BAAM Ventures Investment Associate
Below is a job description from the Blackstone website for their FoF business, specifically for the BAAM Ventures business line. Generally, I've gathered it is difficult to move to direct HF/PE from FoF roles. Does it sound like exit opps would be equally limiting here, or more translatable? (The group sounds cool in its own right so exit opps aren't the deciding factor but want to be aware what doors it could be closing)
The fact that it's buying stakes in AM firms and seeding investors with a revenue share makes it sound kind of like a PE role in the AM sector (modeling cash flows from a hedge fund that you're going to buy or invest in) which is pretty freaking interesting sounding.
I know there's a good chance this was written by HR, but the posting says:
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"Our investment process combines the financial skills of investment banking, as well as the fundamental underwriting and strategic thinking of private equity."
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"Strong financial modeling skills and the ability to deconstruct a company’s financials"
this makes it sound like it involves some actual underwriting/structuring. Is anyone reading this differently than I am?
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Description
SAF Investment Associate/VP – BAAM
Employer: Blackstone
Firm Overview:
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our Asset Management businesses, with over $360 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
Business Unit: BAAM
Business Unit Overview:
Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM®), Blackstone’s Hedge Fund Solutions platform, is the world’s largest discretionary investor in hedge funds, with approximately $73 billion in assets under management. BAAM manages a diversified set of businesses including a customized solutions business, a special situations platform, a long-only solutions business, a hedge fund seeding business, an open-ended mutual fund platform and a business that purchases stakes in established hedge funds. In all of BAAM’s business lines, it carefully selects and partners with fund managers across a variety of asset classes and strategies to create solutions for its investors. Through its sharp focus on clients’ goals, a rigorous due-diligence process and access to Blackstone’s global insights, BAAM strives to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns across market cycles while preserving capital during stressed market environments.
Job Title: BAAM Ventures, SAF Investment Associate/VP
Job Description:
Blackstone’s BAAM Ventures group manages more than $6 billion of AUM across two primary investment strategies: (1) acquiring minority ownership interests in alternative asset management firms, and (2) providing seed capital in exchange for revenue sharing interests in startup hedge funds. In acquiring and forming strategic partnerships with these hedge funds, BAAM Ventures offers Associates and Vice Presidents the opportunity to analyze, evaluate, and engage with companies and management teams across the globe. Our investment process combines the financial skills of investment banking, as well as the fundamental underwriting and strategic thinking of private equity.
Responsibilities: Primary responsibilities will include:
Ability to lead the logistics of a hedge fund manager underwriting to completion, including leading “deal team” conversations and presentation to the investment committee
Independently manage a book of hedge fund manager contacts for ongoing coverage
Ability to originate, present and debate original investment analysis to senior management and the investment committee
Ability to source / evaluate new manager leads that fit investment profiles
Lead or assist in negotiating and execution of hedge fund managers seed agreements
Ability to hold a comprehensive investment discussion with the Investment Team and investment committee on topics covering managers, markets, and portfolio construction
Qualifications:
Blackstone seeks to hire individuals who are highly motivated, intelligent and have demonstrated excellence in prior endeavors. In addition to strong analytical and quantitative skills, the successful candidate should have:
Candidates should have 4-10 years of industry experience
Direct investment experience withina buyside environment (preferred)
In depth understanding of markets, instruments, and approaches within a strategy
Superior organizational and communication skills as well as a demonstrated ability to write effectively.
A desire to work in a team environment
Strong financial modeling skills and the ability to deconstruct a company’s financials
An ability to manage ad hoc projects independently and to completion
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or any other category protected by law.
The bank I work for has a very famous Fof business, which I spent a stint working for. The standard advice regarding Fof and endowment roles is that a lack of direct investment experience limits how much you can learn down the line. Essentially, you're gaining the same skills as an investment consultant (Mercer, Wilshire, IPC) with maybe a little more quantitative edge.
In general, the role does not involve heavy modeling or underwriting. You might ask for a copy of the firm's financials for DD (does their marketing material match their actual positions), or you might build an excel sheet showing how your firms and rival investors are maintaining exposure (i.e., what percentage of your funds have exposure to Y type of investment), but you won't be performing traditional investment analysis that will allow you to move to HF/PE roles. I've heard that at some PE Fofs, they model out select transactions, but I'm not sure about this.
The perks of this are that you often get exposure to brilliant investors who are starting out and willing to make connections. For these funds, having an anchor investor like Blackstone or GS AIMS is a great feature for their marketing material and can lead to significant investment flows. Common exits are often to other Fof businesses, sometimes analyst roles at seeded firms, or IR roles. Rarer to see transitions to genuine investment roles as that's not the developed skillset.
what does SAF stand for? SAF Investment Associate/VP - BAAM
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