Megafund/UMM PE Analyst Program Discussion Thread
Since this topic has been coming up a lot recently, I figured it made sense to compile a list of the top UMM/MF PE analyst programs (current ones, not like LGP or TCV which discontinued) and thoughts on them to help people make the call between these and traditional BB/EB roles. Note that this isn’t just buyout programs.
Blackstone – Hires for a bunch of different groups, including Private Equity, REPE, TacOpps, Secondaries (Strategic Partners). Arguably can’t beat the name brand, pays somewhat below street because they can
KKR – Newer and smaller program compared to BX. Also hires for multiple groups (including PE, REPE, NGT, Infra, Macro). Kind of speaks for itself, although NGT is apparently somewhat sourcing oriented
Warburg Pincus – Analyst program has been around for a while – have been told that the culture is a bit rough (a bit sweaty) but top notch all around
Vista – Cares a ton about the online exam results and loving tech. Nuance here is 1) pure tech/SaaS focus 2) in Austin or Chicago
Bain Capital – Romney and Boston. Hires for PE, and historically Ventures and Credit but think those programs might’ve gotten axed
Insight – Sourcing quotas on start-ups, but great name-brand if you want to do growth/VC; promotes up to associate after which I believe you aren’t a sourcing monkey anymore
General Atlantic – Ditto Insight
Ares – LA, hires for PE and Credit, PE program has been around for 5+ years (credit is new)
Silver Lake – Very tech-focused and intense, smaller and target school heavy class
BDT – Newish Chicago fund that raised a ton of dry powder, merchant banking model so half banking half investing
Apax – Hires for growth and traditional buyout – growth is 85% sourcing focused, buyout role is newer
Audax – Probably the gold standard for a MM PE analyst role, only hires from target schools, has a credit arm in NYC but everyone else is Boston or SF
GTCR – Only hires from intern class, the other big Chicago fund
Crestview
Let me know if I’m missing anything, didn’t include some of the smaller shops since don’t really think too many people would take those over BB/EBs.
Source: Going through/went through the FT recruiting process for over half of these so if you guys violently disagree with any of these takes blame my contacts
Edit: Changed Vista and Ares' descriptions as per comments
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How much does BX pay to get this comment: "pays somewhat below street"?
Last I heard it was 135k all-in, but if you turn down BX solely for the pay, you'd be a fool. Think of it like the Goldman discount.
that is abysmal
Not only does it only pay sub 150k (worse than most BBs let alone EBs) it's also a 3 year program, meaning when all your friends are getting paid their first year associate comp after hopping to the buyside in two years, you'll still be a third year analyst, wearing a tie, and getting grinded with shit pay. Blackstone's analyst program is only worth it if you're sure you want to jump to a hedge fund -- their hedge fund placement is unheard of for any analyst program, sending kids to shops that usually recruit PE associates.
Add Crestview and Golden Gate.
Does Golden Gate take analysts? Thought they like exclusively hired out of ND for a little bit and then stopped
Would caution against thinking about summit / insight / ga / kkr ngt for those truly interested in PE -- growth equity is not late stage private equity and the skills you learn while sourcing are not transferable, nor will you get associate looks at PE shops after being an analyst in a sourcing role at a growth equity firm. These are all great programs that pay well with good cultures and are a great fit for those who are truly passionate about early stage investing and meeting founders. If you want a career in VC or growth, absolutely take it. But if you want to do large cap technology buyout stick to Vista and Silverlake, or the two years of TMT banking that can get you to to the other big players in the space. Source: friends who worked at insight / ga and absolutely hated waking up in the morning to go cold call people and wound up going to bschool bc their only exit opps were to corpdev or another sourcing role.
Cap.
Facts: Personally know two alums who went from IB internships to growth analyst roles, got promoted to associate, then exited to senior associate/VP level at UMM buyout firms. They were both geniuses but the point is good people will always get good jobs. Anyone can carve their own path.
Vista is a two year commitment with a long history of internal promotes
Leonard Green used to take analysts as well, not sure if they still do but can add it to your list.
Can anyone speak to the UMM firms on the list? Are processes different than MF at all? Are experiences less structured than traditional MF programs?
Particularly funds such as GTCR, Crestview, BDT, GGC, etc.
Heard that they don't anymore, for what its worth
List of reputable MM/UMM PE firms that recruit Analysts out of undergrad: (off the top of my head)
Altamont Audax Group Bregal CCMP Crestview Partners GTCR LLR Partners Parthenon Capital Riverside Roark Stone Point Vector Capital
Currently an Analyst at one of these firms, and took the offer over a top BB group.
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Partners Group but pay is not very competitive.
pay is super comp now... for analyst level. 95k base.
Heard base last year up to 95. All in around 130-140 so definitely competitive
Can someone confirm if KKR's all-in is 185k for first year analysts? That sounds like such cap, but I have seen that number on a couple of threads.
If that's true that's a much better deal than BX with equivalent brand name value
It’s 90K base. Not sure what bonus is. 95K doesn’t sound ridiculous. I know other top shops are 180K all in for first year analysts so their smaller teams might end up pushing KKR to 185K.
I've also heard Warburg, Ares, and SL cited at around that level of comp
Can confirm WP and SL are both around that point - both are really sweaty places to be (would argue worse than BX) so the comp bump helps mitigate that to some extent
Ditto on Ares analyst comp. In line with quoted above.
I can confirm from a buddy that Ares offers interns pro-rated $95k.
Ares Management should be in this list too
That’s true. It’s already in the list though
True, but to be fair the OP called it a “newer” program when it’s been around for 5+ years (one of the older and more established programs for PE at least - Credit is new)
Does Oaktree not have a dedicated intern/Analyst program? I swear I saw somebody with an internship there on linkedin
They have an internship program but not analyst. Source: went through their SA process
They have a sophomore intern program that's pretty built out I believe. Most sophomore interns don't return for junior year though—I think the idea is to give exposure early on, send the kids to banking, and recruit them back later after they have more experience
When do these analyst processes start? Summer going into senior year?
For the most part yes. The earliest being in May and the latest (at least for MF) being in September.
For FT: start during various times between May-July. Basically all of them try to finish up recruiting just about when the IB summer program ends because they want to confirm you have a return offer and then offers go out the first few weeks in august
Anyone know what GA analyst comp looks like?
Bump, also interested
Know Partners Group has been scaling up NA recruiting the past two years, and have seriously upped the comp. I think 95 base now
Unsure of bonus target for analysts but big caveat with this one is that it's not a pure private equity program. Analysts rotate through value creation group, private debt, REPE, etc. Couple that with being in Broomfield, CO and you have quite a different experience than many of the other firms being listed.
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Yes
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People seem to forget that MIRA hires out of undergrad for those interested in Infra PE
Are the associate exits for analysts in MM/UMM PE analysts similar to EB/Top BB groups?
bump
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