What is a better avenue to get into traditional PE: Co-investing or IB?
Hi everyone - long time reader, first time poster.
I am coming from a consulting firm (1.5 years in). I am about mid way through a few interviews and my top two places are a Co-invest PE fund and a M&A focused IB firm.
Any insight on which would lead to a better shot at landing a tradition direct equity PE job?
The IB route will most likely be seen more favorably by a direct PE fund. The transaction orientation, modeling experience and ability to get slammed are highly appreciated.
The co-invest role in my experience is different and think most GPs would value that skill set less.
Thank you for the insight!
What kind of consulting are you in? Just curious - I work in strategy consulting, and had similar interests.
FWIW, IB > PE is the tried and true path. The co-investment route is interesting, although M&A will give you the technical and modeling skills that you need.
IB better for direct PE but whynot just stay in co-investments considering that it's a sure thing vs. just a chance at a good direct PE shop?
IB --> direct PE not guaranteed depending on the IB shop you're coming from and overall profile
bird in hand better than two in the bush my guy
True, great point - but as of now they are all in the bush so we will see!
not meant as a dig, but i wouldn't look twice at a co-invest resume
Thank you for the insight - not taken rudely, its beneficial to hear. I am new to this search, so I am trying to gather all the information / point of views that I can. In terms of salary / total pay is there really that big of a difference between traditional PE and Co-Investing? From what I have read the normal 2 and 20 in PE is more like 1 and 10 for Co-Investment funds, but in terms of analyst / associate salary I am wondering what the ranges would be generally speaking
IB generally provides for a better finance skillset imo. I went from IBD analyst to co-investing associate, but would have been better off staying in IB as an associate tbh.
That's not to say that you cannot have a solid experience at a co-investment fund, but the variance of outcomes / learning experience is higher than that of IB and the experience will be more what you make of it versus the IB experience being a known quantity and pretty consistent across banks
Also, you can definitely exit to direct PE from a solid co-investment fund; however, some PE funds will not consider candidates with co-investing backgrounds and those that do, tend to be skeptical of the co-investment skillset.
Are co-investing platforms usually family offices or pension funds?
OP here with a quick update. Ended up getting and accepting the IB offer and now 3 years later officially accepted a PE offer. Long 3 years, but happy I made it through and going to IB over Co-Investing was the right call. Thank you to everyone!
Non-Target > Consulting > IB > PE
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