Placement and advisory groups

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone would be able to give an insight into placement and advisory firms such as Campbell Lutyens, MVision, Athos Partners, Asante, Rede Partners, etc..

It would be great if someone can provide an insight into these type of firms; what the role/typical day to day would be as a junior and also as a senior (and how it differs to IBD); what the compensation would be throughout the career ladder at one of these places and whether it offers exit opportunities into direct PE?

Thank you

5 Comments
 

have worked with people in those firms but am not familiar with what they do.

but what is very obvious from my observations is that ... no this does not lead to direct pe. if you want to do direct pe, go for ib. people who leave those firms end up in secondary pe, investor relations, other fundraising firms etc. have not seen a single person head over to direct pe.

Array
 
Most Helpful

Placement: Juniors are usually in "project management", which involves drafting PPMs, answering DDQs, putting together update materials for PE fundraises, assisting distribution professionals with their roadshows (scheduling etc.) - very admin/processing/project management heavy work - you don't really learn much in the way of technical skills, except maybe calculating performance attribution for funds

Senior professionals then might move into a "distribution" role, where they go out and talk with different LPs every day, are constantly traveling, and are basically selling the placement agent's PE clients' funds as well as gathering market intel. Can be a very desirable job.

Secondary Advisory:

Similar to M&A in that you're running transactions, although with less modeling - very execution-heavy and can get tedious if you're working on a portfolio with many different funds (having to process transfer docs etc. for each fund). As you become more senior, you will eventually be expected to start sourcing deals. Very relationship-heavy and since the industry is small, you find that you reach out to the same buyers over and over again.

Compensation depends on the firm, but is high. At some of placement agent arms of the EBs (Lazard, Evercore, PJT), you would be paid the same as the M&A/Restructuring professionals (maybe even more). Firms such as MVision and Rede Partners might pay slightly less, but you definitely won't starve. Given that hours are long at placement agents but aren't as bad as IBD, it's definitely a solid choice.

Exit opportunities: Direct PE is out of the question unless you have prior experience in IBD/PE investing and just happened to go into a placement agent. The skillset is completely different from direct PE. People usually end up going into IR (carry, better lifestyle), LPs (usually paid less, better lifestyle), or other placement agents. Therefore, if you decided to enter this world, it will be very difficult to move into another

Overall, if you're interested in the industry, then definitely a great choice, but be sure to do your DD before you commit to one.

 

Molestiae facere dolor et commodi magni non fugit. Nihil sequi laboriosam consectetur laboriosam repellendus in impedit. Corrupti autem voluptates facilis. Odit qui quasi unde reprehenderit.

Est reprehenderit eos veritatis aut veritatis totam sequi. Ut eaque vel sunt vel voluptas. Harum aut ut quis voluptatem nihil dolorum iste et. Vero officia id et tenetur reiciendis voluptatum.

Possimus inventore est repudiandae. At autem rem et incidunt cupiditate. Qui rerum quos molestiae nobis cumque expedita. Enim voluptatum veniam hic possimus non. Nesciunt magnam voluptatem cupiditate quia ex. Odit et earum aut voluptas consequatur sed labore.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.2%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Bain Capital 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2026 Private Equity

  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.2%
  • Ardian 98.9%
  • Blackstone Group 98.5%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.2%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (97) $363
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (234) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (95) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (271) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (37) $80
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (351) $61
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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
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...”