Military M7 MBA to MegaFund PERE possible?
I’m a military officer going to an M7 this fall. Since I went to a service academy we didn’t really have people recruiting business so the only real business connections to the school are those 5+ years out (typically with MBAs). Nearly EVERY veteran goes consulting. I want to target PERE top 20. Is there a possible route to achieve this without some insane connections? From my understanding, REIB associates don’t really have a formal recruiting track like Analyst. Would it be better to recruit somewhere like Eastdil or JLL rather than going to a MM REPE and trying to recruit to a megafund down the line? My dream exit would be somewhere like Starwood, Lone Star, etc. I’m worried it’s highly improbable without me getting real analyst experience.
Hi issu97, any of these discussions helpful:
More suggestions...
If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...
I’ll bite. Also applicable for anyone.
Anything is possible. You’re looking great on paper. I’d say, my initial thought on a military background guy would be weaker modeling skills and maybe a different private sector work style (great leadership, good verbal communications). I won’t care how old you are as long as you’re within 10 years of a normal analyst.
After observing the work habits of a former Marine, who is put in a stretch role (note he’s only a couple months in) at a portfolio company, he has an attention to detail, including spreadsheets and analytics, some of which I put together. So, I’m getting questioned back. I like that. He cares about process (getting the right headings on tables; kind of a perfectionist whereas I might be this is good enough). But he’s been great in changing the status quo operationally. While not a hardcore modeler, I could see some promise; however, this is an operations role.
So, you want to be an analyst/associate at a large real estate private equity firm. Modeling skills definitely needed. You should do those classes on modeling for Wall Street - see if you get it. Do you love it?
Real estate interests. Find something to model and build a model. Ask your classmates or professor for a sample model and deconstruct it. Build a replica of it by yourself.
Form an investment philosophy and study history (past economic cycles). It’s a great time because we are between cycles and so-called know it alls like me or other experienced folks don’t know what’s coming next. Main thing, learn philosophies for others you talk to; processes, methods, and then form your own.
Work on those 3-4 things in the next 6 months and you’ll be in good shape.
Also, note, for your Superday with Starwood, don’t eat all your lunch like I did. And get sleepy during the afternoon interviews, case study and modeling tests. This was a long time ago. Enjoy the ride.
Thanks so much for the advice. Im not even at school yet but I have actually been asking everyone tangentially in my network in real estate for their financial models. I feel very much like that Marine in the sense that im brainwashed into process process process for the past decade of my life hahah.
Process process process I’m observing is great for transitioning to an operational director role (I know you want to be in acquisitions). Just observing a positive aspect of military experience because process helps ensure consistency and compliance - and then couple that with deep data analytics and audit tools (which I created) and you have a great management person in the making. I find a lot of excuses at the portfolio company level and closer to line managers is the process wasn’t rigid enough or perfected so there’s excuses why something wasn’t done. Slack culture follows and then the inefficiencies arise. So, process process process.
Recreate those models from scratch, without using a mouse. Learn “10-key by touch”. You need to learn to be fast and accurate, then see the big picture and understand what is being asked for, and envision and then communicate the solution in the simplest form.
Enjoy the MBA.
DM me if you want. I’m from Hawaii but live in San Francisco. A few military connections. My dad was in the Army and I lived overseas on a military base in Korea. I also have a MBA from Haas. I’ve worked in among other things REPE, REIT, Development. Happy to help.
To confirm, one is doomed beyond 10 years of a typical analyst (32+)? Are there any good alternatives for officers in their mid-30s making the transition at 10+ years of service?
I’ve seen a good transition of officer / mid-30’s military person to a senior living operations role (think, Assistant Director to Executive Director), a position that pays $120K-$180K in California. While not vanilla real estate, and very operational, I think you’re going to capitalize on your strengths - developing people, executing the mission, and learning the tools of the trade. I think 2-3 years into the role, you’ll have a good sense of whether you can be executive level and that’s going to give you exposure to real estate (development, acquisitions, asset management) in a fast track (vs being an older analyst crawling up the ladder with people out of college, but then having potentially better excel skills). You need to play to your strengths. If you go this route, I’d recommend a masters in gerontology from a school like USC or Cornell - which also teaches you the business and finance aspects - to help you transition to a good company.
Think of this as a back door entry to the biz that could take you far.
Feel free to reach out to me.
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