Skipping IB to go PE (Undergrad, May '13) (Originally Posted: 09/11/2012)
I'm graduating in May, and going through full time recruiting currently. This past summer I turned down a banking internship at a BB to do an internship in the negotiations division at a Fortune 500 company. I'm looking to skip the two years of banking and go right to the buy side. To prep for interviews and such, what advice would you give? (I'm taking the CFA Level 1 Dec '12 so I'm pretty familiar w/ financials)
[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]
Why would you turn down a banking internship to do negotiations firstly if your end goal was PE? Wasn't a wise call. Anyway, the CFA is of no help when it comes to PE related buyside recruiting. Hedge funds will probably give it some weight, but PE funds could care less. They'd rather see the 2-yrs of slave experience you go through on the sell side than certifications such as the CFA.
Unless you're at Wharton or are aiming for a PE fund in Oklahoma, your chances of entering PE directly are slim to none and that's the cold truth. Build up your resume to lock down a sell-side position first; you can then give networking a shot to see how far you'll get with a PE fund.
To answer your original question, PE interview prep for undergrads shouldn't be very different from PE interviews for current analysts (aside from the fact that it sounds like you don't have any relevant work experience to brush up on).
Call me a douche but with a 3.6 and coming from Wisconsin you have a very limited chance.
Get an offer from a BB bank now why they are in hiring season, then keep fighting for a PE offer (they don't finish hiring by end of october like a lot of banks). If you ever get a PE offer then burn a bridge, renig on the bank, and enjoy.
"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."
Call me a douche but with a 3.6 and coming from Wisconsin you have a very limited chance.
Get an offer from a BB bank now why they are in hiring season, then keep fighting for a PE offer (they don't finish hiring by end of october like a lot of banks). If you ever get a PE offer then burn a bridge, renig on the bank, and enjoy.
i dont know how much i agree with the first statement since there are literally hundreds of midwestern mid-market PE-type firms.
Here's an add on -- let's say you go into private equity right out of college but the fund has a very specific focus like energy, or infrastructure -- if you want to eventually branch out into other spaces of investing (not only PE but special situations, growth [private and public], does skipping banking make it more complicated?
mind you -- this is coming from someone who wants to eventually run their own fund some day (who deosn't right lol?)
Here's an add on -- let's say you go into private equity right out of college but the fund has a very specific focus like energy, or infrastructure -- if you want to eventually branch out into other spaces of investing (not only PE but special situations, growth [private and public], does skipping banking make it more complicated?
mind you -- this is coming from someone who wants to eventually run their own fund some day (who deosn't right lol?)
I am trying to do this now (started out in Real Estate PE, trying to branch out after 2 years).
I'm finding its pretty difficult since a lot of people don't know what to do with your company's name if they've never heard of it / any deals you've done because they're not in that sector. Also, seeing "small firm x" vs. "bulge bracket firm y" is a quick way to skip through the massive # of resumes they get.
I have an added wrinkle of being on West Coast and not NYC based just as an FYI
Possible to enter PE/HF upon graduation? (Originally Posted: 02/02/2009)
Is it possible to enter private equity/hedge fund upon graduation without taking the investment banking route? I understand it's typical that people usually get into PE/HF following an investment banking program.
It is possible, especially with smaller firms, but it is certainly possible to do with top funds if you are impeccably qualified and convince them they'd be making a mistake not to hire you.
Why not go for PE directly? (Originally Posted: 08/29/2017)
I've following the IB section of the forum for a long while and people always talk about exit opportunities when leaving BB. The exit opportunities always entail going into PE. I was just wondering why don't people go into PE directly, intern and get a grad job there? I've checked a couple of notable firms and majority offer the internship to grad path.
Also, do you get paid overall better in PE? Don't you have to work even more given smaller number of employees or does the salary make up for it?
Most PE's don't recruit actively. It is way tougher to land a PE internship than an IB internship.
Plus, most PE's don't recruit fresh from university.
Again, it's most PE's, there might always be exceptions. They just to prefer to hire from IB's in general.
PE analyst and IB analyst might get the same comp, maybe the PE dude even gets a little less. The big difference comes in once you get the carry.
Is the Analyst stint useless? (Originally Posted: 03/28/2013)
Playing the devil's advocate here.
So it seems like a lot of people here want to do BB->PE>MBA>PE>Greatness.
However it's clear that very few people actually get into PE after MBA. Assuming that one cannot get into PE post MBA, is it a waste of time to do the analyst stint?
If you think about analyst exit ops, it's mostly PE,HF,CorpDev, B-School.
Corp Dev-> you can get in there from a rotational program. Or, you can get into corp dev from H/S/W no matter what your background was.
HF -> This is a great option but I think it's only an option for people at top groups and it's still very hard to get into.
Business School-> definitely don't have to be an analyst to get into b-school. Also I've heard that if you have an interest in a banking career, best not do the analyst stint because it will burn you out.
Also, I've heard that being in Investment Banking now sort of hurts your chance of going to a top MBA as the competition is fierce between the financiers.
So, is it better to just enjoy life for 3~4 years after college and work at a top F500 rotational program instead, and go to top MBA? Or what other value does being an investment banking analyst bring?
No. I really think the skills, both tangible and intangible, that are picked up in an analyst stint are highly valuable. And you can't ignore the obvious reality that it is probably the best starting place to launch a career in finance.
"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
Hard skills that are tough to force yourself to learn on your own and as in depth. Also shows toughness and ability to deal with shithole environments. Lastly and least important is good paycheck post college.
If you don't think you can make it in pe /hf then yeah banking is a waste of time.
That's what I was wondering. I wonder if a lot of analysts at a mediocre groups that didn't get PE/HF offer and got jobs that they could've gotten without banking severely regret their decision to pursue banking.
Banking is a waste of time if you enjoy cold calling 42 year old men in Ohio who make 75,000 a year, and you want to manage his 50,000 IRA for a couple hundred bucks in fees, so that you can feel you serve a purpose, when you're actually doing harm to your clients, because you don't have a clue what you're doing and lack all credibility after scraping by at a low-tier school.
Banking is a waste of time if you enjoy cold calling 42 year old men in Ohio who make 75,000 a year, and you want to manage his 50,000 IRA for a couple hundred bucks in fees, so that you can feel you serve a purpose, when you're actually doing harm to your clients, because you don't have a clue what you're doing and lack all credibility after scraping by at a low-tier school.
I didn't say the Banking industry was a waste of time. I just asked if working your ass off in college to get an analyst stint and working like a dog is a waste of time if you don't plan on working in HF or PE in the long run, because there are many other jobs post undergrad that can open doors to MBA business schools">M7 MBA. Pretty simple....
Banking is a waste of time if you enjoy cold calling 42 year old men in Ohio who make 75,000 a year, and you want to manage his 50,000 IRA for a couple hundred bucks in fees, so that you can feel you serve a purpose, when you're actually doing harm to your clients, because you don't have a clue what you're doing and lack all credibility after scraping by at a low-tier school.
I didn't say the Banking industry was a waste of time. I just asked if working your ass off in college to get an analyst stint and working like a dog is a waste of time if you don't plan on working in HF or PE in the long run, because there are many other jobs post undergrad that can open doors to MBA business schools">M7 MBA. Pretty simple....
Believe it or not... Investment Banking can be a lifelong career, and not everyone leaves after 2 years.
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Skipping IB to go PE (Undergrad, May '13) (Originally Posted: 09/11/2012)
I'm graduating in May, and going through full time recruiting currently. This past summer I turned down a banking internship at a BB to do an internship in the negotiations division at a Fortune 500 company. I'm looking to skip the two years of banking and go right to the buy side. To prep for interviews and such, what advice would you give? (I'm taking the CFA Level 1 Dec '12 so I'm pretty familiar w/ financials)
CFA, for, PE?
turning down bb internship was a fkin horrible idea...
Why would you turn down a banking internship to do negotiations firstly if your end goal was PE? Wasn't a wise call. Anyway, the CFA is of no help when it comes to PE related buyside recruiting. Hedge funds will probably give it some weight, but PE funds could care less. They'd rather see the 2-yrs of slave experience you go through on the sell side than certifications such as the CFA.
Unless you're at Wharton or are aiming for a PE fund in Oklahoma, your chances of entering PE directly are slim to none and that's the cold truth. Build up your resume to lock down a sell-side position first; you can then give networking a shot to see how far you'll get with a PE fund.
Strongly agree with all of the above.
To answer your original question, PE interview prep for undergrads shouldn't be very different from PE interviews for current analysts (aside from the fact that it sounds like you don't have any relevant work experience to brush up on).
Call me a douche but with a 3.6 and coming from Wisconsin you have a very limited chance.
Get an offer from a BB bank now why they are in hiring season, then keep fighting for a PE offer (they don't finish hiring by end of october like a lot of banks). If you ever get a PE offer then burn a bridge, renig on the bank, and enjoy.
i dont know how much i agree with the first statement since there are literally hundreds of midwestern mid-market PE-type firms.
Here's an add on -- let's say you go into private equity right out of college but the fund has a very specific focus like energy, or infrastructure -- if you want to eventually branch out into other spaces of investing (not only PE but special situations, growth [private and public], does skipping banking make it more complicated?
mind you -- this is coming from someone who wants to eventually run their own fund some day (who deosn't right lol?)
I am trying to do this now (started out in Real Estate PE, trying to branch out after 2 years).
I'm finding its pretty difficult since a lot of people don't know what to do with your company's name if they've never heard of it / any deals you've done because they're not in that sector. Also, seeing "small firm x" vs. "bulge bracket firm y" is a quick way to skip through the massive # of resumes they get.
I have an added wrinkle of being on West Coast and not NYC based just as an FYI
xxxx
.
Possible to enter PE/HF upon graduation? (Originally Posted: 02/02/2009)
Is it possible to enter private equity/hedge fund upon graduation without taking the investment banking route? I understand it's typical that people usually get into PE/HF following an investment banking program.
It is possible, especially with smaller firms, but it is certainly possible to do with top funds if you are impeccably qualified and convince them they'd be making a mistake not to hire you.
Or just have excellent connections.
Why not go for PE directly? (Originally Posted: 08/29/2017)
I've following the IB section of the forum for a long while and people always talk about exit opportunities when leaving BB. The exit opportunities always entail going into PE. I was just wondering why don't people go into PE directly, intern and get a grad job there? I've checked a couple of notable firms and majority offer the internship to grad path.
Also, do you get paid overall better in PE? Don't you have to work even more given smaller number of employees or does the salary make up for it?
Most PE's don't recruit actively. It is way tougher to land a PE internship than an IB internship. Plus, most PE's don't recruit fresh from university.
Again, it's most PE's, there might always be exceptions. They just to prefer to hire from IB's in general.
PE analyst and IB analyst might get the same comp, maybe the PE dude even gets a little less. The big difference comes in once you get the carry.
I think somebody posted on here that KKR is phasing out their straight-out-of-undergraduate analysts. So that makes it difficult to get a spot.
Is the Analyst stint useless? (Originally Posted: 03/28/2013)
Playing the devil's advocate here.
So it seems like a lot of people here want to do BB->PE>MBA>PE>Greatness.
However it's clear that very few people actually get into PE after MBA. Assuming that one cannot get into PE post MBA, is it a waste of time to do the analyst stint?
If you think about analyst exit ops, it's mostly PE,HF,CorpDev, B-School. Corp Dev-> you can get in there from a rotational program. Or, you can get into corp dev from H/S/W no matter what your background was.
HF -> This is a great option but I think it's only an option for people at top groups and it's still very hard to get into.
Business School-> definitely don't have to be an analyst to get into b-school. Also I've heard that if you have an interest in a banking career, best not do the analyst stint because it will burn you out. Also, I've heard that being in Investment Banking now sort of hurts your chance of going to a top MBA as the competition is fierce between the financiers.
So, is it better to just enjoy life for 3~4 years after college and work at a top F500 rotational program instead, and go to top MBA? Or what other value does being an investment banking analyst bring?
No. I really think the skills, both tangible and intangible, that are picked up in an analyst stint are highly valuable. And you can't ignore the obvious reality that it is probably the best starting place to launch a career in finance.
wtf
Hard skills that are tough to force yourself to learn on your own and as in depth. Also shows toughness and ability to deal with shithole environments. Lastly and least important is good paycheck post college.
lolz
If you don't think you can make it in pe /hf then yeah banking is a waste of time.
Banking is a waste of time if you enjoy cold calling 42 year old men in Ohio who make 75,000 a year, and you want to manage his 50,000 IRA for a couple hundred bucks in fees, so that you can feel you serve a purpose, when you're actually doing harm to your clients, because you don't have a clue what you're doing and lack all credibility after scraping by at a low-tier school.
I didn't say the Banking industry was a waste of time. I just asked if working your ass off in college to get an analyst stint and working like a dog is a waste of time if you don't plan on working in HF or PE in the long run, because there are many other jobs post undergrad that can open doors to MBA business schools">M7 MBA. Pretty simple....
who was it that said toby on the office is the perfect type of person to be a good analyst...
LOL depends on your goals i would assume
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