So I’m a little slow at work this evening and have been seeing all of the Analysts at my bank clamoring to secure buyside offers and it has gotten me thinking… What happens if you end up not liking the shop you end up at? In banking it is a well-trodden path to lateral between banks, but does that exist on the buyside?
Now granted PE programs are relatively structured with the largest firms recruiting pretty much strictly on-cycle. Is there even a need for laterals?
If there is an immediate need would a fund look at a lateral or just a 2nd/3rd year Analyst currently at a bank?
I think it's less common but it can happen. I was basically fired after 6 months into my first PE stint and was able to land a job at another one, but had to move from Boston to NYC to do so (plus, one of the guys at the fund in NYC vouched for me since I worked with him in banking)...
I'd expect the most difficult question would be "why do you want to lateral" with a good answer being any one of the following:
...still, I would see this as a challenge for most, especially if you have been at fund #1 for less than a year. You don't want to look indecisive or unsure...if you don't like the work at PE fund #1, what is to guarantee that you'll like it at #2 (that would worry me if I was thinking about hiring you).
On the plus side, I would have more confidence if you had closed a few deals that you know how to run the deal process and there would be little hand holding needed.
Good luck! Patrick
Good post. Always wondered, what ibd group were you in at Rothschild?
restructuring...was a busy time for the group since it was 2002-2004.
Can I ask what led to you leaving the first firm within 6 months?
Although you're mostly correct re: 2-and-out associate programs, it is definitely possible and happens more than you'd think. There are a few good reasons for wanting to lateral from your fund, but like Patrick said, doing so with less than a year in could prove challenging.
Smaller funds have off cycle hiring going on all the time; guys leave for business school, get burned out, they raise a new fund and are shorthanded, etc. In summary, lateraling to another fund is something that will make more sense to you when you're actually working in PE for a while.
This is an older post but wanted to bring this back up given the relevancy of the title. Focusing on the recruiting process for a later - I have heard that the recruiter that placed you in your first buyside gig cannot place you in another due to contracted terms with your hire (i.e. they need to pay back a % or all of the fees generated if the person leaves within a year, 2 years, etc.)
So does that limit you to the other recruiters who focus on IB analysts and firms that are open to hires outside of the recruiter landscape? Are there really any brand name shops that will even accept indications of interest outside of their recruiter?
I.e. my understanding is that KKR, BX, Carlyle, Vista, etc. will not hire an Associate outside of the formal recruiter process. So does that mean unless you got into one of the above firms through the right recruiter (HSP for example) straight out of banking, you have no shot at lateraling to one of the firms besides backtracking and going through a top 5 b-school?
Thanks
Private Equity Lateral (Originally Posted: 09/15/2006)
Just wanted some people's opinions on how easy it is to jump from one PE firm to another firm - specefically from a middle market one to larger ones.
For example, if someone was to start at a $750mm - $1bn fund as an associate, is it possible to move on to a mega-fund like TPG, KKR, Carlyle or large PE funds like Leonard Green, HM, Thomas Lee before getting an MBA degree.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
In my opionion, I would think that the move would be very difficult up the ladder so to speak
bump
I'm at a megafund, we've taken laterals when there's a need (e.g. building out a new BU, can't find the candidate with the right background from the typical pool) at the associate / vp levels, but we are biased towards freshly minted banking analysts / consultants, and returning associates from b schools for those levels, respectively.
PE Recruiting for a Lateral (Originally Posted: 05/05/2010)
So here’s my situation…
I recently lateraled as a 1st year analyst to a BB from a 3rd tier MM. All my peers are commencing their PE interview processes, and I’m not too sure where I stand. I was told by one recruiter to wait 6 months (late summer) to start recruiting in hopes to get a position for the summer of 2011 or to hold off until next spring for positions starting in the summer of 2012 (essentially locking me into 3 years as an analyst in IB).
Is it too early to start recruiting? I don’t have too much experience thus far at my BB. About to close 2 deals which I participated, but I wasn’t involved with any of the modeling. Thoughts?
I raised this question for a headhunter before. She said for lateral analysts it's best to do 3 years as an analyst. Your deal experience (like you said) will be limited compared to other candidates due to the job change. And for most firms, she said you really only get one chance meaning if you screw up this year but try again next year, even with another year of experience your image would already be botched.
Modeling skills are a necessity and you must be able to show that you've modeled extensively in the deals you closed.
Lateraling between PE firms (Originally Posted: 12/18/2007)
How common is it for someone to lateral between PE funds? A specific situation I am wondering about is this: What if someone were to start at a lower mid-market PE fund with $300mm-500mm under management either right after undergrad or 2 years after undergrad, they work at the lower mid-market fund for 2-3 years and go leave for an MBA. After an MBA, would they be able to get a VP job at a fund with $10bn+ under management?
There is a lot of lateral movement in PE. That said, competition is fierce for spots at the big funds (although analysts/associates from those funds often lateral to MM's as well).
Also, I think you would come in as an Associate after B-school.
I thought that most people come in as VPs after B-School? Would it at least be a Senior Associate position? Comp after B-School at even a mid-market fund should run $400k+ all-in, correct? So a larger found shound be more in the 600 range?
Our freshly minted MBA employees were all hired at the associate level and make less than 400K all-in and only MPs get a carry.
I am in a similar situation as the one described: graduated in 05' and just kicked off my 3rd year as an anlyst (consindering b-school matriculation 09' but only if I get into an M7). My group doesnt have an up and out policy and I have been asked to consider staying on long-term and foregoing b-school (at least for the time being). I will apply 1st round 08' and make my decision from there.
JBS, do the freshly minted MBA employees at your firm have prior PE experience? what pre-MBA experiences do they have?
Can you tell us a little more about your fund (size, sector focus)? I had the impression that PE funds do not hire fresh MBA candidates unless they had previous PE experience.
no I've met people that got post MBA PE jobs without pre MBA PE, even at bstone.
I asked a question in an earlier post about how hard it would be to go banking -> top HF -> MBA -> top PE just because I thought the variety might make for an interesting and broadening couple years, and I'll ask that again here. I know of lots of guys that have done large cap PE -> HF, but wonder how seriously a PE firm would look at someone who went to a really top HF like Och-Ziff/Maverick/Perry before Bschool when they could have done PE. Also, how much would this depend on what strategy the fund was?
PE Lateraling? (Originally Posted: 04/09/2013)
If I start off out of undergrad at a decently sized PE fund (2-5B) how difficult would it be to lateral later on in my career to larger funds?
Or how would prospects be out of Bschool post PE analyst?
Thanks in advance!
i say you get the PE job out of undergrad then come back...
done all the time, should be possible
PE lateral? (Originally Posted: 03/08/2013)
How difficult would it be to lateral from a smaller fund (
[quote=idontwearglasses]How difficult would it be to lateral from a smaller fund (
[quote=NorthSider][quote=idontwearglasses]How difficult would it be to lateral from a smaller fund (
Looks like he didn't even graduate or get a banking gig yet.
Was too lazy to look up the proper spelling. Thanks for answering my question though.
Future Mega-fund candidate right here
The real question is: why would you want to lateral? What would you have been thinking when you accepted the offer into the MM gig?
I was thinking this was the best I could do. So is it possible to lateral upwards?
He was thinking that he should try and get a banking offer first.
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/2-super-days-lots-of-intricacies-…
[quote=SanityCheck]He was thinking that he should try and get a banking offer first.
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/2-super-days-lots-of-intricacies-…]
OP thinking way too far ahead. He's never even going to make it to Warberg.
warberg pancreatitus
To actually answer your question, yes it is possible to lateral to another / bigger fund. This is a lot easier if you get some actual deal experience at your smaller fund. Deal tombstones differentiate candidates, anyone can hire a guy who knows how to build an lbo model.
Thank you!!
Why is this? I haven't worked on a closed deal yet (need better deal flow at my firm) but have worked on some really interesting things that haven't materialized.
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