Most prestigious PE firms

I was recently talking to a buddy at Apollo and asked him who do you respect the most and his answer was H&F.  
 

How would you rank order the following firms in terms of their intellectual capacity/ rigor in due diligence/ secret sauce etc?

Apollo PE

Blackstone PE

Hellman & Friedman

APAX

Advent

Clayton Dubilier Rice

Silverlake (more tech focused)

Thoma Bravo (more tech focused)

Insight (more tech / growth equity focused)

Also would someone have IRR data for all of the mega funds (> $3bn) for vintages between 2000-17? I have the data that Calpers, Calstrs, SBA etc publish but wanted to see if someone has it already consolidated and arranged.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Molestiae aspernatur nihil quia voluptatibus est ab. Velit non quod rem quia maxime officiis labore sit. Officiis et et officiis et voluptas illo. Est tempora in quis et omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Bain Capital 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (98) $365
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (272) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (355) $62
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”