Worried about signing a JAMMBO Offer
Am an analyst 2 soon to be joining a ~5bn fund that has been one of the many firms described as shrinking and JAMMBO on this forum. Understand that the actual fund trajectory is not great. Wondering if anyone has any advice as to how to approach my associate stint knowing the fund is struggling.
There’s not much you can control beyond doing strong work and learning as much as possible. If the firm is shrinking, promotion odds from associate are naturally lower, so I’d treat that realistically. Have a backup plan, whether that’s a strong GMAT for business school or being prepared for lateral recruiting.
One thing people underestimate is reputational lag. Some of these “JAMMBO” platforms have stronger brands in the PE world than their most recent fund size might suggest. Many current partners formed their impressions 10- 15 years ago when those firms were viewed more favorably.
For example, a partner at a UMM fund still probably view an AEA associate more positively than someone from a similarly sized but less established MM platform like a Nautic, even if last fundraises suggest similar scale. Reputation doesn’t always move in lockstep with fund size. That said, all else equal, I’d obviously rather be at a growing MM platform where promotion risk is lower, but think there are still some level of upsides of JAMMBO firms.
Edit: Just realized AEA is a 3.4bn fund and Nautic is a 4.5bn fund... Nautic is the UMM not AEA now if going by fund size, just goes to further prove my lagging reputation point.
Any advice on how to be best prepared for lateral recruiting? Curious if one should be networking / talking to headhunters even as a first year associate, and how to approach getting deal reps if fund is declining
For the first-year would focus solely on the actual experinece and just learning. Learning curve is fairly high in PE, and so would first try to really learn how to think like an investor. You will likely just have worse PE deal experience than those at firms that are growing / less bloated (i.e. an assoicate at a large younger firm like 26North probably will just do far more deals than one at a THL given team sizes and amount of capital left to be deployed). so it's imperative that you really spend time trying to develop that skillset as it matters a lot more for SA recruiting vs associate recruiting. If you are really good, maybe spot for 1 SA exists, but would doubt for most of these declining firms.
Like the poster said above, focus on learning as much as possible, including where you think the firm went wrong with some of their bad bets. Also try to position yourself for new deals as much as you can so you can get reps. If the firm is out of dry powder for platforms, raise your hand to be staffed on a deal that's a roll-up strategy or will be doing some add-ons.
Is it better to pre-emptively lateral to get deal reps or stick it out at the JAMMBO fund and do portco work if they are out of dry powder?
I'd recommend sticking it out at least a year and then re-evaluating. Also there's a chance if you lateral now that you end up in a similar situation at a new fund and then will have a tough track record to explain.
A lot of firms are in rough shape right now. There's a wave of consolidation underway and for many it's unclear whether they'll be able to survive. Better to focus on learning as much as you can at your current shop, getting on a platform where you can get add-on reps, and then in a year you can evaluate your next move and will have more information both in terms of the outlook for your current fund but also for other firms to make a better decision at that point.
You should pre-emptively lateral especially if joining a tech group at a struggling JAMMBO. See if you can get into a different end market. You’ll have dry powder by the time you start. If a firm is experiencing high turnover across all levels but has a positive surprise in fundraising, it means the team doesn’t trust the decision makers to be able to hit the carry hurdle. LPs can make dumb decisions based on legacy but employees always vote with their feet.

Any thoughts on the HC market - Linden, Vistria, Patient Square, etc.?
Linden is not a JAMMBO neither is Patient Square by definition as they are specalized MM firms. Vistria is a JAMMBO as they invest across disparate HC, education, and financial services. Linden just raised an oversubscribed 5.4bn fund, clearly a strong sign of confidence from LP's. Not in HC so not much other insight.
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