UMM/MF lateral moves within Europe
Hi,
How frequent are lateral moves among UMMs/MFs within Europe at the senior asc / VP level and how does the process look like?
I am ~1.5 years into the asc role at a strong group/firm in London (think KKR, Silverlake, H&F, Permira, CVC type of firm). The group is very lean on the top and realistically there won't be any spots for a (male) VP in the next ~3 years, irrespective of my performance. I enjoy the work I am doing currently and would like to stay at the upper end of the market also going forward.
I'd appreciate any insights on i) how common these types of moves are, ii) what does the process look like (e.g. head-hunter intermediated vs. direct discussions) and iii) when do these discussions typically take place.
I received frequent inbounds for opportunities in the lower end of the market as well as hedge funds, but I am not super keen on either. The people that I know who have made a lateral move have done it through a MBA (e.g. go to HBS/Standford, re-recruit for London) but I'd be keen to skip the MBA if possible.
The main headhunters in London (KEA, Blackwood, Walker Hamill) have not been very insightful so far.
Any input is appreciated!
If the team is lean on top, does this not mean there is opportunity for advancement? What is your sector focus (if any)? Which funds are you targetting? Some funds never take laterals, others are more open so depends which ones you'd like to end up at. Unfortunately it's very capacity dependent so there's no set process, however they do still go through headhunters that you've mentioned.
If MBA was the only route would you pursue it? You can also intern at a fund via this route.
It's lean at the top intentionally - historically we'd promote 1 VP every 3-4 years. We recently had some promotions so the pipeline is effectively closed for the near future. I'd like to stick to one of the funds I mentioned / other similar names. No real sector focus currently.
I'd do a MBA as a "last resort" (and think I'd have a decent show at HSW) but would prefer to avoid it if possible (feels like a bad use of time and money for me personally)
Please, I'm begging you, do not pay for an MBA
Bump, curious to hear as well
From my personal experience (2nd year Associate at MF in London), there seems to be a lot of demand on the Senior Associate / VP level at the moment. I would primarily attribute it to the strong deal flow in the last 18 months and the increasing fund sizes, leading to higher demand for talent.
However, it seems like the positions oftentimes end up unfilled. Personally, I would attribute this to the fact that some funds are afraid of the self-selection of candidates: “Why would someone that has very good chances of getting promoted leave his fund within 12 months before the promotion?” It would be much easier for that person to get promoted and recruit subsequently with having the recent promotion as kind of proof of his performance. As a result, funds usually tend to hire on that level with at least 18-24 months until the next promotion, which makes changing between funds that have the VP level and funds that don’t usually easier. There have been some recent examples where 4th year Associates that were up for principal promotion at their fund, moved to funds that have 2-3 year Associate + 3-4 year VP as they can then join mid-way through the VP programme.
Nonetheless, there have been some recent hires on that level, incl. people who landed spots at Warburg, KKR and Triton.
Process is usually same as Associate full-time (couple of interviews + investment / modelling case study) while the expectations are obviously higher for a senior associate than a second year analyst fresh out of IB.
Key headhunters in London are the usual suspects: Kea Consultants, Dartmouth Partners, Walker Hamill. Would suggest working with as many as possible given that they oftentimes have exclusive mandates.
Blackwood is usually focussed on Principal and above but might be relevant on this level as just in the edge between junior and mid-level recruiting.
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