I got the interview invite as well... I'm brushing up on my understanding of the PE industry and how PJT's group fits into
I think it would be helpful to understand why investors would want to sell their existing stake in a fund (i.e liquidity concerns, or becoming overweight in a certain sector/ geography) or buy a secondary stake ( and how these investors value these investments)... Technicals wise, I really don't have any idea what to expect, but I'm studying LBOs and how different assumptions can be manipulated to reach a range of valuations.
Best of luck with the interview, and PM me if you want to exchange information.
Bump, I almost accepted an offer from a BB doing secondary advisory but wasn't sure of the exit opps.
It seems as though that, even at large PE secondary shops (Lexington, Coller, etc) most associates have regular IB coverage/product experience, rather than a secondaries background.
I'd say that getting into a secondary buy-side gig after an advisory role isn't that difficult, as long as you can articulate that you know how to value a fund/company. You will have a definitive leg-up since you'd actually know what secondaries are and would know what you're getting into, but you'd be at a disadvantage to your peers on valuation/modeling, so make sure to talk that up and you'll be fine. Try to get staffed on a restructuring or other type of deal that goes into detail on company-specifics, will help during an interview.
Gotcha. It was pretty straightforward, nothing techinical besides digging into my past internships. FYI, my interview was with a principal in the Chicago office, so yours could be different if your first round is in New York. I'll let you know when I hear back.
A little late to this, but I work on the buy side in this space and can attest that the Park Hill secondary guys are a well-respected group. They get plenty of deal flow, often in fund restructurings which can be pretty interesting.
Would you happen to know if the UBS and CS analyst also work on fund restructurings that would allow them to do more direct company analysis? My impression is that they're mostly engaged in LP stake sales, which is then more powerpoint and fund level vs company level.
Sorry for the late reply. Yes - I believe that they're more engaged in generic LP stake sales. I haven't seen any restructurings from them, but that doesn't mean they don't do them.
As far as straightforward secondary work goes, UBS tends to have better deal flow than Credit Suisse, but I've heard chatter of some instability at UBS, so CS might be safer from a job stability perspective.
If you're primarily interested in fund restructurings, the top places I see those deals from are Park Hill Group, Greenhill/Cogent, and Evercore.
Recent had my 1st round for NY too; definitely very interesting and exciting work. The guy who interviewed me said I'd hear back within the next few weeks, but probably sooner
Fair bit of misinformation going around in this thread. There is a massive difference between a secondary brokers and a secondary investor. PJT, like UBS, Greenhill Cogent, Setter etc. are secondary brokers. A secondary broker has one job- connecting LPs who want to sell a stake in a private equity fund with another LP who would potentially buy that stake. As an analyst, your responsibility is building a network in the LP / GP industry and managing the transaction process. There is very little valuation / due diligence work since it's solely the purchaser's responsibility to perform this. It is also highly unlikely that a sophisticated buyer would rely much on any analysis performed by a secondary broker due to conflicts of interest (i.e. you are working for the seller and thus have an incentive to mark up the portfolio companies).
This is a completely different ballgame from secondary investors like Coller, Lexington, Adams Street etc. These are the guys who are the buyers of the fund stakes mentioned above. They perform in depth valuation and due diligence on the portfolio companies in the fund.
Due to the different nature of work, exit opps from secondary brokers are drastically different from exit opps from secondary investors.
Fair bit of misinformation going around in this thread. There is a massive difference between a secondary brokers and a secondary investor. PJT, like UBS, Greenhill Cogent, Setter etc. are secondary brokers. A secondary broker has one job- connecting LPs who want to sell a stake in a private equity fund with another LP who would potentially buy that stake. As an analyst, your responsibility is building a network in the LP / GP industry and managing the transaction process. There is very little valuation / due diligence work since it's solely the purchaser's responsibility to perform this. It is also highly unlikely that a sophisticated buyer would rely much on any analysis performed by a secondary broker due to conflicts of interest (i.e. you are working for the seller and thus have an incentive to mark up the portfolio companies).
This is a completely different ballgame from secondary investors like Coller, Lexington, Adams Street etc. These are the guys who are the buyers of the fund stakes mentioned above. They perform in depth valuation and due diligence on the portfolio companies in the fund.
Due to the different nature of work, exit opps from secondary brokers are drastically different from exit opps from secondary investors.
Care to share the exit opps you have seen for those coming from secondary investor backgrounds? And how does it compare to those from a secondary broker? Thanks.
You can divide the PE investing landscape into four: primary funds, secondaries, co-investments and directs. Its usually easy to move from right to left of that chain. Very tough to move from left to right. Not saying its impossible or that it has never happened but its rare.
People in the secondary investing business tend to stay put in that part of the market. It's very hard to move to directs unless you go a top MBA route. Although there are certain firms that do primary, secondary and co-invests and will let you be a generalist and get exposure to all three of those investment types.
Exit opps from secondary brokers tend to be within other placement agents, either doing secondary advisory or primary fund placement. Think firms like Atlantic Pacific Capital, Park Hill, MVision, Evercore Private Funds Group etc.
Thanks for the reply neil. Would you also say firms like HarbourVest, Pantheon, Blackstone Strategic partners, and BlackRock FoF are big players in the space?
Every name you mentioned are big players in the market. Although I don't know too much about BlackRock's FoF business. My understanding is that alternative investments overall were historically a non-core business for the firm. Ever since they hired Mark Wiseman from CPPIB, I have heard that this may be changing.
I have an interview with Park Hill Secondary Advisory in NYC and would love to get some insights into what to expect in the interview. Limited info online but seems like an interesting job
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I got the interview invite as well... I'm brushing up on my understanding of the PE industry and how PJT's group fits into
I think it would be helpful to understand why investors would want to sell their existing stake in a fund (i.e liquidity concerns, or becoming overweight in a certain sector/ geography) or buy a secondary stake ( and how these investors value these investments)... Technicals wise, I really don't have any idea what to expect, but I'm studying LBOs and how different assumptions can be manipulated to reach a range of valuations.
Best of luck with the interview, and PM me if you want to exchange information.
When did you apply for the position?
I applied in late August through a resume drop on my school's career portal.
Bump, I almost accepted an offer from a BB doing secondary advisory but wasn't sure of the exit opps.
It seems as though that, even at large PE secondary shops (Lexington, Coller, etc) most associates have regular IB coverage/product experience, rather than a secondaries background.
Do people have info on exit opps?
I'd say that getting into a secondary buy-side gig after an advisory role isn't that difficult, as long as you can articulate that you know how to value a fund/company. You will have a definitive leg-up since you'd actually know what secondaries are and would know what you're getting into, but you'd be at a disadvantage to your peers on valuation/modeling, so make sure to talk that up and you'll be fine. Try to get staffed on a restructuring or other type of deal that goes into detail on company-specifics, will help during an interview.
Good to know, where do you typically see secondaries analysts go after a few years?
You have your first round yet? Just did mine
.
Gotcha. It was pretty straightforward, nothing techinical besides digging into my past internships. FYI, my interview was with a principal in the Chicago office, so yours could be different if your first round is in New York. I'll let you know when I hear back.
sick dude!
.
This is a really interesting space. I would kill to work at Park Hill secondary group.
that's illegal bro, just saying
A little late to this, but I work on the buy side in this space and can attest that the Park Hill secondary guys are a well-respected group. They get plenty of deal flow, often in fund restructurings which can be pretty interesting.
Would you happen to know if the UBS and CS analyst also work on fund restructurings that would allow them to do more direct company analysis? My impression is that they're mostly engaged in LP stake sales, which is then more powerpoint and fund level vs company level.
Sorry for the late reply. Yes - I believe that they're more engaged in generic LP stake sales. I haven't seen any restructurings from them, but that doesn't mean they don't do them.
As far as straightforward secondary work goes, UBS tends to have better deal flow than Credit Suisse, but I've heard chatter of some instability at UBS, so CS might be safer from a job stability perspective.
If you're primarily interested in fund restructurings, the top places I see those deals from are Park Hill Group, Greenhill/Cogent, and Evercore.
Recent had my 1st round for NY too; definitely very interesting and exciting work. The guy who interviewed me said I'd hear back within the next few weeks, but probably sooner
.
I was dinged... hope you guys have better luck.
yeah already had my round three
Round three is the superday?
Does anyone have any updates on exit ops, hours, culture, compensation etc?
Not just for the PJT secondary advisory group, but seconday advisory groups in general (Evercore, Lazard, UBS, etc.)
Any guidance would be very helpful!
Bump
Bump and grind.
Fair bit of misinformation going around in this thread. There is a massive difference between a secondary brokers and a secondary investor. PJT, like UBS, Greenhill Cogent, Setter etc. are secondary brokers. A secondary broker has one job- connecting LPs who want to sell a stake in a private equity fund with another LP who would potentially buy that stake. As an analyst, your responsibility is building a network in the LP / GP industry and managing the transaction process. There is very little valuation / due diligence work since it's solely the purchaser's responsibility to perform this. It is also highly unlikely that a sophisticated buyer would rely much on any analysis performed by a secondary broker due to conflicts of interest (i.e. you are working for the seller and thus have an incentive to mark up the portfolio companies).
This is a completely different ballgame from secondary investors like Coller, Lexington, Adams Street etc. These are the guys who are the buyers of the fund stakes mentioned above. They perform in depth valuation and due diligence on the portfolio companies in the fund.
Due to the different nature of work, exit opps from secondary brokers are drastically different from exit opps from secondary investors.
Not sure that anyone here was confusing advisory vs investing?
I mentioned that if you do go the advisory route, try to get staffed on GP restructuring, since there will be more in-depth company analysis/exposure.
As in analyst do you really get to choose that route though?
Care to share the exit opps you have seen for those coming from secondary investor backgrounds? And how does it compare to those from a secondary broker? Thanks.
You can divide the PE investing landscape into four: primary funds, secondaries, co-investments and directs. Its usually easy to move from right to left of that chain. Very tough to move from left to right. Not saying its impossible or that it has never happened but its rare.
People in the secondary investing business tend to stay put in that part of the market. It's very hard to move to directs unless you go a top MBA route. Although there are certain firms that do primary, secondary and co-invests and will let you be a generalist and get exposure to all three of those investment types.
Exit opps from secondary brokers tend to be within other placement agents, either doing secondary advisory or primary fund placement. Think firms like Atlantic Pacific Capital, Park Hill, MVision, Evercore Private Funds Group etc.
Thanks for the reply neil. Would you also say firms like HarbourVest, Pantheon, Blackstone Strategic partners, and BlackRock FoF are big players in the space?
Every name you mentioned are big players in the market. Although I don't know too much about BlackRock's FoF business. My understanding is that alternative investments overall were historically a non-core business for the firm. Ever since they hired Mark Wiseman from CPPIB, I have heard that this may be changing.
Know two guys, one on buyside secondaries and at Greenhill, both MDs and make Big time $$
How would a secondary broker position far with regards to b-school?
I have an interview with Park Hill Secondary Advisory in NYC and would love to get some insights into what to expect in the interview. Limited info online but seems like an interesting job
anyone doing first round for park hill soon?
Ya you hear back?
not yet. You?
.
I got the email from the recruiter yesterday.
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