Best groups to get into PE or Hedge Funds

What are the best IB groups to launch a career at a Private Equity firm or at a Hedge Fund?

I have heard that M&A and Lev Fin tend to be traditional feeders into those types of firms.

This is all assuming we are talking about a bulge bracket bank.

 

take a look at some PE/HF sites and you'll get an idea.

for PE, usually M&A and coverage groups that give industry experience; places like bain cap take consultants and those with non-finance industy experience as well

for HFs, they're much more quantitative, so trading. sometimes M&A, too, I think, but mostly trading

 
cruz12:
take a look at some PE/HF sites and you'll get an idea.

for PE, usually M&A and coverage groups that give industry experience; places like bain cap take consultants and those with non-finance industy experience as well

for HFs, they're much more quantitative, so trading. sometimes M&A, too, I think, but mostly trading

From what I have noticed, the PRODUCT GROUPS (M&A, LevFin, DCM, ECM, etc) are the easiest. Unless you particularly care about an industry, join a product group.

 

For P/E, in general, your best bets are with M&A and Lev Fin. Next comes Financial Sponsors (for the contacts), especially if your bank's FSG is hands on and doesn't pass on the modeling and stuff immediately to lev fin or M&A. Besides that, industry groups would provide you with a solid path to P/E, but only for a single industry and it would be very helpful if the industry group does a lot of it's own modeling. For most industry groups pitching is the primary responsibility, and pitching won't be all that impressive the P/E shops. If the industry groups mainly pitch at bank X, you will really want to get into Lev Fin or M&A.

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HF - Lev Fin/Restructuring for Distressed Debt Funds and M&A for Merger Arb funds. Industry groups for industry-focused funds.

PE - Lev Fin, Financial Sponsors, M&A all have obvious merits. As far as industry groups go, Industrials tends to have solid placement as manufacturing companies tend to be the best buyout targets (they can take on the most debt due to steady cashflow and fixed assets). Other than that, I would say that it pays to simply go to the industry group within each bank with the most cachet and dealflow.

 

super bank dependent. for example, BAML is very strong on the debt side, given their BS. CS and Barcap probably weaker for Lev Fin.

Lev Fin vs. Sponsors varies bank to bank as well in terms of who does the modeling (I think for CS and BAML most modeling is done in Sponsors and Lev Fin is mostly pricing/terms). CS FSG is a top group on the street and I know BAML FSG places pretty well historically too.

And depending on if the group itself is strong, BB Tech or HC will definitely get you some PE attention, although megafunds or top MM PE would probably be tough out of a mid-tier BB coverage group... BAML tech is fairly weak from my understanding, although I'm speaking more about Media than general TMT.

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”
 

^ Ha, yeah... B/C Barclays and CS don't put balance sheet to work...

How much financing did Barclays put up in the Kinder Morgan trade a couple years ago? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 yards I think (28ish if memory serves, but don't quote me on that, it's been a couple years since that deal was done.)

Barclays is a major player in many fixed income products on the primary/banking side, which means they're likely throwing around major balance sheet firepower. CS less so given their big cull in FICC stuff a couple years ago, but come on, any BB can bring major weight to bear if they want to.

I mean... It's pretty fucking retarded to say BCS is weak in debt seeing as they top the league tables in many areas. Lehman was a debt shop and pre-Lehman Barclays was a debt shop. Together they're a super debt shop. True that they're mediocre in HY, but lets be honest that's not the only way to finance a buyout.

Anyways, it depends on the bank. The megafunds have their target groups/relationships and they also have their soecific needs. If they need a guy on the financing side, they're obviously going to be more likely to hire out of LevFin groups. If they need someone in a specific industry space, they're going to be more likely to hire out of that coverage group.

Megafunds people in general are people that have been around for a while, so they're not stupid. Many of them came up in banks that don't even exist anymore on a standalone basis (chemical bank would be the classic example) so they're a lot less "snobby" with respect to group/firm than WSO is.

Megafunds are looking for the same thing everyone else is - people that know their shit and can bring something to the table. Wherever you end up just be diligent and eager to learn and opportunities will open up.

Tactically classic PE trades target businesses that throw off stable, leveragable, long term cash flows, so if you want PE, I would think you woul want to work in coverage groups with clients who display that profile ideally.

 
MinneBanker:

^thanks for the info

So do you think it's a death sentence (for megafunds / top MM) if I go healthcare or tech?

At the moment I am probably leaning towards sponsors or consumer..

Not at all. It depends what the focus of the fund is. KKR's Menlo group pulls from CS, MS, and GS Tech. As do H&F, Silver Lake, etc. Tech and healthcare-focused funds want people with that industry experience, because the investment thesis is crucial to driving returns. Associates with no knowledge of the tech sector are less than worthless if that's where your fund is investing. But if BX is LBOing a retailer, the structure of the deal is more important, and so that's when your Sponsors/LevFin/M&A guys are valuable.

 

You can get in just as easily from an industry group, and in fact the answer is that it is vastly firm dependent. The sponsors group at a specific bank might suck but it's Consumer group is phenomenal. Or the M&A team may be great and the Healthcare group is weak. It really depends, but if you go to a decent firm and you work on some deals it won't matter what group, you will get opportunities to interview with great funds.

 

It depends entirely on if the bank internalizes its product groups within industry coverage. That is to say, if industry analysts do all the modeling in-group or outsources it to an M&A, Restructuring, CapMkts, etc group.

If the bank does NOT internalize its products, then the best groups are almost always the product groups. In this case, I think many would agree that the M&A group takes the cake as most desirable.

If the bank merges coverage and product, then you really can't ask this question "firm aside" as you propose. Each bank is stronger/weaker in different industries and you would generally want to pick whatever group is strongest.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

debt funds generally recruit from lev fin, restructuring, private equity, high yield research, as well as top industry groups from usual suspects in banking (GS, ms).

look at the websites of debt funds that have profiles of junior people to get an idea of typical backgrounds. Most good places dont have websites, like pretty much every hedge fund out there, but there are some exceptions. For example: http://www.aresmgmt.com/CapitalMarkets/CapitalMarketsTeamList.aspx?id=3 http://www.carlyle.com/Team/Fund/item8175.html
http://www.provequity.com/team/capitalmarketsgroup.asp?Employee_Type_ID… (run by former ceo of DB, which explains slight db bias)

 

Agree, special equities (converts, PIKs, preferreds) is the way to go. A lot of that freaky shit gets issued in connection with M&A deals and we usually bring on the ECM team fairly early in the process. You won't be running the model but you'll probably have access to it.

I know a few guys who did one or two years on that desk before moving to banking.

 

The modeling experience is definitely a sizable part of the attraction to those groups exhibited by P/E firms, and even with slowing deal flow, there will still be a good amount of modeling, or at least more so than in most industry groups (outside of those that do all of their own modeling). That said, it isn't just about the modeling, it is also about the contacts you will make and the perceived value of the group as a skill set in general. P/E shops see lev fin and M&A above all else as their feeder groups since that is how they view their job. Sponsors and the industry group that they serve follow, since those groups are still in line with their function/industry beyond just being P/E (for example, a renewable energy focused P/E shop would look to E&P or Project Finance).

While deal flow has definitely slowed down, it has also slowed down for the P/E shops - as lev fin comes back, so too will P/E shops, and, possibly, so too will hiring, if this all unfolds accordingly. If you are interested in breaking into P/E - look to M&A, then Lev Fin (although depending on the bank's rep for the groups, they may be reversed), then Sponsors and then coverage.

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M&A, Lev Fin, and Sponsors are and will probably always be the best groups to be in.

M&A / Lev fin b/c of the modeling component and Sponsors (if the bank has a good group) because of its relationships. A lot of times, sponsors go straight to their RM's at banks to ask for applicants to recommend.

Obviously GS is the exception b/c there is no M&A group.
GS Industry Group > Most other options

 

M&A, Lev Fin, and Sponsors are and will probably always be the best groups to be in.

M&A / Lev fin b/c of the modeling component and Sponsors (if the bank has a good group) because of its relationships. A lot of times, sponsors go straight to their RM's at banks to ask for applicants to recommend.

Obviously GS is the exception b/c there is no M&A group.
GS Industry Group > Most other options

 
bigal2127:
M&A, Lev Fin, and Sponsors are and will probably always be the best groups to be in.

M&A / Lev fin b/c of the modeling component and Sponsors (if the bank has a good group) because of its relationships. A lot of times, sponsors go straight to their RM's at banks to ask for applicants to recommend.

Obviously GS is the exception b/c there is no M&A group.
GS Industry Group > Most other options

To follow up on this, how does the ranking of the "best" groups for PE change when a bank doesn't have an M&A group? I know GS doesn't have one and some other BBs don't as well....

 

Yea yea you find it so interesting that you really don't care about the money....bull crap

To your question, IB is the fastest way to get to PE. However, later in your career if you have valuable experience and expertise whether you are in accounting, consulting, venture, or corporate you can get in.

Do what you want not what you can!
 

I said I'm not in it JUST for the money... I care about the money very much actually (I

If your dreams don't scare you, then they are not big enough. "There are two types of people in this world: People who say they pee in the shower, and dirty fucking liars."-Louis C.K.
 

If you want to do PE start in banking. I'm sure there are people who work in PE from all kinds of crazy backgrounds, but they are really the exception rather than the rule. S&T just doesn't develop the skill set PE is looking for.

 

Most people who end up in PE have some sort of IB experience. That being said, there ARE others who have a different background - other VC/PE funds, Asset Management, consulting, law, real estate (if you want to do real estate PE), accounting/auditing, etc.

looking for internship in investment banking
 

If you truly want to go into PE, you should suck it up and do the 2 years in banking. It's actually not a bad experience, but you will sacrifice time with your family. From what i've seen, it is extremely difficult to get into PE without banking experience. Also, going into S&T is not something that will help as the experience you gain is irrelevant to what you will do in most PE. In fact, personally, i would value a resume with big 4 accounting or transaction advisory experience over S&T experience.

Before you decide anything, it seems to me like you need to do some research, reach out to people in your network to hear about their experiences and what each of those jobs actually entail, and then spend some time really thinking about what you want to do. Like you said in your post, you seem very confused and uncertain as to what you want to do with your future. Whether it's academia, finance or something else, you should choose something, stick with it and have well thought out, concrete reasons why you' are pursuing that particular path. There's nothing recruiters hate more than wishy washy guys who don't seem to be sure of what they want.

Gluck!

 
ZIRH:
it depends. ECM might be good since you'll be covering derivatives, and you’ll get a chance to close hedging trades, and work with traders to see if a convertible could be done in the current market climate. plus, from what I heard, ECM bankers typically work 12 hour days...

M&A and LevFin might be more attractive to PE...

What about LevFin for distressed HF
 

Since this is a MM IB, then this is what I suggest. My answer would be different if this was a BB job by the way.

If you want to go to a long/short fund, then go into ER for 2-3 years and become an "expert" in your sector. Generally, you're exposed to clients (HFs, MFs, etc..) once you become comfortable talking about the industry/companies you cover. If ER isn't an option, then my number 2 choice would be M&A. Third choice would be a coverage group.

If you wanted to do a distressed HF, then Lev Fin is probably your best option. ECM/DCM is probably the last place you want to be if you want to move to the buyside in my opinion. DCM>ECM though, especially for the distressed HF.

Hope that helps.

 

Best LevFin is GS, Citi, DB and CS, in no particular order.

Sponsors and levfin are sort of joined at the hip. A sponsors team always prefers to have a strong levfin capability because financing is almost the number one consideration in doing a deal with one bank versus another.

---------------- Account Inactive
 
buysideanalyst:
Best LevFin is GS, Citi, DB and CS, in no particular order.

Sponsors and levfin are sort of joined at the hip. A sponsors team always prefers to have a strong levfin capability because financing is almost the number one consideration in doing a deal with one bank versus another.

? Not to question you but I'm curious as to where you are getting your information on GS? Their debt house is par for the course, at best.

The best LevFin groups on the street are JPMorgan, Citigroup, DB, BofA, CS.

 

are CS,UBS,GS, JPM in no particular order although CS is said to be the strongest by many people. Buyside is correct that although separate groups, they both work together a lot. Therefore, working at bank that has best of both worlds is ideal. Again, CS, GS, and JPM dominate in these areas.

 

Sponsors group (50 bankers or so) is definitely separate from the Lev Fin(~25 bankers). Sponsors does most of the modeling while Lev. Fin does all the debt structuring and execution of the deal. Agree about 100% placement in LA and NY.

 

http://www.loanpricing.com/analytics/league_table_us.htm

League table would support your case. But how do you define "best group"? Volume? GS brings a deal, it gets done and usually the right way the first time. Others high on the list cannot always say that. GS won't be on the left for the monster deals, but what they are able to handle, they do very well. And their sponsors groups typically bring good deals, so they sell themselves.

---------------- Account Inactive
 

Sure, but you can make that argument for any number of banks that are good at what they do but fall outside of the bucket, whether due to size or volume or (insert criteria here). e.g. Lazard and Rothschild have top notch M&A practices...but you couldn't compare them apples to apples with a MS or GS because of the scale.

Barclays also has a top notch debt house - by volume - but they are strangely absent from the left (or even the right) on most of the monster LBOs that have taken place in the past year or so.

I'm sure we're both right - certainly the GS debt practice is good in its own right, but I feel that whatever quality exists in this particular instance cannot make up for the large chasm of deal flow.

Naturally, opinions may differ here, but that's my take on it.

 

Barclays is more active in the investment grade market. I was referring to the non-investment grade market. Following is a 2005 league table of high-yield issuance which includes global US dollar denomited HY bonds and US syndicated leveraged loans. The loan market is 6-7x the HY bond market in these numbers.

JP 140B BofA 113 Citi 82 DB 50 CS 35 Lehm 30 Wach* 28 GS 28 ML 18 UBS 15 MS 13 GE 9 Wels 8 Bear 6 Barc 4

Bunch of banks left out in the 5-8B range. Put Barc for illustation.

*Bond total not included, likely minimal.

In terms of volume GS is 2nd tier, but certainly not a bit player. As an analyst in a lev fin group, overall deal flow isn't a big consideration. What is the difference between 100 analysts working on 100B and 10 working on 10B? Once a certain threshold is met in terms of volume, quality becomes the number one determinant of where to work.

---------------- Account Inactive
 

If you're talking about which ib groups, I couldn't imagine it would be any different from the groups you'd go into to get to pe in the first place. Add that to the fact that you probably wouldn't raise money for a pe fund unless you've been in pe for a while, then the groups to initially go into are again the top groups.

 

a friend of mine went into FSG at lehman and 2 years out of college he raised a $500 million pe fund with one of his fellow former analysts, which i know isnt that big but it can be done.

_______________________________________ http://www.drmarkklein.blogspot.com/
 

if you dont appreciate the question dont answer it. the mod here needs to start banning. you people are just ridiculous. you probably realize you will never get into IB so your unleasing your frusturation on others.

 

You'll do fine in any one of those groups. Perhaps you should get the offer first.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Energy, FIG, Real Estate, etc. aren't necessarily worse, they just are more specialized and the exits are more focused to those industries. However, I know several people who have gone to MF from Energy and FIG. Not the black hole it's made out to be at all.

 

A lot of it depends on your focus within each industry as well. Within energy, OFS guys have an easier time transitioning to generalist PE roles. Likewise, people working in more traditional, EBITDA-driven areas of real estate won't be as pigeon-holed as others. If you aren't completely sold on a career within your particular coverage group, then try to find the most "normal" practice areas

 

I don't work at a BB, but from what people have said, your assumption may be incorrect. Generally FIG groups do not place well into PE, but top FIG shops (i.e. GS FIG, MS isn't too shabby either) are an exception from what I have heard. Modeling is quite intensive in FIG so the thought is that FIG analysts are in the upper echelon when it comes to modeling.

IMO, FIG models are much more difficult so if you can grasp those, you should be able to model most standard industries.

 

other career paths to PE

strategy/financial/restructuring consulting.

relevant industry experience (usually at the senior level). most industry professionals are able to join as MD's, operating partners, etc. usually because they find a deal and work with the PE fund to close it.

------------ I'm making it up as I go along.
 

What's your background? Why do you need to go to banking first? What strategies/verticals are you interested in?

You have to be more specific with what you're trying to achieve, especially when you're already at the MBA level.

 

Stop making new threads, your train has passed. You've been told before that this transition is not common, so try to pave your own way.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 

Here is some info on my background: I'm starting my MBA at a finance school (HSW), been doing investment consulting at a reputable place for three years now, and have CFA. My undergrad was engineering at a top 10 engineering school.

Ideally I'd like to jump to HF right after business school, but for the strategies I am interested in (long short equities, or distressed opportunistic) they require either banking experience or some sort of experience where you are exposed to company or security valuation. I don't have that, hence my plan to do i banking for 2-3 years and learn this stuff. I can learn this stuff on my own but not sure hedge funds would take a chance on someone with no prior professional experience on that type of work.

Welcome your thoughts...

 

You have the CFA -- they're not going to be concerned about your valuation skillz. I am being completely honest when I say I think you will significantly impair your chances at an IM role if you go into banking first. I was in your same boat heading into b-school. Had an econ consulting background and a CFA and wanted to do IM after school but initially thought I would have to work in banking for two years first. After about 3 weeks of the first quarter I finally got some sense knocked into me and decided to commit 100% for IM recruiting. Best decision I made. You will be fine - cast a wide net, don't be attached to any particular geography, work hard on your stock pitches... you'll get a job. It may not be Citadel initially, but you'll find something that gives you the exact skillset in the exact industry you want without having to slave away for 80hrs a week doing some b/s you hate. My guess is you're heading to Wharton -- great place to recruit for IM. Don't waste that opportunity talking to banks.

 

Hey Jackie - I attempted to send you a private message, but wasn't allowed to do so because I don't have any "monkey points." I am pretty much in the exact same boat as you, and I think it might be beneficial to both of us to speak over the phone at some point. I've been working at an NYC-based fund of funds (basically the same work as inv. consulting) since I graduated from a top 20 liberal arts school 3.5 years ago (econ major), and am heading to a top 5 B-school this fall. Taking CFA level 2 in June. I'm looking to move to a L/S equity fund, and have spent a huge amount of time researching the potential paths (which is how I came upon this thread). I had the same initial thoughts as you - to either do 2 years of banking or sell-side research at a big bank and then move to a fund, or else just try to go straight to a fund. I've spoken with a number of older people about this, but nobody my age who's in the same situation. Could be helpful to share thoughts with one another - send me a message if you're interested.

 

Thanks. That is true, and although a Distressed Debt HF sounds awesome, I'm not really sure what type of fund I want to go to. Seems like for someone pretty indecisive, that going with the coverage group would be the best option and keep many doors open (not just HF).

Agree? Sorry for the back and forth but for me its really tough to decide which group would be the best fit for me and where I'd be the most satisfied. Any comments along these ends would be greatly appreciated.

 
Affirmative_Action_Walrus:
I don't understand.. if you KNOW that history clearly indicates that your bank's Lev Fin guys go to HFs and Coverage guys go to PE shops, and you know you want to go the HF route....isn't it patently obvious you should join the Lev Fin group?
+1
 

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