Non traditional MF path
I know there is the traditional path of banking to REPE but I'm looking for different stories. I understand that under the right circumstances this is possible but has anyone ever seen someone say lateral from a associate to associate say from a smaller REPE shop to a MF without an MBA? I have a friend who went from a VP at a very small family office to a senior associate at a MF but other than that, I cant think of any other examples.
Can’t stand when the term “Mega Fund” is thrown around with respect to RE. It has no standardized meaning in the RE world
I think OP is talking about either very large REPE shops or MFs with PE arms. I would assume shops that fall in this category are BX, Carlyle, Brookfield, KKR, etc. I am sure I missed some names.
It’s still a dumb phrase. There are probably a dozen REPE firms that don’t fit that description but offer better experience to junior employees, pay more and do higher profile deals than Carlyle or Ares (Carlyle does a lot of small deals tbh).
Working at Carlyle vs TPG would be two very different experiences. Working at Westbrook Partners vs Centerbridge would offer very different experiences. Barriers to entry and promotion opportunities at these firms are not the same either. Yet all are “mega funds”.
The reason the term came about in the corporate PE forum is because the “mega funds” for the most part, do the same size deals (the biggest), offer similar pay / experience to junior employees, recruit from the same IB programs, offer the same exits / B-School options, have the same internal promotion options (primarily 2-3 years as an associate and out), and so on.
So in the corporate PE world it makes sense to group them together. This isn’t the case with RE
Personally, I think it's mostly students, interns, and some early career analysts/associates that talk about "pathways to mega funds".... Not meant to offend, once you get a specialty/track record/experience, where you do what you are good at is really less important.
Lots of people leave 'mega funds' to smaller shops to get promotions, raises, and/or just better work/life setup. Smaller firms/teams are desired by many. I work for a developer that does 'high end' type project but is smaller by design than the mega large Hines/Related types. We hire people from those type firms who want to leave and they always talk about how much they disliked the 'large' nature of those firms. That is personal preference.
Anyway, I bring this up for a reason.... Most of the world is not trying to get hired by mega funds later in career, so the fact that it doesn't seem like it happens all the time should be put into context. People tend to leave mega funds for smaller firms, just like people exiting I-banks and even large PE shops. The allure fades really fast once you are in the industry.
This guy doesn't miss. I rarely find a post from you that I disagree with.
Yeah, we skipped poster of the year last year WallStreetOasis.com AndyLouis but redever is my #1 candidate for 2020.
CRE @RE Throwaway.. I appreciate the complement! Glad people are getting value.
I've seen it done many times by colleagues and I don't think it is hard at all to make the jump.
Like others have said though, I can't think of too many reasons as to why someone would ever want to make this transition. Only one I can think of is to help placement into an elite MBA program, but if you're at this point I'm not sure how you can justify needing an MBA other than a desire to exit real estate.