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Okay
You’re not going to include Mike?
Tony Hawk’s brother, Mike?
I would caveat by saying that some of these programs are generalist while others are group specific so some groups out perform another. Ranking also needs to be taken into account into 2 main factors in my opinion: exits into top hedge funds and long term career in PE.
Top programs for exits:
1. BX(D1, Soroban, Baupost, Darsana, Coatue)
2. KKR(Pershing Square, Viking, D1, Coatue, Lone Pine)
3. Silver Lake(D1, Soroban, Steadfast)
4. Ares(Elliot & Soroban)
5. Warburg(Eminence)
6. Bain Cap(Viking)
7. Vista
Top programs for long term career in PE(No real data points but from what I have heard from other people in the industry to break into senior postions):
1. Warburg
2. Vista
3. Silver Lake
4. KKR
5. BX
6. Ares/Bain
You’re missing a lot of HF exits for Warburg, SLP, Bain, etc……
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Ackman also liked hiring BX PE analysts.
If you look at Pershing’s investor presentation, they show the breakdown of the investment team background (see below):
2x GS to KKR PE
1x GS to Apollo PE
1x Evercore to H&F
1x Centerview to Warburg (incoming)
1x GS (left in 2009 so may have been before the MF PE position became preferred)
Plus another more senior guy who had worked as an MD at Blackstone
This isn’t to say they wouldn’t consider an MF PE analyst, but that doesn’t fit in their historical hiring pattern.
I think you're right on rankings for LT career in PE. WP/Vista/SL have a culture of promoting within the firm and they all have a clear track from AN->AS->VP/Principal. KKR/BX/Ares/Bain are pretty 2 and out (4 and out for analysts).
I'd say for HF exits, you're conflating analyst exits and associate exits. Places like KKR have like 0 HF exits for their analysts since the program is so new while BX/SL have a lot more since they've had an analyst program for a while. IMO, if you're a PE analyst at a MF, you have a fair shot at all the top HFs if you can perform in interviews regardless of which MF you are at.
To clarify, KKR is not 2 and out, but also you need to be a strong performer to get the promote to Principal. They had an analyst program a while back but it was small / more informal so there may be some exits you can try to find (though I think most analysts probably stuck around for another year or two as an associate so could be hard to find via LinkedIn)
Ares is not a strict 2 (or 4) and out program, if anything it is quite the opposite. No business school requirement and heavily encouraged to stay to VP if a strong performer (this year all three senior associates were promoted to VP). In the past they have also had an accelerated path for analysts to “skip” the senior associate role and get a direct promote to VP after 4 years (and no b-school). Just look at the current partners and principals in the group, the vast majority were pre-MBA associates who stayed on and got promoted without leaving for b-school. Also to comment on exits from another poster above, the analyst program this year placed to Farallon on the HF side and SLP / BayPine on the PE side. Source: Employee at Ares.
Which funds are generalist vs group specific and what are the best groups for the non - generalist funds?
Vista has exits to Dragoneer and Coatue
Yes, not sure why people are saying you cannot exit from Vista
Does anyone have a gauge on what compensation looks like for these MF PE analyst programs? This could perhaps add another layer of color to the discussion.
Aren’t all except for BX $200k+ first year?
Oh, I wasn’t aware- source on this by any chance?
A lot of people here don't understand that the top hedge funds don't really differentiate between candidates at a top banking analyst program as opposed to a MF PE analyst program -- two years of experience is two years of experience. From just PJT RSSG people have exited to: D1, Silverpoint, Darsana, Maverick, Baupost, Farallon, and top funds that have since closed like Eton Park, SPO, etc. That list is just as impressive as any of the other ones above from the PE programs. If you're at an Evercore M&A, GS TMT/FIG, etc. you'd get all these interview looks as well if you communicated to headhunters that you wanted to work at a hedge fund. The real reason MF PE analyst programs get a reputation for hedge fund placement is because almost all of the analysts are recruiting for hedge fund roles, unlike the top banking programs where most people want a PE seat. There are effectively no roles where a headhunter would offer an interview to a Warburg or KKR analyst but not to to a GS TMT or PJT RSSG analyst.
Please stop speaking common sense. On this forum the young people believe that there is a clear difference between Warburg and back stone, just like there is a clear difference between Goldman and JPM.
We don’t need logic and reason and real world rationale from you.
You're only right for some tier of HFs but i can tell you now that many of the most elite HFs really do like to see PE experience. For example, Tiger Global, Lone Pine or Pershing are on the top end of TOP HFs and they rarely recruit out of banking (i think Pershing did once out of GS TMT a long time ago, but most hires did PE before).
PJT RSSG (and other RX groups) also give very different exits to M&A groups - obviously places like Silverpoint or Farallon or Baupost that do a lot of distressed / deep value plays are going to hire former RX bankers.
Lastly, from what I've seen, shops like D1, Maverick, Darsana, Farallon, Baupost, Eton Park, Coatue (etc.) hire way more analysts seats and also have much higher churn than a place like Tiger Global, Lone Pine or Pershing.
As someone that took the typical GS / MS to MF PE path, I've never wanted to go to a mid-tier HF. Especially over the past few years, the idea of going to a place like Silver Point, Baupost, Farallon, Coatue, Maverick, etc. from MF PE doesn't sound great to me. A quick LinkedIn search would show that there has been a lot of turnover at these funds and they are a shell of themselves from the 2000s. That's why you see so many people from these funds going to Citadel or exiting the industry as a whole to chase start-ups / operating roles. At the end of the day, the HF industry is in structural decline, and the most successful funds these days employ a crossover strategy.
Want to add that after speaking with professionals at a variety of top funds, many of them even have a preference for having done 2 years of banking prior to their PE experience as well. Not to say that the PE analyst programs aren't great opportunities, but this shows that each fund is going to vary in their preferences, and that no matter which route you go, there will be no shortage of opportunities for those who are interested and qualified
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