot better.
• How difficult would it be to end up at a leading firm in PE / growth equity / VC after a couple of years at MBB in London?
• Does any of the MBB firms provide stronger exits to PE / growth equity / VC?
• Are there any particular divisions of the MBB firms that provide better exits?
• How do the PE / growth equity / VC exit opps from MBB stack up against GS / MS?
1. All very much the same but order is probably Bain >= McK > BCG
2. Yes, you have to go do your time in the PE practice: PEG for Bain, PEPI for McK, PIPE for BCG
3. GS and MS destroy MBB for these opportunities. MBB placement is comparable to lower ranked BBs (those outside GS, MS, JPM which have the best placement), which isn't all that bad all things considered. MBB to PE is much more doable in Europe than in the US
There is some nuance to the above but at a high level here are your answers
Amazing info, thank you so much for taking the time to reply. A few follow-up questions if you don't mind.
• What do exit opps from PE practices look like for other industries? Can you still exit to strategy, corp dev, business development, or a start-up?
• Are exit opps for consultants better for growth equity / VC compared to PE given that those areas are often less technical compared to PE?
• What does the work in the PIPE divisions mostly consist of? Is it mostly just churning out CDD reports or is it also plenty of strategic / operational improvements work?
• Are hours in PE practices 50-60 hours a week like other consulting practices or are they longer?
• Do people typically exit to PE after 1-2 years like in IB or does it take longer?
1. Haven't dug in that direction so can't tell precisely how it happens/how competitive it is, but from what I see a ton of good exits historically to blue chip companies (FAANG, Large FTSE Corps, etc.). Think though if you stay in London you will be dependent on the mix of industries covered by your MBB office there, so important to diligence that beforehand
2. I wouldn't say so. The hardest part is getting into these processes as headhunters can have very strict requirements from funds (e.g. we want GS/MS/JPM TMT bankers only for this position). And usually the whole buyside industry still has a bias towards bankers. Honestly getting up to speed technically shouldn't be an issue for you with your experience, but you definitely have to be proactive to maintain these skills as nothing you will do on the job will be relevant to pass the technical portion of these processes
3. You want to get on CDDs (buyside due dilligence), but these practices also cover VDDs (sell side), Value Creation Cases, hell even sometimes sector screens. But the key is to get on a few CDD where you have a good role as this is the most relevant experience. Once you gather enough to pad your CV honestly no point in staying (say 3-4 good deals, so 6-12 months in the practice)
4.60 hours, and extremely intense. You barely have time to eat sometimes. But at least weekends are yours and at my MBB you get a free day off between DDs. Also very chill times when in between cases or when things are slow in the practice as they currently are
5. I would say median exit is typically a bit later than bankers so 2-3 vs 2 years for bankers, but if you start reaching out to headhunters before that and show your are prepared and serious nothing will stop you from exiting earlier
This is extremely helpful, thanks a lot!
consultants can’t model bro
And bankers have no reading comprehension
yeh but i can at least read them zeros in my bank account
Why is MBB to PE more doable in Europe than US? What is that a function of?
European funds have always been more open to consider consultants (EQT, Cinven, Permira, CVC, BC Partners, etc.), don't know why but there are just more "consultant-friendly" shops than in the US proportionally
Would recommend doing GS / Top BB vs MBB (especially if not in a PE team). Although some funds are very favourable towards consultants (e.g. Cinven), so it's definitely possible! If you know you won't enjoy BB IBD, move to consulting, much broader exit opps I guess
Thanks for the recommendation. I'm pretty sure I won't enjoy my time in banking given that it's been extremely boring during my 3 internships in banking. The broader exit opps are of course very attractive if I decide not to pursue a career in PE. I also like the fact that consulting seems to give you a much broader skillset. All the MBB consultants I have met are extremely good at building relationships, holding presentations, and breaking down problems. This goes even for junior consultants with just a couple of years on the job. Compare that to IB where your only skillset is being an excel / ppt monkey as a junior. You only start working with strategic questions and building relationships once you have been there for 5+ years. In consulting, it seems that starts from day 1.
lol
Don't think your experience entirely represents everyone's analyst experience in IBD. Personally, I have done a MBB internship and IBD internship, and I enjoyed IBD more. I get speaking roles externally in live deals (even to sponsors) and alot of autonomy in my team. I guess it depends alot on the team too. Exits in my current team are all historically to UMM/MFPE Special Sits / PE funds.
Sorry as an ex-MBB consultant here I actually think you should have done banking….
If end goal is PE, you’d be so much better at your job than coming from consulting. PE at end of the day is finance. Mathematics are very critical part of the job - and you can’t get promoted if you don’t get finance. Business, though, you can always go and learn on the side.
+1 here for Consulting, and here's why:
1. PE exit opps are basically the same if you're performing well. Almost all the best shops in London hire a mix of consultants and bankers, and if you're consulting-inclined you probably don't want to work at the banker-only shops anyway since they tend to be more focused on financial engineering vs. hands-on operational deals.
2. Your experience is much more varied in consulting vs. banking (industry exposure, project type), and you have a broader range of exit opps. You say you're set on PE, but I'm somewhat skeptical that anyone who has as little work experience as you do can know that for sure. There are lots of private equity VPs and directors who decide they'd rather be doing something else with their lives after 5-10 years in the industry. In my view, you should take the opportunity test out a broader range of things early in your career to figure out what makes you tick.
3. Consulting is way more fun / sustainable. You're young and you should make sure you have time to enjoy life. If you back yourself to be successful, the extra early career earnings from banking will be somewhat irrelevant in the long run, so you're better off enjoying your early-mid 20s if possible.
4. Bankers may disagree, but I genuinely think the consulting toolkit (i.e. structured problem-solving & commercial judgement) is much harder to learn than the technical financial side. You can teach yourself the latter on the side if you think it's worthwhile (or frankly, wait until you get to PE which is also fine), but immersing yourself in solving random & unique business problems day-to-day is not something you can easily replicate outside of work.
jesus christ someone drank the consulting kool-aid
Maybe. Just sharing my view having been through transition from consulting to PE and having seen lots of friends, colleagues, and peers move to PE from both banking and consulting.
I also know this view is shared by more senior people at my firm who lead our hiring efforts for both bankers and consultants. Obviously that's just one firm in a massive industry, but it's the best data point I have personally.
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If you don’t like the work in IB you probably won’t enjoy the work in PE
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