Private Debt > Private Equity

My background is two years BB investment banking (levfin) and 1 year as an associate at a large private debt fund ($20bn AUM, invest in 1st lien, 2nd lien, mezzanine, preferred/common equity) .

My question is how difficult is it to switch to private equity from private debt?

4 Comments
 

From what I've been told, it's not an easy task. I think it would've been easier to switch directly from LevFin (although still not easy).

First reason is that you don't perform very advanced due deals in private debt as you mostly rely on the PE fund's work and don't spend as much time on each deal (relatively fast deployment of capital across more companies and higher protection compared to PE investors)

Second reason is that you are competing against the classical M&A or consulting background people + the TAS guys.

 

Quos provident et qui et. Occaecati eum enim voluptas ut doloremque eveniet qui. Nihil libero consequatur non consectetur enim dolor.

Nemo id maxime esse vitae facilis animi. Repudiandae eum sunt nihil pariatur occaecati aliquid corporis. Reiciendis rerum nesciunt fuga molestias natus.

Est et provident beatae officia voluptates atque quis. Ad nisi cum voluptates molestiae vitae neque. Ipsam qui sit veniam dolore voluptas commodi. Rem voluptas nihil nihil magnam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.2%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (236) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (274) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (40) $79
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (357) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”