Private Equity Analyst - Lateral Exit Timeline & Opportunities

Hi everyone, 

I am wondering what a realistic timeline is regarding an exit as a PE analyst who joined a fund straight out of uni. I am planning to stay within the PE industry. Do you typically stay 2 years or mostly a bit more or even less? What do you guys think? 

Background: I completed a master's in Europe (think HEC, LBS and LSE) and completed several internships in IB, PE, VC and CorpDev. And was fortunate to receive a return offer at a >5bUSD AuM fund in Europe (think Inflexion, FSN Capital, Terra Firma) which does mid-market transactions. 

Additionally, what do you think are realistic PEs where I could recruit? I think names like KKR, Apollo, EQT and Blackstone are not possible for me. But I don't know exactly what the current upper limit is for someone with my profile. 

Thank you in advance! 

5 Comments
 

Bump! Are PE analyst programs as well regarded as IB analyst programs for PE associate recruitment? 

 

Depends entirely on the fund and the bank. If you are at a solid MM / UMM fund, your chances of landing an associate position at a MF is MUCH better than if you're from the average BB. 

Your chances of ending up at a place like Blackstone / KKR / Silver Lake / Permira etc. is much greater coming from an analyst program at Partners Group than coming from Citi. Of course, this changes if you compare GS TMT to some random LMM fund no one has ever heard of. 

PE firms want to hire people with the best experience for the job. If you spent 2 years in an investment role at Partners Group, your experience will be much more relevant than if you spent 2 years data-digging and formatting slides at some bank. 

 

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