private equity

In the spirit of giving back and thanks to fcf_yields idea, thought I would do a Q&A from a slightly younger investment professional perspective. I'm a relatively junior VP at an established UMM fund ($10bn+ fund size), sector focused. This site has given me a lot of help over the years, going all the way back to college when i did not know what banking was, so would like to pay some of that forward. My background: target undergrad, GS, MF PE, UMM PE. I also applied to and was rejected from HBS/GSB, which i am happy to talk about (as a reject...) as I know a lot of people have questions around

01 Apr 2021

Thought it would be fun to do a Q&A and contribute to the WSO community after years of reading the forums for advice, industry intel, and jokes. Not sure if anyone cares about a Q&A, but I figure I'd ask since I get hit up on linkedin/undergrad alumni network fairly frequently. My background: semi-target undergrad, consulting, MF, UMM PE. Happy to hit any topics like PE industry overall, recruiting, trends/outlook, lifestyle, etc. I will try to be helpful when I can and snarky when I can't

22 Mar 2021

Hey guys, long-time member and current PE associate. I matched with a girl on Tinder one night and we started messaging. Somehow, the conversation turned into an argument over stupid shit. In my drunkenness and anger, I replied calling her a fat*** and made a joke that she looked like she put on the COVID-30 / I would sign her up for Jenny Craig. She replied with a long message how she was outraged I would dare say this in 2021 and that she would be screenshotting this and sending this to my employer. Note: I only have high-level info in my Tinder bio - first name, age, "Private Equity"

16 Feb 2021

Hello fellow monkeys. Recently, I decided to give up on buyside recruiting and stay on as an Associate in IB. I realized I simply didn't want it enough and just ran out of energy to dedicate to the search. I've also frankly enjoyed my time in IB a lot and look forward to continuing my path here. A big shoutout and thank you to everyone on WSO that gave me advice and helped me throughout the process. Feel free to AMA. A few months ago, I said I would drop the technicals I got throughout my process, so I am keeping this promise. I've gathered a bunch from myself and fellow friendly analysts

11 Feb 2021

Just locked down an offer to join a startup as a Senior Finance Manager and figured I'd have this Q&A before I start my new gig later this month. Going to keep this post short and sweet and open up the floor to questions - happy to provide more color about my prior job, decision to move to an operating role, interview process, etc. Quick background / context below: Left after 2.5 years in PE at a large family office Did a mix of LP investing / co-invest / secondaries / occasional direct deals Was an early promote to senior associate Previously spent just over 3 years in IB at a MM (left as an

11 Mar 2021

Tl;dr: is the PE career path still as attractive from a financial point of view as it was 5-10 yrs ago? I would argue that the expected career value for the average new joiner is significantly lower today. This is based on a) longer time required to advance; b) more competition; c) commoditization/salary pressure; d) potentially lower fund performance. Is this something you have been observing as well? And if yes, what are the alternatives? Lately, I am pondering the attractiveness of the classic path of climbing up the ranks of a private equity firm. Is PE still as financially attractive from

14 Nov 2020

I have been on this site for the past few years, and I just wanted to "give back" so to speak, and summarize all of the important pieces of information I have gathered. I hope it helps :) The Sales & Trading: Is dead!!! (not coming back) The Banking: Is dead!!! (booooooring) The PE: Is dead!!! (oversaturated) The Real Estate: Is dead!!! (See above) The Hedge Funds: Is dead!!! (can't beat a gosh danged benchmark) The Big Tech: Is dead!!! (ruined our lives) The Lawyers: Is dead!!! (wtf??? do u even have to ask?) The Doctors: Is dead!!! (literally - bless up!) The Non-Targets: Is dead!!! (weren't

04 Dec 2020

Open to answering questions regarding MBB, recruiting, breaking in, day to day life, career choices, etc. Background Academic: MSc in Finance (Europe) - top GPA, public undergrad b-school (target locally) Internships: Summer analyst at MBB; Summer analyst at Goldman Sachs (IMD London); Off-cycle analyst at European Private Equity FOFs. Received full-time offers from all three Other: GMAT 730 WSO Mentor Want to work with me? Check out my profile here.

05 Nov 2020

Hey WSO, I'm a first-time poster and longtime reader. I have some downtime on account of MLK Jr. Day and wanted to take the time to give back to the community and provide some insight on my career decisions I've made along the way. Non-target LAC (e.g. Little Ivies) Interned at BB in Operations Everything since has been the result of a ton of hustle and preparation (and luck), not to mention friends and mentors who have spent countless hours advising and pushing me forward Started my career in asset management and pivoted to investment banking / corporate M&A. Currently an associate at a $4B

18 Jan 2021

Hi Everyone, Long-time lurker over here currently at a credit hedge fund focusing on special situations and opportunistic credit. Haven't seen all that much about private credit vs. private equity. Been trying to assess whether I'd like to stay on the credit side or move to the equity side. I like the creative side and uniqueness of the structuring around credit, but I have more of an entrepreneurial mindset and feel like I'd like the PE side of things. I'd love to hear people's take on private credit vs. private equity. What hypes you up about credit/equity? What's the comparative work life

13 Oct 2020

WSO - I would like to share my knowledge on banking/PE/markets in Africa for those in the market and those willing to be party to the African growth story. Could also help for your PE interviews! Bio: Analyst (3rd year) at MM private equity firm focussed on impact investment in Africa. Target school (in South Africa), undergrad exposure to Math and Finance, prior experience in investment banking at Africa's largest bank. I got into banking via on-campus recruiting and a bit of luck. Made the jump to PE after completing a master's degree in Economics I am able to answer questions about the

16 Sep 2020

Hi everyone, I wanted to create a post about my process on GS for Junior Analyst in IBD. Sadly I did not get it but anyways. Context: Applied in Mexico City, 2 years of experience in AM and from a mexican target school. 1.- Apply through the page 2.- Webinar of general information (No filter yet) 3.- Steps 1 and 2 were in January 2021, and in mid february I got an email saying I have passed to the next round (HireVue interview) 3.1.- HireVue Interview was really easy, general questions like walk me through your Resume, and situational ones like "What would you do if a client is asking you to

17 Mar 2021

Open to questions of any nature from students, consultants, or anyone else. I am an incoming first-year associate at a tech-focused PE fund, currently rounding out my 2nd year at MBB. I attended a top target (H/Y/P/S/W) for undergrad and interned on the buy-side in undergrad. I can try to help by explaining any part of the process, including what seems to be a trickier jump from consulting to buy-side, or anything more specific that I can be helpful with. WSO Mentor Want to work with me? Check out my profile here.

03 Nov 2020

Note: I don't want to hear that I made a mistake going to law school lol. I'm comfortable with my decision and I have no interest in working in high finance in a technical capacity, but I do have an interest in working in high finance in a legal capacity. Making this thread because I see a lot of lawyers working in Hedge Funds as Counsel and there seems to be a lack of information on how to break into these jobs. Questions for Hedge Fund Lawyer (Specifically those that work for hedge funds or are doing secondment at a hedge fund) Is there a pathway to work for a hedge fund without firm

11 Jan 2021

Hi team -- wanted to get honest, raw opinions on the culture of different PE firms in London (KKR, CVC, Advent, PAI, Bain Cap, any other firms). Hopefully useful for many who are excited about PE but don't want to end up in a s***hole. Thanks! x

21 Dec 2020

Happy to answer any questions about recruiting (being a non target and from a non top tier IB), first few months on the job in PE, pros / cons, things I like and don't like. Brief bio below on my background below: Non Target Undergrad Investment Banking Analyst for 2 years Current 1st Yr Associate at MM PE Fund New York based WSO Mentor Want to work with me? Check out my profile here.

12 Nov 2020

I have a Bachelor's in Political Science from a target European University. I then started a master's in Marketing which I didn't finish and did the same with a master's in Finance. By that point, I had secured a full-time offer in a BB in London, in their TMT team. After a bit more than 18 months, I moved to a large bank's Merchant Banking Division, where I have worked across the capital structure (LBOs, Mezzanine, Debt) and I am now focused solely on LBOs and a few special situations investing. I am happy to answer any questions from how to get into IB, lifestyle, TMT exit opps, to how to

22 Sep 2020

My questions is essentially, how often can you switch jobs before getting a reputation as a job hopper? My background is: 2.5 years in MO Finance @ BB (MS / GS / JP) ---> 1 year in FO (Portfolio / Divestments team ) @ small Infra PE fund ---> 1.5 years in FO (Investments team) @ Japanese Infra PE house Now I am looking to move again in a few months because I do not like the culture in my current shop and there is no scope for long term progression here (since I'm not Japanese lol). I am worried that I am moving around too much, and this will look bad on my CV. But I'm hoping that because I've

23 Apr 2021

I was recently accepted to Duke, UVA, and Brown, but I'm wondering which one I should choose if I want to go into IB straight out of college. To give some perspective, I was accepted as Echols Scholar & College Science Scholar to UVA, and was accepted to Duke and Brown regularly. Im wondering which school I should choose if I want to go into IB or PE straight out of college? I would go about 90K in debt for Duke, 120K in debt for Brown, and 0K in debt for UVA (assuming I get into McIntire). I'm a little scared I won't get into McIntire-I heard some 4.0 kids w/ stellar ECs don't get in-which is

17 Apr 2021

Lets say you are at the beginning of your career, just out of college and have an offer from a VC firm (Investment Analyst position) from which you would go on to do more VC later on an Asset Management firm (Equity Analyst position) from which you would aim to move on to a boutique L/S hedgefund. Which one would you choose and why?

16 Apr 2021

Hey all - long time lurker, first time posting on here. Currently an associate at relatively large middle market shop finishing up my first year on its growth equity team. For context, was in banking prior to my current role. I mostly enjoy my role, the work's interesting and most of the team's pretty nice, but hours have been incredibly busy and honestly don't think my comps up to par. Started getting some inbounds from headhunters regarding lateral roles and so have been thinking about whether I want to try hopping to a firm that's a better brand name (MF or UMM). Couple questions: Anyone

09 Apr 2021

What would be suggested for long-term growth? Doing growth-related data science at a private equity firm or a role as a monetization pm in a FANG-related company? What are possible growth areas after the job at a PE firm? I'm concerned that a career in PM would plateau.

05 May 2021

Hi, I am a high school senior who was admitted to several universities. My top choices are the University of Chicago, UC Berkeley (College of Letters), Carnegie Mellon University (Information Systems program), and Georgia Tech (College of Computing). I will probably pursue Computer Science at university or Computer Science with a combination of Economics/Business. My goal is not to really work in FAANG but ideally launch a startup (going into Entrepreneurship). Otherwise, I would be interested in going into PE/VC or working in Investment Management firms with a specific technology focus. I

11 Apr 2021

Has anyone ever heard of someone pursuing a MBA while working full time in a PE shop? A pretty ambitious arrangement, but was wondering if that has ever happened before. Thanks

14 Apr 2021

Took a beating on an interview recently - was not expecting technicals given I'm a 3rd year and HH said it was a behavioral round...unlucky. Anyways, wondering if anyone has a list or resource for PE technical questions specifically around debt. I understand the concept of debt, and can model LBOs very quickly. However, I'm not 100% comfortable with concepts like how debt trades or convertible debt terms, etc. I've been mostly a software guy, so not too much debt in a lot of these transactions.

08 Oct 2020

Note: I don't want to hear that I made a mistake going to law school lol. I'm comfortable with my decision and I have no interest in working in high finance in a technical capacity, but I do have an interest in working in high finance in a legal capacity. Making this thread because I see a lot of lawyers working in Private Equity as Counsel and there seems to be a lack of information on how to break into these jobs. Questions for Private Equity Lawyers (Specifically those that work for private equity or are doing secondment at a PE Firm) Is there a pathway to work for a PE firm without firm

11 Jan 2021

Works at mf pe Response rate is sporadic but texts are meaningful and paragraphs long when he does reply Don't live together

05 May 2021

Starting a thread for Insight Partners SA recruiting for 2022, has anyone heard back yet about superdays starting in April?

15 Mar 2021

Short background I am finishing my MSc this summer at a well-known European university and have ~1.5 years of internship experience at boutique IBs (1 year as a working student, 0.5 year as a full time student). I have an offer from a corporate venture capital and a tech-focused boutique IB in the DACH region, but I am having a hard time choosing between them. Pay is comparable. Corporate venture capital Analyst level position Venture Capital Arm of a leading insurance group Fintech, Insurance, Digital Health focus They have around 150-200M EUR in AUM, they will be launching their next fund

11 Apr 2021

Hi Everyone - First time on this forum! I'm currently a Product Manager at Microsoft and I've been so for the past 3.5 years right after undergrad (I graduated from Harvard). I never really gave finance a look until recently when I started becoming really unhappy with my job and started asking some of my friends what they're doing out of college. PE seems a lot more interesting with much more leadership/upside than PM-ing in tech. The thought of doing/leading deals, really understanding a business from how they're run to what they're doing, and growing companies is so much more interesting

26 Feb 2021

Hello, I'm currently in the fortunate position to have been accepted to Booth with a significant scholarship and also Kellogg with some money as well. I'm looking to transition into Private Equity either in the Midwest or in the Southern US. Currently have a background in Restructuring/Transaction Advisory (think Alvarez & Marsal, FTI, Alix Partners) Which school would be the better fit given my background and goals?

11 Apr 2021

Hey Monkeys, I've got a few years of CRE experience. I spent some time doing fp&a stuff, spent a year in REPE acquisitions at a boutique, spent a year as a debt/equity broker at a pretty well known shop / for a well known group, got canned due to Covid and have spent the last year-ish as one of two in-house capital markets guys at a homebuilder. I'm pretty desperate to get out of this gig for multiple reasons. The firm has had a ridiculously strong 12 months but is still overall a piss-poor performer (I'm talking corporate bonds that are rated cc) and frankly...it shows in the quality of the

19 Mar 2021

Hey Monkeys -- hope that you all are similarly recovering from that intense US Open final. Like many of you, the WFH era has given me time to reflect and question what the next 3-5-10+ years of my life look like -- so my apologies in advance for the soppy post and will try to keep it short. For background, I'm a Sr. Associate at a MM PE fund in NYC, and prior to that did my banking years at an EB. The PE experience has been great so far, and I've been lucky enough to stay on board without an MBA. Looking forward, I'm faced with the predictable set of exit options for junior PE investors. The

13 Sep 2020

I am currently in a generalist Tech IB role and considering moving to the buyside in FinTech PE. I am not sure I want to be in FinTech long term but it seems to be an interesting vertical. Is it a bad idea? Am I pigeonholing myself or can I switch back to a different tech vertical after a couple years if I don't like FinTech

05 May 2021

Thanks everyone for the help on this forum. 2020 college grad here that recently lateraled into IB as 2021 analyst (previously in another industry so had to take a year back). Given 2022 on-cycle hasn't kicked off yet. Would I be recruiting for 2023 PE oncycle, and would the timeline be different this year given 2022 is still not over?

03 May 2021

Does anyone know more about the recruitment process for BDT and the SA class size for BDT Capital Partners? BDT does OCR at my school and past posts don't really touch on the recruiting process so has anyone gone through recruiting for BDT?

05 Apr 2021

I asked this question in a earlier hedge fund forum but I wanted to ask abt private equity as well. I know Stern is a t5 business school and if I grind can I get PE looks out of ug? Also I wanna say sorry if i come across as a dumb young kid who's acting cocky and stuff. I'm just really interested in working my ass off to get into buysie out of college and I wanna know how Stern can help. Also I am in the new BTE program if that changes anything.

19 Apr 2021

Hi all, I have a question that I haven't been able to really find any answers to online. If you think you've seen a thread before that addresses the question I have, please feel free to post it. I'm largely looking for people's opinions/advice. I currently have a position at Goldman Sachs (Compliance. Yes, I know. But, I graduated in the middle of a pandemic. Life happens.) and will qualify for internal mobility next October. I have a master's in statistics (thesis relating to financial mathematics) and have passed the first CFA exam. So, I feel confident I should be able to get into a revenue

29 Apr 2021

I was initially attracted to investment banking because it offers greater exposure to deals. Even during my current internship at [PE firm], the part that excited me the most was when I was involved in the due diligence process for our new investments. But I always found myself spending more time on a portfolio management side. Since I wanted to fully invest myself in the most exciting aspect of the financial services industry, I thought investment banking is the better fit for me. But over time, I also learned how investment banking is more than just deals. Unlike private equity looking for

23 Apr 2021

I recently took a < 8hr case study and modelling test for a top tier PE team. Made it through almost a dozen interviews which all went really well. I didn't have enough time to check all formulas because of the time pressure (understanding case, finding right assumptions to use, building model and writing thesis). I made a lot of mistakes in linking debt//cash balances, adding instead of subtracting etc but the LBO was well laid out and formatted, gave sensible outputs and was flexible enough to run multiple (complicated) cases and sensitivities. I also made a recommendation and backed up my

17 Feb 2021

Hi everyone, Anyone knows any good headhunter firms that places people into Private Equity shops in LA?

04 May 2021

For those that work in PE or involved in advising PE funds, would be interested to hear whether you think when PE funds offer co-investments to their LPs whether those deals are of a lower "quality" (e.g. lower return expectation vs deals that the PE fund usually underwrites or perhaps higher risk because the PE firm is stretching itself on deal size).

21 Feb 2021

Hi all, looking to recruit in the near future and had some questions. What can one expect for all in comp at Blackstone/Brookfield/Starwood at the associate (post banking) role for investment or M&A associate? Is there a big difference between firm cultures and hours or can it be assumed that top REPE are similar comp and hours. Also, is there a major difference between the Starwood/Brookfield shops that are real estate focused vs working on real estate team at a KKR/Apollo PE firm that has other main focuses. Thanks!

20 Mar 2021

From these options, which starting FT job would give someone the smoothest path to MF/UMM PE? 1. Top Middle-Market firms (William Blair/HW/HL): Tried-and-true path into MM PE... Could possibly grind to get a UMM offer? Possible to take MM and then jump to MF? 2. Lesser known, up-and-coming "elite" boutiques (Dyal, Robey Warshaw, LionTree): Would probably need to network a ton, but could experience on a few massive deals or exposure to rainmaker seniors help? 3. Non-M&A, secondary role at BB/EB (Private capital advisory/private funds/secondary at a BB/EB): I assume these roles allow you to work

04 Mar 2021

Hey Guys/ Gals, I have been following WSO for a few years now. This is my first post and my goal here is to seek advice, as well as extend it in anyway I can, given my situation. Situation: I went to a non- target in the south for undergrad and managed to get a F150 corp dev job right out of school this year. I went through a pretty extensive networking effort to obtain an IB role these past few years, but nobody wanted me as their slave. I am super grateful for this position during a pandemic-- and although I am only a few months in-- I am receiving great exposure to senior executives

20 Aug 2020

Recently got offered an associate role at a Big 4 firm for M&A Advisory. This is in a relatively stable middle eastern country. They would start me at Associate 2 and fast track to Manager in 1,5 years which is a pretty good deal. Manager is akin to a VP in this group. I would be 27 by the time I'm an M&A manager so I guess it is somewhat impressive? Another very important thing to consider, the M&A role is unlike what big 4 does in the US which is due diligence and integration consulting. It is pretty much traditional investment banking. Because big 4 has a big footprint in this country and

09 May 2021

[Mod Note: WSO now has a Company Database where you can filter by industry (PE) and zip code: //www.wallstreetoasis.com/wso-company-database] So to go off Nouveau Richie's idea for lists of hedge funds, I am going to create a list of private equity frims. Post a city you are interested in and I will try to run a screen on Capital IQ. Please take into account that spring break is about to start for me, so I apologize in advance for the delay in response. I am going to start off with New York, Chicago, and LA.

12 Mar 2011

Monkeys - I'm a first year Associate at a MM PE firm in NY, and previously did two years at a top BB. After spending the last ~8 months getting completely grinded (not to mention 2 years in IB) in an all virtual environment, I find myself constantly thinking about the life experiences I am missing, and want to transition to a job that has more reasonable work life balance. I am specifically interested in pursuing strategy / strat. finance type roles at a high-growth tech company in SF or NY (or remote!). This would include both FAANG+, as well as established "hot" startups (Series B/C/D, etc.)

21 Mar 2021

Hi everyone, I'll be joining a private equity fund as a summer analyst in a few months and wanted to get a sense on what I can expect from the summer experience in the way of responsibilities, hours, as well as what good/bad interns do. Anything you can offer would be super helpful. Thanks for the time. -NotF

16 Mar 2021

Any tax experts here? I believe when tax regulations change, the changes are often implemented retroactively (by a bit)? If this is the case, all the articles (today's WSJ, yesterday's FT, among many others) about a surge of deals (being pulled ahead to close before any potential increase in tax rates) might be in error, as the tax reg's might get backdated to encompass 2021 deals. Thoughts/corrections?

29 Apr 2021