McKinsey vs. Bain for Private Equity MF Exit
The options are between McKinsey and Bain, both in a major office. McKinsey would be with their digital group, which allows me to have a bit of preference on tech cases but I can definitely work on anything outside of tech, such as PE diligence. Leaning towards McKinsey since Bain forces you to be a generalist, doesn't let me do as much tech work (if I do PE, I'd prefer to do it in TMT), and if I decide against PE, McKinsey exits are better. On the other hand, Bain has a better alumni network in PE and more placements there since most people interested in PE pick Bain. Any thoughts on whether there's a wrong choice here?
Neither if you want to work at a MF, but Bain if you want to do PE. Industries aren’t difficult to learn - focus more on getting DD reps and try to get TMT cases if possible.
Buddy, I’m sorry but I’m gonna have to agree with the above. I don’t know if this is meant for the consulting forum but if you wanted MF PE you should have gone into IB to really get your chances up there.
I would say Bain is probably better because they have the pipeline and rumor is they’re decent with PE relationships, but your expertise in financial modeling, understanding the nuances of financing, capital structure, credit markets, and transaction rationale is going to be far less than a seasoned IB analyst no matter what.
Your specialty is going to be in operational expertise and PE know your customer even at a Bain when doing PE DD work. This is coming from a consultant at an MBB. Maybe try to lateral into IB?
I also agree that these exits are rare. Best thing to do would be to run a LinkedIn search for the geographies you're interested in and see how they compare, if they had extra steps between MBB and the MF as well as when it happened. This should give you a better idea. You can then always reach out and ask about more details.
You guys in the comments have not been helpful. He clearly asked a question about which offer to take and the only thing that has been said is the obvious "IB is better for PE" line.
I'm at an MBB and signed at a MF/UMM firm. Yes, obviously it was more of an uphill battle and that extra battle has been well documented on this website. However the exits most certainly DO happen. I know of at least 4 MFs that have signed MBB ppl in the last few years (Advent/Bain/TPG/H&F). There are probably more, and this is ignoring all of the fantastic UMM funds, many of which heavily recruit consultants.
To actually address the question that was asked: you will get equal looks from both firms. Your thought process around digital is irrelevant. If anything it's just a constraint on you that can potentially pigeonhole your story and what you are able to work on. However, I personally know of many more Bain people moving into PE and I think there are two main reasons for that: self selection and the strong PE-focused culture. At McKinsey PE recruiting can come and go and most people will have no idea it happened. And most won't care.
Hope this helps. My strong advice is that there is nothing you'll be able to get from this anonymous forum that will meaningfully help you decide. The decision will almost certainly have to come to details that we can't get into here. With that said, feel free to message me--happy to talk to you about this.
Btw, you'll notice in my post history that a couple years ago I asked almost this exact question when I was in your shoes. Happy to give back having been through it.
I want to make it clear that I am all about being helpful. I said Bain for my reasons. We actually match up there.
But cmon when you say “MF PE firms like Advent, Bain, TPG, H&F” as some of the top exits you know MBB consultants have exited to its kinda shows wow - they’re not that great for PE.
I think consulting is great and a lot of exits are amazing. But Bain Cap takes Bain consultants because of the pipeline that I mentioned. Advent and H&F are most definitely NOT megafunds. TPG is the only one that counts, and I know that TPG hires associates in far greater numbers from IB. And IB doesn’t even need to be ultra prestigious or whatever. Like Barclays/citi/baml, firms that if you’re at MBB you probably could get into anyways.
H&F is arguably one of the highest paid, most well-regarded funds out there. Would take it probably over most of the traditional MFs like KKR, BX, WP, etc...
H&F closed an ~$11bn fund back in 2014 followed by a ~$16bn fund in 2018 that had no pref hurdle. How is that not a megafund?
Both have a relatively good pipeline to Bain Cap...there are a few more McKinsey alums than Bain & Co. but they're probably about even
Ignore anyone that says H&F and Advent aren’t megafunds. Those are two of the most desirable and high performing funds on the street.
I don’t have any unique insight on the Bain / McK. If you have rudimentary financial skills you can get a blue chip PE job from either. It may be cliche but I would go with the role you think you’d enjoy more.
McKinsey is known as the go to for business transformations and Bain is more known for performing commercial due diligence for PE clients. Would think Bain would win more mandates from blue-chip PE clients for diligence work. IMO, BCG is the best out of all three in performing commercial diligence, but not sure if they or Bain is viewed more favorably by the megafunds.
Vista, Apax, Cinven, Permira, CVC, Advent all will recruit consultants.
McKinsey is a better network in general.
First off, congrats on the offers! You can't go wrong with either firm, and you've outlined the pros of each well. For context, I'm an BA/A/AC heading to an UMM/MF in a few months.
Benefits of Bain: More people tend to recruit for PE from Bain, so you'll likely have a Bain alum who's an associate at every UMM/MF that hires consultants (McK alum are at most, but slightly less than Bain). They'll be helpful in getting you interviews if you impress them. Also, since Bain is the leader in commercial DDs, you can probably get partners to make intros + recommendations to their network at PE funds more easily (assuming you're a top performer).
Benefits of McKinsey: Better and more global network outside of PE. You'll be doing digital, and will develop a better skill set (+network) for tech investing. Will likely be easier to choose which projects you want to work on versus Bain.
Given that you're interested in TMT, I think it makes more sense to go to McKinsey for the more relevant experience (if you're confident you can also get a few DDs under your belt before recruiting for PE).
I think what some of the posters above are trying to express is, if you are dead set on megafund PE, there are more direct (and relevant) ways to get there. MF PE at the junior level is essentially banking 2.0 as has been said many times, and if you like what MF PE entails, you'll probably be happier at a bank where you can develop the most relevant skillset. Middle market PE typically involves more portco interaction which is why such firms are more interested in hiring consultants.
That said, if you are interested in consulting for other reasons rather than solely the PE exit but think PE could be a compelling future option, both can get you there so pick the one you "click" with more in terms of the people.
In a similar process currently, trying to breaking into PE through the MBB route. Don’t have any first hand insight besides what my diligence & network has uncovered. Found that some of the previous posts are relevant. If you look up firms like H&F, the majority are from BB IBs, however there is still a good amount of MBB people they take each year. For firms like Silver Lake, Insight, Vista, etc. (although not considered a MF but some of, in my opinion, the best Tech PE funds) hire a good amount of MBBs. If you do well, work hard to stand out within your role (whether IB or MBB) & network like crazy - key point is the networking) the doors you are looking for will open.
As far as McKinsey vs Bain, pick whichever feels more right for you, where you will succeed & do the best in. At the end of the day, if you work your ass off & network like crazy, both Bain & McKinsey will open up the same doors for you, MF & all. Make the choice on which one you believe you will succeed the most in & enjoy.
Question for all: what is the best group with MBB to maximize your chances of entering into a Tech PE fund?
If you want to join a group with this intention, I'd say McKinsey's Digital practice. As a BA, you'd do around half (can be more or less if you want) your work in tech projects, where you get first preference to pick your staffing, and half as a generalist (so you can knock out some PE diligences for PE recruiting + pursue any other interests).
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