Stick to IBD or take interview for PE

Hi All,

Post MBA First year associate in M&A BB in Asia Pac and have been approached by head hunters for PE Associate roles. PE firms are in the $2b to $5b range and are reasonably active.

Looking at the way things are going in the IBD sector with deal flow abysmally low and bonuses trending significantly down, I am not sure if IBD continues to have an attractive balance of Pay+Bonus Upside vs. Job Security.

Alternatively, the PE firms would qualify as mid market and are Asia Pac focused. I presume pay would be same as IBD.

Couple of questions:
1) Does the PE route afford the same opportunities and dynamic work days as before? PE firms also seem quite dormant these days. Does it seem too quick to move to PE with just a year in IBD?

2) I am looking to move to the US in the next couple of years for personal reasons. From this angle, does sticking in IBD help more or moving to a PE firm help more in terms of applying for finance jobs in the US?

Any advise would help.

4 Comments
 

2-5bn is not MM in Asia, that would be on the high end. salary will be lower than IB but overall comp may be slightly higher depending on what banking bonus looks like this year.

  1. hard to say without more info. depends on if it's local or global fund. if PE is what you want to do with your life then make the move.

  2. neither is going to help if you want to move back to the US since all of your experience is in Asia. If i had to choose, I d say IBD for the name recognition.

 
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