Placement Agent vs Internal Fundraising at a top PE firm

Title says it all. I have interviews coming up at both a top placement agent and the internal fundraising team at a top 20 by AUM PE firm. Wanted to know if anyone had any insight in terms of compensation and potential exit opps. There have been a few threads on this, but nothing with specific details.

Compensation: Which has a higher compensation outlook as you progress? I know placement agents can get some hefty fees from first time funds, but imagine you could get a small carry allocation (maybe ~20-30% of what a deal professional would get) that would be meaningful at a fund with billions in AUM.

Exit Opps: Obviously both these roles won't be technical and set up for more marketing/sales jobs down the road, but what are thoughts on going from a respected firm in this role to a top business school or even lateraling to an entry level investment role within the firm after 2-3 years.

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Can't comment on exit ops or comp really, but when I looked at those types of roles, biggest thing was making sure if internal, there is a steady flow of new funds being raised and getting a good variety of different strategies, geographies, etc. - w/ a top 20 firm, that probably won't be an issue.

I viewed it as placement agents being on the equivalent of sell-side banking, much more transactional and probably worse for work-life balance since you are at the behest of your clients.

 

The internal fundraising would be across multiple strategies. Definitely some interesting products. I know you said you can't comment on exit opps/comp, but do you think you could spitball on what you think comp progression would be relative to the investment team (e.g. Analyst 80%, Associate 70%, VP 60%, Principal, 50%, etc.). I imagine it could be relatively lucrative for some of the top guys (VP+), especially if they can get even a small fraction of the carry that deal team members across many billions in different strategies. I assume the head of the team would be a partner and that small amounts of carry could extend to the senior fundraisers.

If so, could you reply here or PM me? Would PM you, but have a relatively new account and don't think I can.

 

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