Vista Equity Partners vs Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking
Hey WSO, just a young monkey looking for y'all's personal anecdotes/experience about a career choice. I am a current undergrad interviewing with both of the programs above and had some questions.
The Merchant Banking Division at Goldman houses all their PE/PC/RE groups( Special Sits group, GS Growth Equity,GS Corporate Private Equity, GS Mezzanine Partners, GS RE). I heard this group was exclusively open to those who did 2 years of banking. However this year GS wants to take students out of undergrad in efforts to secure top talent. A VP informed me the summer program is rotational so you will rotate through different team and select the one you liked the most.
My thoughts: I like Private Equity and both of those summer programs will give me exposure to it. However, Goldman's is a little more broad and I get to see some variety of work(not sure how return rates for these teams will look like). Vista Equity Partners, I am sure you guys heard that their PE Analyst program doesn't do modelling; but a lot of people here argue is still a top program because Vista is a MF PE. I also heard Vista's culture is brutalllllll but not sure of GS MBD.
What do you guys think is the best choice? Feel free to use your own personal objectives if you know people at either groups.
I'd take the fruit basket.
If you get offers to both, take Goldman. If you’re just starting out your career it’s better to have a broader experience to find out what interests you - at least in my opinion.
Interesting, this is exactly what I was thinking. Though I love PE, I believe the exposure to different teams at the Goldman gig would be amazing(who knows maybe I end up liking Private Credit or Growth equity more?). I am from a ultra non-target school, so this is a very important decision since I've heard PE recruiting was so meritocratic even post-IB/Consulting, so going in after directly after undergrad seemed like my best shot.
Does anyone know what Vista’s return offer rate is for SA?
Actually heard the bar is pretty high, a 30% conversion. Take it with a grain of salt because got that info from a WSO thread
Heard from an alum there that it's closer to 50%
GS’ PE team sucks. They lose out on all processes I’ve seen.
This is exactly the type of perspective I am looking for. I actually had barely any luck finding deals online, CapIQ deals don't even have multiples involved. Can you please elaborate how they suck? Do you know how the other teams fare(besides Special Sits, which has been talked about alot here)
Bro, if you get a choice take the Vista offer hands down. Vista is one of the top 2/3 tech PE firms in the world, and tech is the hottest sector so you'll be getting incredibly valuable experience. Also, it's a misconception on WSO that Vista analysts don't model. My roommate (as in the guy I have spent 24/7 with thanks to COVID) is a Vista Analyst and let me tell you, he's modeling basically every day. It's a fantastic job
Thank you so much for the insight! This is why I posted this, trying to hear from people with their own experience. Alright so their Analyst do model, that is a good data point for me to have.
Also can you tell me, how is he liking it so far? I heard brutal things about Vista, hearing how is even worse than the sweatiest IB shops. Not sure how true that saying was
I won't lie, it can get pretty brutal at times, but that's par for the course. The bottom line is it's MF PE. It's not Apollo, but nobody can go into MF PE (or IB for that matter) and expect to have a good lifestyle. That said, he's enjoying it, learning a ton, and planning to stay on for Associate so take that for what its worth.
Vista for sure. Buyside at Goldman isn't the move anymore. Much better GE, PE, credit and RE shops out there, and imo Vista is a no brainer. Tbh, I'd rather take a top GS IB group than GS MBD. If GS MBD ends up being your only offer though, it's not a bad gig at all.
Thank you for the insight, do you know anyone or anything about the group? what is your future outlook on them>?
The group/divisions were reorganized in 2019, and ik they started taking in a larger intern pool last summer. I don't work there and encourage you to do your own research/reaching out to the team, but personally I dont see too much potential there compared to other buyside shops. I've worked with them on deals (ignore my title), and while GS is a good name, their rep clearly comes from IB. I'll repeat though, it's not a bad gig and I'm sure you'll learn a lot, but the convo is dif when you're comparing it to top buyside firms
Can you tell Goldman Growth has hired from undergrad atleast for the last ~2 years (might be different for interns) both great opportunities in terms of prestige. Don’t have a lot of insight into Vista’s program other than it being in the highest echelon of tech PE firms.
Why is this even a question? Banks, by nature, have greater restrictions on what they can or can not invest in, whereas places like Vista have virtually none.
Vista, even with zero hope for a return offer.
Damn thats harsh comment haha, any experience with either( directly or know anyone?)
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