UK Semi target PE placement
I am currently a student Bath Uni, which, from my understanding, is a decent semi-target for IB. However, I see very few, if any, bath alumni in private equity. It does seem like a non-target.
I did do a SA at laz and have a return offer — but it has had no mf exits.
What is the play here? Do I try and defer my return and do a masters from LBS/HEC? Do I also try lateralling to evercore/pjt/cvp/us bbs?
I did get into LBS and HEC
Looking for brutal and honest advice. Thank you.
Bump
I think your plan of HEC/LBS sounds good. Coming into those schools with Lazard experience means that you will have opportunities everywhere.
What did you end up doing?
Not sure yet, leaning towards lbs
I disagree with the lot here saying that you need to take the Lazard offer. With your experience + HEC/LBS, recruiting will be incredible for you.
I would, however, choose HEC over LBS
No way you're talking about spending money on a masters when you have an offer from Laz.
Really enjoyed my experience here but sadly there are literally no mf exits
PE is a lot more competitive and seems to value pedigree a lot more. Also doing a masters now has the lowest opportunity cost vs doing something later down the line.
PE recruiting is tough and very competitive. One of the ways companies differentiate is through academics as everyone will have decent exp and probably went to elite universities - given two identical candidates one oxbridge, the other bath, barring a perfect cultural fit, the automatic decision is always the oxbridge candidate.
I went to a strong semi-target and was able to secure a PE internship in my final year (with already completed MBB and tier 1 active AM internships) and I still only got in through a semi-diversity pathway. Even middle office and hr were primarily oxbridge or at the least had years relevant experience + masters from top london unis.
That being said laz + bath already puts you in a very strong position its just currently the market sucks for PE atm so any recruiting you do see is the cream of the crop candidates. The real question is do you believe PE recruiting will be significantly better in 3 years rather than 2 years and your improved academic profile of bath >> LBS is worth however much you are dishing out in tuition fees.
Obviously Laz is a good bank but quite corporate and not viewed as good as say MS. Combined with Bath it’ll be hard to do UMM/MF PE. MM PE and below should be realistic though. The other unis might improve your chances but they might not. Quite a tough position as you have a pretty good but not amazing bird in the hand, vs the promise of maybe better options. The job market is very tough right now so a full time offer is definitely worth something. Perhaps if you come from wealth and don’t need the income you can gamble a bit more? I don’t think there’s an obviously right answer. Good luck with your choice
Thank you for your comment
100% agree that I am in a decent position, but not very competitive for MF PE because of the competition.
While my “ideal” path would be to go to MF directly, I think a more realistic approach would be to lateral to a better bank and then recruit for pe the traditional way.
I don't come from wealth but I am a betting man and think that I will convert at least 1 interview to an offer. Laz was literally the only bank that gave me an interview when I was applying before.
Which banks and teams are most “targeted?”
Ignore title - Bath Alum with a few years of experience under my belt in London at a top shop (would rather keep v vague).
I've not been actively part of recruiting but of course discuss new recruits with the team / seniors. I can not stress enough how irrelevant school is provided you (1) come from semi-target (you do), and (2) have strong experience (I think you do, or at least have the potential to lateral to a JP/MS/GS). Not once have I heard "this candidate came from x or y school, let's hire him" - it will come down your ability / potential as a candidate provided you check the min. requirements of coming from a good bank & uni to get the looks. If you do ever make it to the end and you are exactly the same as someone from oxbridge and they choose to go for him / her - great! That means you have the ability to interview and make it through and only a matter of time until you get it.
Ofc I have the benefit of hindsight which you don't, but to me the VERY CLEAR plan would be join Laz (do not take for granted this AMAZING opportunity you have), and focus on crushing it and building a network (with headhunters and industry peers).
Bird in hand better than two in the bush. I think worst case you lateral to another bank and add an extra step before getting to PE or do an experienced masters.
Disclaimer - I chose not to go to one of those schools so take what I say with a pinch of salt. I may be blind to some unique advantages those schools provide, However, based on my experience and friends / colleagues from said schools - does not strike me as the thing that is going to change your trajectory given you already have an offer. Had you no (good) offer - 100% go for it.
Good luck, man, and well done on the offer!
Thank you for your detailed comment
I think I am on edge because Laz was literally the only place that gave me an interview. I didn't make it past even the screening stage at many firms in spite of having a pretty good cv.
Why do you think there are so few bath alums in pe? I’m probably going to get monkeyshitted to hell for this, but I don’t think the top bath students are any worse than at least the above average ucl/Warwick kids
Not super familiar with the lateraling process but how does the timeline usually work? Will I have to spend an additional year in ib?
I know you mentioned the top 3 us bbs, but how do other eb’s like evr, cvp or pjt do?
Thank you
Haha - Buddy, many people who work at top shops are rejected by a lot of firms and get lucky with the one or two interviews they get. That is by no means an indication. I myself could not even land a summer during uni and ended up at a shop people on this forum salivate over.
I think Bath is on the rise, so will take time for it's alums to populate these seats. You are putting too much emphasis on this.
Tbh, not too familiar with the timeline. Usually, MFs will recruit September through December then MM's starting Jan. I think you would start looking after 2 years.
PJT is very strong. Have come across less from the others, so can't comment much.
You are overthinking it, bud. You have a great offer in hand and a path into PE or a larger / "better" bank if it doesn't work out from Laz. I believe, strongly, that year or two at Laz positions you better than any school would, especially in London. I think US might be different.
PM me
Del
Okay I can't reply to your message or send one for some reason, not sure if my profile is too shit or something. Anyway I was going to suggest MSc Finance and Private Equity from LSE + some other details, but misunderstood that you were still thinking about applying for masters. So my advice isn't relevant, sorry.
why do you care so much about mega funds? There are many other opportunities out there...
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