Oaktree PE
Hi - pretty new here!
Wanted to ask how is Oaktree's PE (deals, comps, mobility, culture...)? Do they hire out of undergrad?
Thanks!
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imo its a pretty good culture, can only speak for LA though. LA office is in DTLA which is to me its biggest downside. If you are not familiar with LA, DTLA is far from century city and santa monica where most LA IB/PE offices are. You will have to live close to DTLA since traffic is horrendous, but otherwise I have enjoyed my time here.
Undergrad wise, there's a couple of different internships that occur but they always change. Few years ago we had LA interns on investment teams, MO/BO stuff like valuations (wouldn't recommend as an internship imo), sometimes its on trading teams, lots of girls who invest programs since one of our heads is big on it and we are a partner org. However, these teams do not hire out of undergrad.
In my time here, I have seen a few hired out of undergrad but only in debt/equity real estate which is also consistent rotational internship. For the most part, our internships are structured as a learning experience with lots of fireside chats and exposure to other teams not as a "90% of interns get a full-time offer" type of place. If you are in undergrad (which based on your post it seems like), I'd explore an internship but if you have one for junior summer I'd have a full-time contingency plan in place. Sophomore summer is where our interns come from (GWI and the occasional random person) but most people use it as a springboard into junior summer or into a different full-time opportunity (which is what I recommend if you are an undergrad).
Thank you for the reply! This is very helpful. I was wondering what area of internship would you recommend for junior summer if you are aiming for PE FT. Having a PE junior summer at the firm you want to end up is obviously the best choice but in the case that it doesn’t happen — Would a PE at a middle market or IBD at a BB be a better positioning for junior summer?
personally, i think PE out of college is not the best career path although is a quicker path to a hedge fund if that is all you'd want to do. I'll caveat this by saying Oaktree as a whole pushes this motto hard and is partly why they do not hire out of undergrad and I believe it. Private equity is very much so dependent on skills you learn in banking, and skipping that hardly works out for many PE analysts. In my experience, even established programs like Ares' analyst program does not lead to the best learning for those analysts. While I have not worked or cross paths with individuals who are jaw-dropping amazing at their work from a PE analyst program, that does not mean those great individuals do not exist.
If you are set on PE for an analyst program, I'd heavily network to see how people enjoyed those programs (esp since I am still skeptical of them). Some people from my school have done Warburg's analyst program and they do not have a summer program and mainly hire EB/BB summers. I think your junior summer experience and rest of your resume matter far more than name brand of junior summer for these types of roles. If your resume is tip-top shape (semi/target and/or diversity, 3.8+, good deal exposure, club involvement, something interesting) then I do not think a BofA vs Audax vs HL vs Francisco summer would make a difference and the candidate themselves would make a far greater difference.
Does Oaktree ever hire T2 consultants who have worked on CDD's?
Candidly, no. Virtually no investment team will even hire consultants in the first place -- when I was there, I heard, anecdotally, that there had been a big hiring flop in the prior 5-10 years that turned most PMs off to hiring candidates without traditional experience.
However, there are a handful of operating professionals (ex-consultants or industry experts) that will work with certain teams on new opportunities and the existing portfolio. The Special Situations Group has its own internal ops team as well.
If you’re a consultant looking to break into PE your best bet is shops like Advent, Bain Cap, H&F, or most Boston based MM shops
But even for those they largely only take MBB. Very hard to break into PE from T2 firm unless you’re shooting for LMM.
I thought Oaktree is notorious for NOT hiring out of undergrad. And they don't give offers to their interns. The guy above confirms this
I was at Oaktree in the LA office until fairly recently. The work can be very interesting, and culture is pretty solid, especially relative to other large LA PE firms like Apollo, Ares, etc. Hours can still be very long at times, but people are pretty friendly (though demanding) and take time to mentor you. Agree with the above that one of the biggest downsides is the DTLA office location (though there is one group based out of Brentwood). I'd add that the size/scale of the firm can definitely make you feel like a cog in a machine, and upward progression is difficult in certain groups. Also, like any large firm, it can feel like things are slow to change/keep up with the market.
To your other question, there is an undergrad internship program across different investment teams, as well as non-investment roles like accounting, corporate finance, client relations, etc. The groups vary each year depending on need. MO/BO internships can convert to full-time, but outside of Real Estate and IGS (public, investment-grade credit), investment teams do not hire directly out of undergrad anymore. However, it's a well-designed program where you'll get a lot of exposure to senior professionals and the entire investment process; the intern in my group supported a live deal and looked at another opportunity with one of our MDs.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
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