Sellside Models - Useful?

Just out of curiosity, how often do PE funds actually rely on the models sellside bankers make? I always assumed people on the buyside would always recreate their own models anyway but interested to see what others think.

EDIT: I'm referring to operating models that bankers develop during an M&A process, not equity research models 

17 Comments
 

Ignore flair.

At one of the large MMs as an analyst in L/S. We use SS models as reference and sanity checks when building our own models. Obviously our assumptions are going to be different since the sell side is often very bullish about the companies they cover.

 

I think OP is referring to the sell side models PE firms get in sale processes and not the ones that equity research teams post / update on a quarterly basis. I work at a MF and we obviously refer to the sell side models, but 100% build our own models. It’s helpful to see how management thinks and forecasts out the business, but that’s all it is. 

 

Worth noting, most banker models have 5x more drivers / unnecessary bells & whistles than I need / am comfortable walking the partnership through. I usually use key outputs / figures from banker models for reference when building my own (usually just to make sure I project past this) & will look to understand the build upfront to decide on 5 or so key drivers that I want to drive my model to keep it simpler for IC / partnership.

Then there are extreme cases where eg. tight deadline, just use the provided William Blair model, tweak assumptions, and copy & paste outputs into memo

Don't break yourself on the way to making yourself
 

In private credit, our shop usually uses the lender model as the base for building out downside model and as basis for presentation to the IC, the management model is used to screen the investment initially and form questions for management

 

Eaque iste qui illo facilis vero repellat excepturi. Voluptas voluptas recusandae laudantium fuga repellendus quia eveniet. Officia dolorem nemo nobis qui. Ea voluptates qui non blanditiis debitis vel. Nihil fugiat rem repellendus tenetur fugiat. Praesentium consequatur ipsum quia incidunt nesciunt qui eos.

Ut provident iste molestias qui expedita quae. Dolorum rerum voluptatibus omnis ipsa quo neque. Repudiandae nesciunt aut sequi consequatur consequatur. Labore ea atque optio consequatur. Consequatur sequi non esse repellat. Molestiae fuga velit vel odio ipsam.

Qui hic sint pariatur dolores repudiandae nihil. Eum quos quod eius minima corporis aut. Dolorum ratione et nostrum et quia. Velit voluptas et omnis quia. Minima sed et et optio.

Asperiores est alias dolorem sint occaecati voluptatem ab tenetur. Minus nostrum est nihil qui. Excepturi distinctio ducimus molestiae vero voluptatem. Dolor eius aut nihil esse nulla. Exercitationem impedit ad sit ut sint beatae tenetur. Ducimus quisquam aliquid ut quo ducimus voluptatem ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Private Equity

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Private Equity

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (99) $363
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (272) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (356) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”