PE Exits from Top MM?
Have seen threads on this but most are rather opaque. Joining an M&A coverage group at a top MM (Jeff/HL/Blair) and am wondering what PE recruiting looks like from the above firms. From the limited info I have, exits seem surprisingly strong, but could just be outliers. I know MM PE is very accessible, but am more interested in learning about UMM PE recruiting and am aware that MF PE is basically out of the question. Additionally, how does PE recruiting calculus change the longer you stay as an Analyst? What are the pros and cons of recruiting one year (or later) into IB vs as you hit the desk?
Bump
UMM PE will be pretty tough as you will be competing with both EB and top BB analysts. There may be 1 or 2 spots max per fund, but some firms have a bias against MM banks in general so uphill battle. If I were you, I would target MM PE and have UMM PE be the upside chance case. It doesn’t happen often as you can see from the bios of the UMM PE firms. If you are a URM or other, you may have a better chance as those candidates are always prioritized.
Jesus diversity is still a thing for recruiting at that stage?
I’m going to a middle EB but would it be worth it to doing ft recruiting for a top EB for better chances of MFPE? I’m non div and non target
what the fuck is a middle EB?
Was at a top MM bank and landed at a UMM PE fund. It’s tough but possible, there were a handful in my analyst class and I know of a few others that are starting this summer.
My tips would be:
Go on cycle and you have no room for mistakes. You’re bank is a “weakness” so no room for error on headhunter calls or during an interview. If you get a single UMM interview, you need to 100% convert it. Absolutely no margin for error vs a BB kid that is going to have more shots on goal and can afford to fail a model test.
I recommend on cycle just since it’s you’re best bet from a numbers perspective - if it’s off cycle and GTCR is hiring one associate, they’re going to interview 4 people and probably all BB/EB kids. If it’s first night of on cycle and they’re trying to interview 30 people, you have a better shot at getting a chance, especially if a bunch of the BB kids are trying to land a MF.
Be super targeted with HHs - don’t say you want MF, don’t say you want growth, pick a few UMMs and be laser focused there. My personal strategy was go UMM on cycle and if that didn’t work, then try for MM off cycle.
The good news is top MMs work with UMM sponsors a ton, so hopefully you’re at a group that does a bunch of sponsor work and you’re bank is well known and respected by these funds. I personally felt like the funds I talked to were honestly not super focused on my bank as a weakness and the general commentary was always “oh I know so and so MD really well, we do a ton of work together”. At any UMM fund that’s doing ~$500M-1B check size they’re going to be interacting a ton with MM banks, probably even more so than vs most BB/EBs that are working bigger deals.
The bigger hill is probably headhunters - they’re trying to maximize their fees and probably aren’t as up to date on the types of deals that a given MM is doing. You need to come across as someone that is incredibly polished and isn’t the “normal” MM analyst that’s going to end up in MMPE. Show you deserve that UMM interview - is it your undergrad GPA, is it great deal exp, D1 athlete, super charismatic, etc? Be ready to prove yourself on these calls - if the HH walks away with a neutral reaction, you’re probably going to get passed over for the GS analyst that also didn’t leave a strong impression. They need to walk away feeling like you’re a candidate that can land a top offer.
I talked to one of the big HHs once I got my job (was giving feedback on the class below me) and she was very open about how typically candidates from my bank are weaker candidates and she funnels them to smaller funds. Obviously this is a bias she has that probably isn’t grounded in anything, but unfortunately the onus is on you as a MM analyst to come in and impress them.
How many UMM Interviews did you get and did you come from a target school?
Went to a strong semi target. Ended up with 2 true UMM interview invites and maybe 3 others that are a borderline UMM / strong MM depending on who you ask.
Which list of firms would you consider in top MM? Just want to make sure I know what to expect based on the firm I’m coming from
Pretty group dependent but most of WB/Baird/HL, some groups at Piper. HW is borderline but don’t think I’ve seen any UMM exits from them. Jefferies is better than this group IMO but poster mentioned them so certainly consider UMM possible from there.
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