Thoughts on Placement Agents in London

Any opinions on starting your career in secondaries advisory at a independent Placement Agent in London without any prior IB experience would be much appreciated. I really like the firm and think the industry/work is interesting but I'm worried about constraining myself so early on in my career.

Who are the top players and how do they compare to PFGs at EB/BBs?

How would this experience look for recruiting for IB SA/OC (with top target and top grades)?

How possible would it be to move to the PFGs of an EB/BB? Is that even a good idea?

What are the Exit Ops like? Are secondaries PE and FOFs still an option w/out IB experience? Are there any non-finance exits?

How does pay/hours compare to IB?

Thank you so much

9 Comments
 

Have heard good things about the Campbell Lutyens guys; great international presence and investing more in their US presence as well (building out their NYC office more). Rede Partners also stands out to me as another core European placement agent (as a prior comment mentioned).

Exit opportunities likely within the Investor Relations space; either to another placement agent or in-house at a PE firm. Believe comp is a slight discount (usually) to in-house IR functions at PE firms but solid career progression. Would be challenging to move internally/externally to an IBD role in my opinion.

 

Some of the placement agents are very well compensated. There is a slight discount to IB, but your hours are way better. IMO, it's one of the best pay to WLB in finance. 

 

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