Canadian PE (MM)

Hey guys,

I'm currently a 2nd year PE analyst in Canada at a small LMM PE firm, and I've been looking to transfer into a MM PE firm (in Canada). I want to make the transition mainly because of the poor culture in my office and the very low comp. I have some friends who work in PE in both Toronto and Montreal at MM PE firms ($1-5B AUM), and their experience so far has been much more positive than mine.

Does anyone have any information regarding culture, comp, and upward mobility at either Novacap or Torquest Partners? I have been able to find some info on Torquest, but there is very little about Novacap on these forums. They operate mainly out of Montreal but they also have an office in Toronto, their AUM is currently just under $3B (CAD).

If anyone has info, it would be very much appreciated!!

 
Most Helpful

Novacap is not in Montreal, it's in a depressing suburb outside Montreal. The firm has been around for a while, they built a niche in both MM industrial and TMT. Nice people, but a LOT of them so AUM / head is low, obviously correlating with relatively low comp (for PE). Having cross path with these guys quite a bit over time, they always seem to want to punch way above their weight and they are known to be constantly fishing for grand ideas that have an extremely low likelihood of success. As such, they can be seen as time waster.

I know Torquest less, but they have a pretty decent reputation, they have been around for a while. Have no info on comp or culture.

 

Novacap is a great company and the deal flow is strong. I would disregard mtnmmnn comments above. Novacap's offices are in Montreal and Toronto. Montreal office is in Brossard which is literally across a bridge / 10m from downtown so a lot of employees live either close to the office in Brossard/South Shore or in Montreal, depends on your preference/ where you want to live but to say it's not in Montreal and in a "depressing suburb" is just misleading. Offices are brand new and extremely nice, obviously not a huge factor with the pandemic/ WFH. A lot of really great deals have come through, successful add-on last year for their TMT fund of US$889m to give you an example rather than use vague terms like "weight class." 

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