So i have been banging my head on this decision for a LONG time. I am currently an Associate 1 at GS in London and have been thinking of moving out of London in a mid-cap European PE. I received an offer from a 3bn AUM fund with offices around Europe, with Top Quartile performance (on the lower end of the top quartile performance). I am speaking to countless people, also very senior, and from the bankers side I am being told that “i should aim for more”, this is not a “well risk adjusted decision”. I get it, surely a large cap fund is a safer bet, and also true that from this find i got accepted to it would be extremely up to move up (to say KKR). Anyone has any suggestions on how to think about this? Am i sacrificing this much by leaving GS for a mid cap fund rather than a large cap?
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It's always easier to move downstream than up. If you can get MF go for MF.
Thanks! Do you have any idea of what the difference in comp would be vs MF? I know there is a lot of variability, but just in terms of high level benchmarks
I am at MF and all-in comp is 400+ (this is on the higher end though, usually expect 350-ish). Friends at MM make from 225-300 usually.
There are VERY few Associate slots going around at the moment. If you want to leave, take what you can get. Also, past a certain point (not far from where you are) extra banking experience doesn’t help your PE career. Finally, many of the MF’s European funds are doing very poorly and way worse than high performing MMs (not to mudsling but this includes funds you’ve mentioned in your post and certain other American funds).
I suspect the senior GS folk are mostly interested in their own book and would prefer you join a large American because it’s better for their own ego / firm brand.
This. The real issue is you cannot remotely guarantee you will get a MF associate offer. If somehow you are 95% sure it's doable (and by that I mean one of my MDs is like - I'm going to call someone and line you up an offer), the weighted probability of this decisions says take the existing offer. Now this is assuming the offer you have is from a legit fund
Thanks a lot, these comments are super helpful I would say the fund i received an offer from seems good, however nobody knows it. They ll start raising their new fund in January. I guess leaving the brand is probably the hardest step and the idea that “i could have done better (based on the bankers’ idea of prestige)”. But you are right indeed
Recently made the jump from a LDN BB to a "unknown place" so a few things just to flag for you to decide:
Thank you!
I’ve been in your shoes before.
Agree that it is easier to move downmarket from a MF vs upmarket from a MM. Unless you know exactly what investing strategy you want, it is indeed a safer choice, similar to aiming for the best brand name bank as a student.
However, having said that, I would personally go for the offer you have in your hands. Whether MM or MF, as long as you are at a good place (it seems so based on the thorough diligence you’ve done) that will give you a good experience, this is more important than the perceived “prestige” we placed so much importance on as a student/analyst. At the end of the day, if you want a long term career in this industry it is really a matter of how GOOD you actually are (+ a lot of luck factors). Find a place that will help you become a great investor. As someone said above, you can still decide to change shops in 1-2 years after sharpening your investor toolkit - the market will probably be better than now as well. Having done your banking stint at GS will also help.
On a more realistic note, London PE associate recruiting has been an absolute mess in the past year with funds significantly reducing their intake and only focusing on females candidates or specific language needs (esp. French, Italian, Nordics). While GS name would help, I’d say the odds of securing a MF offer in the next 6-12 months is still quite low even if you check many of the boxes.
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