What investment banking group(s) do PE teams want to see the most?
Hi,
I am starting my job as an IB analyst. As I prepare for PE interviews soon, I am wondering what teams PE recruiters like to see. Do they recruit most heavily from M&A, TMT, Lev Fin, etc.? Do they have a preference for industry over product groups? Does it depend on the PE firm and what they specialize in (i.e. if it's a generalist position or a specialized group)?
Thank you for any insight!
Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where the "prestige" of your group can tend to matter, primarily groups that tend to have strong modeling reps (M&A-focused vs. coverage) and good deal flow.
Why does this matter? It isn't because you're inherently a better finance mind by being in one of these groups (though it can correlate), it's because (1) headhunters tend to push candidates with similar backgrounds to previous candidates who've been successfully placed and (2) prestigious group alumni tend to work at the PE funds you want to work at.
Obviously, industry-specific funds or hiring prefer to take bankers from the same industry groups, but Silver Lake would happily take a GS FIG candidate over a no-name bank candidate in TMT if that makes sense.
Generally, recruiters spend a couple of seconds on each resume they get. Therefore, their brain is trained to pick up easily recognizable information. In this case, it means that there is an implicit preference for safe choices, such as M&A, Industrials, TMT, Lev Fin.
Having said that, many analysts and associates network their way out of the less common banking groups into PE. I am one such example: I was a credit derivatives structurer pre-MBA and then joined an LBO shop straight after business school. I wasn't even in IBD, I was in Fixed Income. My friend who was in FIG / Insurance / Catastrophe Bonds also ended up in private equity.
Good luck with your start.
Sounds like GS to me though, and recruiters would put anyone in front office in front of their clients regardless of their coverage.
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