Elite boutique to PE/HF/Credit fund

Hi all,

New to the boards, would appreciate your help.

I'm a top ranked 3rd year analyst in Restructuring/LevFin at an elite boutique in London (think Rothschild, Lazard, Greenhill, Houlihan Lokey etc.) and looking to move over to the buyside. I've had a tonne of deal exposure in the last couple of years think I'd be particularly suited to a credit fund role given my debt experience, but also interested in PE/HFs. I'm finding it extremely difficult to get interviews at the top tier houses - in fact the feedback a number of headhunters has been that many are almost exclusively hiring from GS/JPM.

The question is: has anyone else had the same issue, moving from the advisory side to buyside, and how did you position yourself for a move? Moving over to e.g. GS for a year would potentially be an option, but seems like a pretty long route round.

Appreciate your thoughts.

LBO

 

I would note that the banks you listed above aren't created equal in London RXing. Since, you note "/ Lev Fin" i assume you're at Roths, which while it's a great place, hasn't pedigree in buyside ops, and RXing is viewed as running a great process, but not being as innovative as others. Forget HHs, you'll have spoken to people on the buyside through your day-to-day, grab a coffee with few guys.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

Lazard, Houlihan and to a lesser extend Greenhill all have people at top names in London so while I would agree to give a slight edge to GS/MS (simply because you have worked on all kinds of transactions vs. pure M&A) I dont see why your headhunter would not be able to give you interviews at top places. If you are indeed not at Rothschild keep reaching out to more of them and use your network, there should be no reason you wouldnt be able to. I agree with the notion above however that from Rotschild this seems to be much more difficult and I have not come across anybody at the large places from there.

"too good to be true" See my WSO Blog
 

Actually, you should probably name and shame the HH here. He/ she is obviously useless and lazy (no surprises there). The idea has been discussed before of having reviews on HHs, i think it would be valuable to refresh on that.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

I would agree to that notion, Lazard has placed quite good given its small size in Europe, including some bigger hedge funds, megafunds and mid market PE. By far the best placement into hedge funds I have seen in London is Blackstones undergrad programme (primarily their PE and Real Estate PE) though. Roths for some bizarre reason has done not nearly as good as the likes of Greenhill or even Moelis over here even though they have a great restructuring practice and strong history/network. Again I would try to contact as many headhunters as possible and sell yourself good and you should be able to get something, maybe not the top top names right away but with a bit of networking, practice and refined approach some doors should open I would argue.

"too good to be true" See my WSO Blog
 
Best Response
GBB_19NHS:

I would agree to that notion, Lazard has placed quite good given its small size in Europe, including some bigger hedge funds, megafunds and mid market PE. By far the best placement into hedge funds I have seen in London is Blackstones undergrad programme (primarily their PE and Real Estate PE) though. Roths for some bizarre reason has done not nearly as good as the likes of Greenhill or even Moelis over here even though they have a great restructuring practice and strong history/network. Again I would try to contact as many headhunters as possible and sell yourself good and you should be able to get something, maybe not the top top names right away but with a bit of networking, practice and refined approach some doors should open I would argue.

Because Roths don’t have a great RXing practice. A lot of infighting between their Debt Advisory group and RXing and they don’t get the complex mandates, as I said above, a good process driver (e.g., communication to creditor groups etc..). Their history in RXing is weak. RXing in London is built out of Close Brothers and HLHZ, anyone without alumni from those places stand no chance.
"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 
GBB_19NHS:

I would agree to that notion, Lazard has placed quite good given its small size in Europe, including some bigger hedge funds, megafunds and mid market PE. By far the best placement into hedge funds I have seen in London is Blackstones undergrad programme (primarily their PE and Real Estate PE) though. Roths for some bizarre reason has done not nearly as good as the likes of Greenhill or even Moelis over here even though they have a great restructuring practice and strong history/network. Again I would try to contact as many headhunters as possible and sell yourself good and you should be able to get something, maybe not the top top names right away but with a bit of networking, practice and refined approach some doors should open I would argue.

Agreed one hundred percent.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Ut nam enim aspernatur aut quia et explicabo. Est autem sint omnis qui explicabo modi iste.

speed boost blaze

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”