Which PE firms still require an MBA?
I’m now entering my 2nd year in IB at a top EB (PJT/EVR) and am preparing for the upcoming PE recruiting process.
I’m curious to hear which firms are requiring MBA’s and are pushing 2-and-out programs (e.g. Carlyle). Hoping this will be helpful for many as we consider our career goals and determine which firms would be a good fit.
Thanks!
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From what I understand, the below still require an MBA:
Bain Carlyle H&F TPG
*Edit: removed Warburg per the responses
From my networking with Warburg folks (Analysts, Associates, VPs) it seems that Warburg doesn't require Associates to get an MBA after their 2 years
Warburg does indeed promote VPs from associate level, however a lot of these promotes have historically come from their analyst pipeline, so they’ve been with the firm for a while
the only guy I know at Carlyle (new VP) did his undergrad at a non target and came from a different PE firm
The list of MF / UMM funds that will direct promote is probably around a handful (literally, ~5-6). Now, what is not captured in that is that even among the firms that do direct-promote, 1 out of what, 4? 5 or more? associates will actually get it. And speaking frankly - the reason why some associates become "star" associates and other associates become the run of the mill highly capable associate but not star associate is mostly due to luck, politics, personalities, and homophily (look it up) - i.e., it is largely not in your control.
So long story short, I wouldn't pick a fund based on whether they technically direct promote or not. I'd focus on choosing a fund that has a good track record, a good culture, a good brand that will help you learn to be the best investor that you can early on.
Edit: Okay but just to useful - of those that I know that have done a direct-skipMBA-direct promote:
Also - if anyone receives an offer for HBS / GSB - you 100% go no matter what your firm is offering you (and if they're willing to direct promote you, they're going to take you back after anyway). The value of an HBS / GSB degree is unquantifiable.
Silver Lake, Centerbridge, Leonard Green, Vista, Thoma Bravo, FFL, Ares, Clearlake, Towerbrook, and New Mountain all promote without MBA.
You may be right that only 25% of associates are promoted directly, but another 30-50% choose to go to b school and some of the rest go HF, Corp dev, etc.
Contrary to WSO belief, not everybody wants a career in PE.
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I mean - rivers of ink have been spilled on this topic so I'm not going to rehash it here.
Let me give you an example - HBS alumni gets access to a proprietary app for HBS alums only. In this app, you have a map - you can see the work / home location of every single HBS alum that has ever passed through the school.
And you can pull up the personal contact information of every single HBS alum that is alive (this includes, for example, George Bush, Mitt Romney, Jamie Dimon).
More importantly, there is a high degree of "reciprocity" in the alumni network - when someone with an HBS email shoots you an email, you tend to respond. The reason for this is not entirely or even mostly altruistic. It's entirely because, no matter how senior / powerful you are, HBS can provide you connections / networks with someone more powerful than you. Therefore, it literally is in everyone's interest to cultivate this network as much as possible.
Let me give you one more example - and truly this is pretty normal course. In January, there is a program for students called a "Short Intensive Program" (basically 1 week of free classes if you want to attend). One of those sessions is called "Life of a CEO". In one morning (3 hours), a intimate group of ~60-90 students got to engage directly with the CEOs of Goldman Sachs (Lloyd Blankfein), Pepsi, Boeing (McNernry), Larry Culp (CEO of GE), and more. This was 3 hours.
By the way, Larry Culp was literally a professor that taught one of the key first-year classes before one day he walked in and announced that regrettably, he can no longer teach - he just got named CEO of General Electric.
I mean the other stuff - some of the founders of Bain Capital (Bob White), Baupost (Poorvu), literally being your finance professors in intimate classroom settings (no lecture) and having the opportunity to sit on their couches to give you career advice, insight, and connections. How do you put a $ on that?
Edit: One more addition - and I think truly, this may trump all of it.
Think about all the things in the world that people (on this site) tend to care about. Money. Big houses, Fancy cars. Expensive watches. Attractive spouses. All of it - literally all of it can be taken away, destroyed, lost.
The experience one gets at a GSB or an HBS - truly only a snippet captured above - can never, ever be taken away from you. And that recognition of having graduated from the "West Point" of Capitalism - that achievement, because that frankly is what it is, can never be taken away from you, cannot be bought no matter how rich you are*, and will never lose its value (in fact, over the course of your career, will appreciate immeasurably, although intangible).
If you go to one of the PE firms that does not require an MBA but you would like to pursue one does the fact that your firm has not historically sent or hired from one of the big three b school significantly hurt your chances at those schools?
If you work in an industry that is meaningfully represented at a top MBA program (e.g., PE, consulting), and you work in a firm that does NOT place students into a top 3 program - then yes, it will hurt you on the margin (or more). Does it keep you out? Of course not - everyone has their own story.
Require is a strong word.
Have most 2nd years going through PE recruiting taken the GMAT? Trying to decide whether I should focus my studying this summer on the GMAT or PE Interviews. Of course I can do both, but I want to maximize the probability of success and would prefer to worry about the GMAT later as there is no gurantee I want to go to business school.
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