The Riverside Company help?

jimvcangelinvestor:

The Riverside Company is one of the top performing private equity firms in the Midwest. They don't seek or get the press attention that other private equity firms do, but they make money CONSISTENLY for their investors (LPs) and for themselves. Usually investing in non-glamorous industries, so if you care about that that's not the place for you. But for those of us in the industry (and no I have no ties to them at all) telling you these guys buy and resell for 3x, 5x 10x return on investment every week it seems like. Their deal history you can find here http://bit.ly/UD9At0

But if you live in the Midwest and want to be in private equity and actually make money doing it (i.e. from the 20% "carry") these guys do it quietly and profitably. But you won't see their deals in PEHub or the Wall Street Journal every week. But I have a feeling they prefer it that way and are laughing all the way to the bank.

one of the most active pe funds in the middle market. from my experience, generally good guys, well respected. investing out of a $1b+ fund currently (not sure how much they've put to work, but did close on a lot of deals this past quarter). most likely a good place to get some solid experience. one bad thing i heard is that they work their analysts (post-banking analysts dont get the associate title) really hard. lotta long nights. pay is a bit on the lower end for the amount of work you have to do.

forgot to mention, that i never actually inteviewed with them. i was supposed to, but then ended up taking an offer from a different pe firm before the interviews started. i do knwo that they do a lbo case/presentation. i'm assuming the phone/initial interviews are mix behavioral/technical with a strong emphasis on accounting

Well respected, but may not be a "lifestyle" fit if you're looking for an improvement from banking. Just look at the business model, a lot of equity to put to work for the size of deals they typically play in. Not sure they like to get involved in auctions either, which makes the junior level work slightly more onerous (although I'm not positive here). Also have heard, and this is not from a direct source, that they have two groups at the firm, people who source and those who execute. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this if it's true.

^i think you're right in that they have separate groups. there are analysts that crank all day on models. once the deal is won, they move it to associates and up that actually monitor the portfolio, look at add-ons. etc. so from that perspective, an anaylst doesnt get the most well-rounded experience as opposed to someone who does all those things.

Guys - thanks for the info! Whether analysts get worked or not wasn't touched upon in the meeting, but the people I met were really easy to get along with - so spot on for the points on culture.

The 'separate groups' was brought up, but from discussion it seemed like the junior hires are more broadly focused. It could be for that particular office.

3 rounds of interview.

Round 1: Mostly fit + some technical + strong focus on past deal experience Round 2: Modelling Round 3: Mainly technical questions

I can confirm they have people who primarily source and others who are more technical at the junior level. Not sure how the interview process is but they've done a ton of deals in 2014 - probably one of the most active MM PE firms (in that time space) along the lines of Audax -- per Pitchbook

Absolutely great people. Work hours aren't as bad as people perceive either.

They completely divide sourcing and investment process teams.

Both teams are involved on whether to invest in a certain company.

^^ Not true.

Gave SB+. Will be sending PM.