PE internship as an Ugrad? Which Internship?

I heard that private equity firms rarely hire interns and especially not junior Ugrad interns. So anyways, I received an offer from Valstone Partners which is a private equity firm with a bunch of Ross MBAs and alums. They seem like a very small lean firm. I am now worrying if perhaps the internship is just because they wanted a coffee-getter or someone to go and do all the busywork.

My other choice for an internship is UBS Ibanking which I would usually take over Valstone but since UBS Ibanking is currently not doing so well and I recently read this article on Valstone: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl…

I just don't know what to do. Will I learn more at Valstone or will they make me do secretary type work? Will I be unqualified for Private equity analyst work since I'm just a Ugrad? Is UBS Ibanking better? Any help is greatly appreciated as are comments and feedback. I heard that UBS interns don't do anything atm so I want the experience that will help me learn the most about the industry. In the future I do plan to go into private equity. I also dislike Ibanking a bit due to my sophomore experiences but I'm willing to give it another shot if Valstone is just smoke and mirrors.

 

Depends. I've only seen the website, but Valstone is primarily distressed real estate.

If you like REPE, or are considering it, it's worth a shot. But if you'd rather not, UBS is safer. Go to UBS if you like the people.

 
Best Response

second the above. I was considering working there for a bit so did a bit of research/talking to people (ended up going elsewhere)

If you REALLY like repe or just distressed investing in general, go with valstone. Otherwise, ubs is clearly the way to go.

Valstone's all great people and good at what they do (very small distressed, mostly RE deals) and it should be a great experience if you're into that sort of thing. However, it would likely be fairly limiting long term. They're a small and young firm so exit ops are hard to say from that place, but i think of their last few (and maybe only) people to go through the program from ugrad and then leave their detroit office, from what i remember all that went to bschool got into top schools (i think all those i know of went on to wharton mba?) or very good distressed HF's or REPE firms. As you can see, solid IF distressed and/or REPE is the field you want to be in. Otherwise, very limiting.

other considerations - 1.) its in detroit, which sucks and 2.) fulltime conversion - when i was talking to them last year, they had like 4 or 5 interns the previous summer and took one on for full time, though honestly ubs might not have a better conversion rate this year either

 

I worked at a small PE firm during the summer before my senior year. It was a great experience due to my level of responsibility. If you are going to have real work to do or someone is willing to take you under their wing and show you the ropes than it could be a great opportunity. Also, if you already have some IB experience and didn't like it check out the PE world. It is definitely something I hope to get back into in the future.

However, the only problem with PE has to do with what aardvarkaa had to say. You are sort of limited long term because the likelihood of you getting FT offer out of undergrad is slim to none. Nevertheless, it could be a great experience.

 

Thanks for the comments everyone! Yea I don't know whether I want to stay there long term and I don't want to do my third option which is Citi Ops (unless you guys think I should?)

I just want to get some experience under my belt and walk away with a great internship and be able to proudly display it on my resume for next year when I go jobsearching and hopefully the market is a bit better by then.

I think exit ops are better with UBS like you guys said but I'm not expecting a fulltime offer from either of these firms, though it would be nice. So are there any more pros/cons to either?

 

Take UBS over PE. You will not get the same exit opportunity if you take the Valstone offer. That PE internship is not as a big deal as you are thinking right now. A PE internship is probably only comparable or above the UBS internship if it's at a mega fund like TCG, BX, etc. However, you could consider Valstone internship if you are specifically interested in REPE, have previous investment banking experience, or know specifically what you want to do.

 
TheBenevolent:
can you guys start a thread listing the PE firms in each major city, similar to the thread on the ibanking section? I am looking for all the PE firms in LA/SD/SF/Irvine areas

Thanks guys

Why don't you start that thread champ? It'd actually be nice to have, I have extensive lists for a few regions that I'd put up if it got going

 

Animi amet eaque rerum sunt iure laborum esse. Et quis distinctio eaque repudiandae quo neque blanditiis. Impedit earum autem laborum qui quisquam qui. Esse autem id dicta aut voluptatem quaerat aut.

Rerum aspernatur est autem et esse possimus. Soluta quasi esse et magni. Natus quo quia quisquam vel. Odit voluptatem eligendi ullam aliquam voluptatem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (21) $586
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (89) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (204) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (386) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (28) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (313) $59
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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”