TPG Updated Views (2025)
Preparing for on-cycle recruiting and interested in TPG. From recent threads, it seems that people view TPG as a top legacy MF, but it can be a tough associate experience. Looking for some updated views from those who have real insight into what the associate experience is like.
1. What are comp/exits/bschool prospects like? Have seen that they've historically had good placement but would like a more recent update.
2. What is culture like? Does the associate experience / exits differ between their different sector groups?
3. What has PE fund performance been like recently? How would you compare TPG to other MFs? Understand its a top offer but thinking more about how to consider which MFs to prioritize during on-cycle.
4. What backgrounds do they usually hire from? Did a quick search on LinkedIn and it appears they are mostly top BB/EB and Ivy+ schools. Would like to know if that's actively something the firm seeks out or is due to self-selection.
1). Comp in line with other MFs, maybe a bit on the higher end. Strong PE lateral exits, many associates who move on to HFs. The outsized amount of former TPG folks you see in PE may also be due to a lack of promotion track. It is a very strict 2 and out program, with a few associates staying on each year based on availability which is rare. Bschool exits are as good as anywhere, although H/S isn't a free ride from any PE firm these days.
2). Definitely a hard-working culture, but don't think its very different from any other MF, as they're all tough places to be as an associate. Don't think the experience differs very much between sectors, and your opportunity set will be broadly the same from all of their buyout groups. Coming from a MF, its relatively straightforward to move between sectors from the associate to senior associate role as a lateral.
3). Currently investing out of a $15.6bn PE fund (Flagship + Healthcare Sidecar), and have raised significant capital for their growth and rise platforms. Like most of the other megafunds, their focus is straying away from core private equity and into diversified strategies. 2019 flagship PE fund is currently at 21.9% IRR, so it is outperforming most of its peers at the moment.
4). Going to see your typical backgrounds. TPG definitely leans more prestige-heavy for its associate backgrounds, but its ultimately up to how you interview.
TLDR - One of the best places you can go for your associate years from a learning and branding standpoint. For analysts recruiting today, not a place for a long term career, but the TPG associate experience will open the door pretty much anywhere. Fair to say that most people would take an APO / BX / KKR core PE offer over them, but think TPG is right up there with any other firm. From an associate perspective, see them in line with the Silver Lake / H&F / Warburg / CD&R type firms.
Thanks! This is super helpful. Could you share a little more on the promo to senior associate? Where do people go if they don’t get promoted? UMM? Other MFs?
Have raised the 3rd most PE capital in North America in the last 5 years, so one of the best PE offers you can get. Think this list is a helpful gauge for deciding where to interview, although the pure play PE firms like H&F and CD&R deserve more of a bump because they aren't raising funds for tons of different strategies like the others on this list.
What about the different sector groups? Any insights into the individual teams?
I say this as someone in MF/UMM with friends also across most top firms. Unless you are a psycho who loves HC PE and can't imagine doing anything else with your life, TPG HC group will be the most excruciatingly painful two years of your life and is not even close to being worth it when compared to other options. Not to mention most of TPG is in SF which sucks compared to NYC unless you have family/school ties on west coast. I am not going to delve into ranking the other firms mentioned but would choose all other firms mentioned on this list incl. Apollo before I went to TPG HC
Is it really worse than APO?
After a very difficult ‘08/‘09, TPG significantly reduced its consumer exposure and cut its energy and industrials groups. Consumer has very little deal flow since then (~1 deal per fund) and business services (vestige of industrials team) does 1-2 deals per fund. Internet, digital media, and communications does ~2 per fund and is solid (see DirecTv deal). Healthcare and software are the most active groups by far and also have the worst hours. From what I’ve heard HC has significantly tougher WLB than other UMM / MF HC groups.
Any insights on TPG Angelo Gordon? Have heard thats a good one.
TPG AG is a great spot to land in credit. Great returns. Very well respected especially their special sits group or credit solutions team, whatever they call it these days.
Hard to recruit there though. They don’t really hire and when they do it’s on a referral basis with people coming from top Rx groups or other credit shops.
How is TPG Real Estate? And also how is TPG London?
1. What are comp/exits/bschool prospects like? Have seen that they've historically had good placement but would like a more recent update.
- super strong even today, probably the best MF in terms of overall gsb/hbs placements. strong exit into industry as well (OpenAI), promotion is super hard though
2. What is culture like? Does the associate experience / exits differ between their different sector groups?
- horrible, lots of complaints (mostly from TMT and HC), lol but also very depended on your VP (some of them are horrible)
3/ What backgrounds do they usually hire from? Did a quick search on LinkedIn and it appears they are mostly top BB/EB and Ivy+ schools. Would like to know if that's actively something the firm seeks out or is due to self-selection.
- firm actively seeks out Ivy+Chicago, not self selection
What makes the culture so bad?
Any thoughts on TPG Growth or TTAD?
Seems like TPG Growth is transforming into a very high pressure JAMMBO.
TTAD is strong - investments in Anthropic, OpenAI, Crusoe's pre-IPO round, OpenAI DeployCo, etc. Lower AUM than it should have given the investments that they are making. Long runway to scale AUM.
Views on TPG Rise and Rise Climate?
Any insights on TPG Growth's software team in SF? Culture and comp for SA and Assoc?
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Worked here before lateraling to a UMM spot for senior assoicate and now VP position. No complaints about the team, people, or culture, I'd have been happy to stay if there were spots left. Some seniors genuinely help you get into business school and land your next job, which isn't necessarily the case everywhere. The real issue is that the funnel post-associate is so small that it's effectively a 2-and-out program. If I could redo my PE recruiting, I wouldn't join TPG or any public MF (the only one that promotes is Apollo, and I am not sure I'd enjoy their assoicate experience), but of all the public MFs, I'm happy the one I landed at was TPG.
Will note that HC and Software are a significantly better experience and will have far better exits therefore into bschool and other firms than the other groups simply because they have significanlty more deal flow than the other groups. TPG is heavily software indexed for their flagship fund as HC has it's own seperate fund. I would not join a TPG Consumer or Business Services group, waste of time. If you are someone that is good enough to get a TPG Consumer / Business Service offer and want to work in those sectors, I am sure you can get better offers from funds that actually care about those sectors.
Curious why won’t you join a MF if you had to do it again?
IMO associates at my UMM firm learn far more about how to actually invest than anyone at a MF. MFs are effectively corporates now; that's just what happens at that size and scale. You're no longer learning from the true leaders and great investors who built these firms. You're mostly dealing with partners who are effectively politicians. On top of that, every MF is either 2-and-out or promotes a tiny handful out of 10+ person classes.
There's also little incentive to promote talent, as these shops are global asset aggregators at this point that care more about the 2 than the 20. The mid-level and junior partner ranks are absurdly bloated even with only 1 to 2 people promoted per associate class, since senior partners have no reason to ever leave. Effecitvely even if you get the senior assoicate and VP promote, you are stuck at VP until someone above you leaves or get's pushes out. Pushing them out rarely happens given the political nature of the job and the long time horizon in PE.
And the senior associate market is brutal, far more competitive than the associate one, because there are fewer seats to begin with and most of the firms you'd actually want to join promote from within, hiring senior associates only as-needed. I got extremely lucky and ended up at a large-cap UMM firm, even if not in the vertical I wanted. Most MF associates end up involuntarily out of investing seats or at a significantly smaller fund. If I could do it again, I'd target a firm that's both lean and growing, because those are the ones that promote a high % of associates. Better yet, a first-time or very young fund with reputable founders, though those are basically countable on one hand.
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