PE to Buy-Side/AM

Since I have received high quality feedback in previous posts in this forum, I’d like to see what the take is on going into let’s say an associate or VP level role at a Real Estate PE Firm then trying to find exit opps into a hedge fund or AM. I am going to take a wild guess and say it’s not the best but would really appreciate the input.

That’s the exact opposite path everyone is going. Private Equity is the hot thing right now

Well that explains why the recruiter made a job posting saying “Private Equity Firm hiring Analysts, Associates, VPs!!! Apply now, come on down!” not verbatim but pretty close lol

Maybe I should take a page out of Warren playbook then, be fearful when others are PE greedy?

https://www.ft.com/content/c74e10c6-47d2-11e8-8ae9-4b5ddcca99b3

https://www.ft.com/content/c363b86a-336b-11e8-b5bf-23cb17fd1498

https://www.forbes.com/sites/baininsights/2018/03/28/private-equity-fund-raising-has-been-good-maybe-too-good/

4.1 percent GDP growth (this can be argued I know) record low unemployment, big bonuses for alllll. Gotta make that money grow somehow right LPs?!?!

But hey, when and not IF we contract, hopefully PE will be isolated via lock up periods to avoid mass redemption. At least long enough for me not to receive a pink slip like 6 months after starting a new role.

Maybe it’s a good play from the job security standpoint alone?

Why don’t you go work for the industry you are interested in? If not that, then why don’t you try to just do a good job where you get hired?

Because there aren’t a ton of opportunities in the geography I am looking in for exactly what I want to do. I am just an opportunist in the sense that I will apply to roles in industries that aren’t ideal considering I haven’t worked in 6 months and now getting pretty stir crazy.

If you can land a position at a reputable PE style (opportunistic) real estate shop then I think that’s a smart move. Should give you a good experience that will stand to you later in your career if you do want to switch.

If anything, PE if a more attractive place to be than hedge funds as others have said. Average hedge fund industry performance has been disappointing for the last few years, whereas investors have mostly been happy with PE. Of course a major market correction could see that reverse!

Asset management is a bit different. It would really depend on the role you are looking for, but a lot of pension funds and endowments would look to hire someone who has direct investing experience in real estate. I don’t see a problem there.

Thanks for the input! I suppose that answers my question then.

real estate PE funds are just fancy name for developers or companies that buy and sell real estate with investors…Much like how hedge funds are fancy way of saying they manage money by investing/betting and is free to charge performance fees unlike mutual funds and hedge funds don’t “hedge”…when the market tanks, hedge funds tank.

so my neighbor builds 2-3 residential complexes in Westchester county as his side job. He usually has 1 or 2 friends or family member as investors. He can call himself Real Estate PE Fund if he really wants to…

As for Carson, PE performance has been under heavy scrutiny as of late with the whole IRR calculations haha. Bottom line is that just like hedge funds, PE funds’ performance ain’t all that rosy…Most of the funds fail to beat their benchmarks…Don’t even go SP500, which is untouchable for most HF and PE funds. (of course the GPs make crap ton of money…LPs just make the left over crumb).

Yeah there are TONS of these so-called “PE Real Estate Funds” down here in FL. Miami especially. It’s just a sexy name to slap on there. In any event, my job search has really dried up in the past two weeks. Not sure how it is up there but I think a lot of people go on vacation in August down here because the weather is absolutely awful the entire month and first few weeks of Sept.

only issue with REPE fund is to look at how stable they are/commitments & such. Were certainly late cycle and when the shoe drops some firms are going to be stuck with assets & theyll be handing back the keys. if they have a large & diverse enough portfolio its not a problem to hand back a few assets but some smaller firms it can certainly be an issue as a going concern

well it looks like real estate funds actually perform pretty well…better than hedge funds or other private equity (venture, M&A, LBO) funds according to:

https://www.ft.com/content/a66581a6-e599-3fed-ac19-807ddd37b130

But do their entry to mid level employees get paid better than hedge funds or PE? :wink: