CPP IB Private Equity Internship vs Jefferies IBD

Check glassdoor for specifics, but pension funds pay lower than IBs and PE funds at all level and the bonus system is based on group and fund performance so a tough year means no or little bonus (it has happen a few times to the PE group at CPPIB). Pension funds will have better lifestyle though, but how much better depends on the fund, CPP are known to work pretty hard overall. CPP PE also almost exclusively does co-investment so deals will originated and lead by fund partners (ie. the GPs CPP is invested in). I know a few people who joined from undergrad (although they all did a rotational program for the first 2 years) and they did not love their experience and have all since left. Also note that senior management at pension funds is generally pretty weak and usually don't have prior buy-side experience (just checked CPP's website and only 2 out of ~12 MD / senior principals have prior buy-side experience, all the others were bankers / consultants).

I am not saying that you should say no to CPP and go to Jefferies, but you need to do your homework and understand that pension funds have their pros and cons and although they tend to go huge deals, your experience will be different than what you would get at a normal PE fund where you would work with much more talented and experienced people, have better training and exposure to the full PE life cycle, get paid better and have better exit-ops.