Is PGIM technically a megafund?
Would PGIM be considered an MF? Many of the PRISA funds are at the megafund level but I’m unsure if it would make more sense to call PGIM a lifeco vs a megafund.
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Prudential Insurance and Prudential Financial (or Investment Management, PGIM) are two separate entities. My impression or definition of LifeCo is a life insurance carrier trying to meet its future obligations getting steady core like returns.
Prudential Financial (now PGIM) is an investment management company that has 10 or so funds each with different return characteristics. I don’t know what the funds are called today, but 15 years ago you had PRISA (core), PRISA II (value add), PRISA III (opportunistic), merchant bank (OpCo investing), probably a Mezz program, and several separate accounts.
The definitions seem a bit confusing (LifeCo, MF, etc) but I consider these Mega Funds, plural.
Nope.
When I think of real estate MF’s I think BX, Starwood, brookfield, KKR, Ares, TPG, Bain, Apollo, etc.
PGIM doesn’t compare to these shops in 1) the deals they do, 2) the returns they target
Absolutely wrong on both points. PGIM targets the same deals and returns as you have listed.
This isn’t corporate PE dude.
Also, Apollo is not a mega fund in the context of real estate equity/opportunity funds. Those guys barely break $1 billion. Solidly middle market, solidly mediocre.
Of who you listed, people in RE know PGIM has a better investment reputation and better relationships with sponsors than than KKR, TPG, Bain, and Apollo. At least in equity.
That being said, LifeCo rep in the biz is driven mainly by being a much earlier entrant into RE than PE firms. MetLife built StuyTown in the 1940s. PGIM created the first ODCE fund in the 1970s.
All the PE firms pay better, especially at the junior level. But will also work you harder. Lifecos are overstaffed less economics to share. Lifeco is also an unfair term at least on equity side as all the big ones have sophisticated built out very large fund platforms with third party investors.
If you're a junior person you should be pretty agnostic, but I guess working harder is correlated with learning more. If you're experienced (Associate + Sr Associate), your target should probably be PE as Lifecos are core and open end product biased = less/no carry to allocate. PE firm would put you on a better path to get that. Clarion, BGO, CBRE GI, LaSalle are in similar boats. Key lesson if you're experienced is avoid predominance of capital coming from open end or core. Yes learned this mistake personally...
As someone who worked at a Life Co - they won’t allocate you carry but they will allocate you ‘phantom carry.’ So for example, my life co paid out dollars based on phantom equity provided, which would vest on a 4 year schedule and had the ability to increase in value based on earnings of the company. Effectively it was their way of competing with carry and making your compensation more in line with PE firms.
Megafund as a distinction is a little relevant in corporate PE because larger fund sizes means you do larger deals, which theoretically are different from smaller deals (and there are pros and cons to working on large vs mid vs small cap deals). Just my opinion, but the distinction is less meaningful in real estate since funds of all sizes will look at similar deals (with some exceptions for firms that focus on portfolio/corporate transactions and micro funds). Will you get similar underwriting experiences working for pgim as you would ares? Probably since you'll be looking at the same deals. Are they equivalent? You probably want to look at location, firm culture, promotion track, comp, etc.
Idk what you're supposed to label them but the comp and hours at PGIM are both slightly lower than Starwood etc...
I’d rather quit the biz than work for a sleepy life co like PGIM…
I feel like PGIM is definitely an exception to “sleepy lifeco”
Everyone there is likely more polished than whatever shop you are at unless it’s $30b+ in aum
Who fucking cares. They buy RE. Period.
Seriously. I don't understand the point of this thread other than some 22 year old bragging to his friends that he works at a "megafund"
In addition to my comment above I’ll add this-there is a saying: “Prudential trains the street” because so many people get and got their start at the Firm. Personally, I would never work at a big PE firm. Just not for me. And would choose PGIM every day of the week. But I think I’m a bit different than many on here because I’m more concerned with my lifestyle and less concerned with maximum dollars. My expectation is to make my money from my current and future investments and not from my salary and bonus.
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