From LifeCo to MF REPE (Starwood, BX, Apollo (debt) )
Hello All,
I’m currently in acquisitions at a LifeCo been here for about a year and work on average 50 hours per week. I’ve been thinking about trying to make the switch to a MF REPE firm and was wondering how exactly these hours scale up? I feel like we already underwrite a ton of deals, most of which we compete with firms like these so how exactly are you working more hours? Are directors passing OMs in the middle of the night, or is there just more bitch work (ad hoc) stuff to be done?
if anyone currently works at a firm like this can they explain?
also what is the compensation progression for analyst and up?
I had the same questions when I was at a LifeCo. I didn't move to MF REPE, but I moved to REPE. I found a few things..many people at Life Co.'s are there by choice if you are senior, and part of that choice is lifestyle. That feeling and way of work gets passed down to the junior team, so you get a better quality of life. Next up, you just have a leaner staff and quicker deadlines. On the leaner staff front, it might be you do accquisitions, asset management, and portfolio management instead of just being silo'd. On the quicker deadlines, instead of having 3 weeks to underwrite a fully marketed deal, you might have 24 hours to respond to a broker on an off market deal. Lastly, you are working with people who just are used to getting worked to the ground, and many previous bankers, which brings that culture over to the REPE firm. Lastly, I actually asked my friend at a MF REPE firm why the hours were so bad, and he said, it isn't the actual work that always makes the hours bad, but it is also the fact that we get requests from our LPs that get floated down to analysts or associates needing to find and summarize the information, which is what he said kept him late.
Assuming you just do acquisitions, I never understood why real estate had bad hours. I found it ridiculous...our asset class isn't rocket science and you can do the majority of things on the back of a piece of paper. But this is the culture we find ourselves in generally unfortunately.
Thank you for the reply, very helpful. That leads to my next question to you specifically. Do you regret making the move? Or do you think it’s been worth it overall
It's an interesting question for me to answer..I loved my time at the Life Co I worked at, however, it was time for me to leave. Life Co.'s are extremely difficult to move up because people stay for so long. Although I was promoted and extremely well liked, I wanted a faster route to promotions. Don't be surprised if you don't get to a production (debt or equity) role until 7-10 years into your career at a Life Co. I was looking to get this experience sooner. My jump to a PE shop hasn't been great and I don't enjoy the culture of the firm. On top of that, the hours are absolutely brutal even when not on a live deal. Personally, I struggle to understand why we have so much busy work and work that there is absolutely no process, which adds time. When you try to put process in place at this firm, the partners fight it and don't like it. I crank 80 hours per week pretty consistently. We are totally understaffed and no-one seems to care - which explains why junior staff stay 12 or so months and than bolt.
When I left the Life Co I was at, I was frustrated by the amount of process and memo writing, etc., but looking back, after now experiencing a firm with absolutely zero process or thought put into how things are done, I realize the value of process. I am currently searching for a PE firm with more process. Overall, happy I left but unfortunately landed with the wrong fit. I've learned a lot about looking at opportunistic real estate and thinking out of the box, but would be happy to take a pay cut and jump back to a life co with a slower pace where I get my life. It's been a learning lesson for me on what I want out of my career and what is important to me.
I'm in debt, but worked at a life Co for a long time before moving to a fund. The lifestyle at a life Co is great - good deal flow, good hours, fairly relaxed culture. You aren't really trying to generate alpha, you are trying to get the $ invested to help PMs match assets to liabilities.
Funds are all about alpha generation, so timelines are quicker, there is less staff and you need a strong viewpoint when making investments/negotiating deals.
I learned a whole lot during my time at life cos and some point down the line, I may want to slow it down and switch back (my current plan is to retire at 45 and do some side investing, but you never know what is going to be happening in 10 years), but I do not regret moving.
The team I work on now is ridiculously smart, has great resources, and truly treats people like investors trying to generate alpha. I worked with smart people at life cos, but because you weren't fee generating (most life cos pay "cost" to internal investment managers), the box you worked in was very specific and it was always a fight for resources.
In terms of hours, last year was abnormal and I was working 60-75 hours a week. In normal times, I'm closer to 50 (and that is what I expect after COVID calms down).
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