Lending/LevFin vs. MM IBD vs PE summer internships
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If you’re interested in debt and you’re not enamored by the equity story, then a debt shop like Antares is the way to go as it does provide you a brand name and if you don’t like it you could potentially recruit for a LevFin group at an IB. While an IB would give you more optionality and the opportunity to lateral in the future, it all depends on our career goals. I would second the debt shop as your professors have if you’re ok with staying in debt
@andOne101 - thanks for the input. I was mostly looking for M&A opportunities and have no debt experiences before, but I am definitely interested in it. My only concern is that getting into debt would pigeonhole me. Would it be possible to move from such a shop to MM PE afterwards or even mega funds?
Unfortunately MF PE is out of the question if you choose to do debt, but MF’s also have credit arms where you could definitely transition to ex. Carlyle Credit Opporthnities, some do transition to LMM PE, but it is tough. Debt does limit you to any extent, but like I said you can take the debt experience and leverage it to get an IB LevFin offer if you choose to do so.
What’s your end goal? I would recommend MM IB for more future optionality (vs Antares / Golub; Ares is in a whole different class and would be the no-brainer but doesn’t do summer analyst positions for their private debt group, so it’s obviously not them). Go to MM IB for the summer and jump to a better spot for full time (not terribly hard if you do well and your school is decently well represented on the street).
Is this advice really applicable to the groups he has offers at though? DCM and ABL at Fifth Third, etc?
Golub and Antares feel like a no brainers here too, both in terms of FT positioning and as a job itself.
When it comes to full time recruiting banks dont get too hung up on what you’re group was over the summer. They understand that what you’re doing as an intern isn’t really all that important. But it really comes down to the story you spin. I’ve seen guys go from summer analysts at (not too sexy) debt groups to Lazard, HL Rx, Moelis, etc for full time. Also seen people go from more of the none IB type debt roles (ABS) to strong levfin groups. Problem with those DL shops (which are both strong firms) is that sends the message that you really are drawn to debt, whereas a debt group in IB can be spun as you’re drawn to IB and group placement is what it is for the summer sometimes.
I was also hoping the offer was with STRH. if it’s with fifth third ( no disrespect to them) I would alter my view towards one of the buyside shops.
I definitely agree that when it comes to full-time recruiting an IB internship would be easier to spin and leverage for a debt group at other banks. However, I am not completely sure what I want to do down the road. I know I want to be on the buy-side so the DL shops are very attractive. However, how are PE and the private debt shops different in terms of comp/hours/culture (assuming same experience/position) other than the obvious equity vs debt?
It’s going to vary a lot bc comp, lifestyle and deal experience vary a lot more on the buyside. The reality is there is a pretty big gap between Ares, Golub and Antares (kind of similar to comparing GS, Citi and BMO, respectively). Note, these are all great firms but they simply exist at different tiers.
Ares is the largest / most sophisticated DL (generated 14% annual returns since inception which is incredible) and will pay in line with or above most MM PE shops but below MF PE. Lifestyle overall will be better than IB and a lot of PE shops but not by a large margin. You can look at their BDC filings for an idea of their investment types (although I’d note that the BDC only represents a portion of their funds; they’ve also raised tens of billions of private funds with different mandates). The due diligence will be fairly close to traditional PE although obviously on the lighter side.
Golub is also a DL powerhouse and will be similar to Ares, just slightly watered down (pay will generally be lower than MM PE but still pretty solid). Work life balance will be a bit better since they don’t have the same obsession with doing PE level due diligence for all of their deals. They also tend to be more willing to give that extra 0.25x to 0.5x or leverage to a sponsor in order to win a competitive process (whereas Ares is more prone to develop a leverage read and hold fast to it given the level of analysis that went into determining the level).
Antares is also good but will be at the lower end of the spectrum for all the things discussed (pay, hours (in a good way), and super sexy deal flow).
Again, since Ares doesn’t do summer analysts for their DL group, is reiterate that starting out in IB would be your wisest choice (as long as it is a real IB (my apologies to fifth third)).
Antares/Golub/Ares would be a great place to start. They have great deal flow and you build relationships with PE shops. The big question is what do you want to do long-term. You could always do an extra semester and try again when you decide next year.
I looked up some of the transactions Antares/Golub/Ares did, and they have done transactions with many solid PE. I am not sure what I want to do down the road, but how likely would it be to move to a solid PE shop afterwards leveraging the experience and connections?
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