Veritas Capital?

Purely from a returns + AUM growth perspective, Veritas is the #1 shop in the world over the last 5 years, edging out some of the weaker performing recent Vista/Thoma funds. Veritas' ability to be top decile for 5 funds straight while rapidly growing AUM and shifting industries drastically is remarkable. (I did not work here but have close friends in the mid-level and know former associates).

This used to be an A&D and government services shop. They do not do very much A&D anymore, do less than half of their deals in non-defense government services and are now heavily focused on technology / tech-enabled services. Their bread and butter is healthcare technology, government technology and education technology because those are highly regulated industries where deep diligence into quality of committed cash flows and customer base can reveal immense value. Regulatory capture is amazing.

So, from a fund perspective this is a top tier fund. Would not say the it's quite the same from an associate perspective. It's better than average to be sure, but I would not place it at the top either. Call it "2nd highest bucket" if we are comparing it to IB analyst ratings.

Why? Their highest growth phase is likely behind them and the quicker rise through the mid-level to partner is well under way with little opportunity for new associates. So the idea that you could make Veritas a long-term home is likely no longer true. The people that work there are also a mixed bag in terms of quality of mentors and general affability. Some are wonderful, some not so much but all are incredibly competent.

The real issue is if you are pigeonholed on the government side of Veritas doing government deals. It continues to drive strong returns but has become less important as a part of firm strategy over the last 2 funds. If you are from a technology coverage group and are staffed on technology deals, this is absolutely top bucket from a deal variety and quality perspective. Can't say the same if you do another big government services carveout. That's an industry that's just not large enough to make the experience more applicable broadly.

Overall, it's a firm you want to be at. Strong reputation on the street amongst funds. A great platform to launch a PE career. I've never been deep into the office itself, but the location/view from the main conference room is gorgeous.