RX > Buyside Options

Take this for what it is, one man's opinion. I have at some point in the last 5 years had exposure to most of the firms you have listed. I personally think that credit origination is not that interesting. The work from PE to credit varies significantly; that being said there is still a chance to leverage that into what you want. Overall, there are a large number of subordinated debt providers looking to put capital to work, debt is essentially a commodity and in the past two years credit origination has almost turned into a business development role.

The MF Special Situations Groups are interesting, but still do originate (e.g., TPG), but the broader mandate can give you a diverse experience to help you learn what exactly it is that you want to do following your stint. Furthermore, some firms have a strict two and out policy and the long-term nature of secondary debt purchases, waiting for a restructuring, and finally taking control of the Company can be a very long process that you may never even experience during your Associate tenure. You could conceivably work on a deal that starts as a company that is about to bust covenants, but performance improves and nothing ever happens.

As the industry becomes more mature, HFs and PE Funds have had to take credit stakes further and further ahead of potential RXs in order to beat others. However, on larger RXs it can have a "club" type feel with a number of names.

Personally, I choose option 1. The broader mandate can give you a better exposure to different aspects of the deal, which will be important when choosing what your next step is.

Best of luck and keep us posted.