I am interested in pursuing a career in a Private Equity company. However sometimes it’s worth to start small and later enter into a big role. Most importantly experience plays a crucial role for consideration. Remember I don’t have experience and currently in an asset management company pursuing a support role (marketing). Below is an opportunity that has arisen in small company. The commpany is a specialist investment company for small and medium enterprises. **//Investment Trainee// The successful candidate will be qualified in Commerce, Business Studies or Accounting and share our aspiration of investing in successful independent businesses. The individual will have excellent communication skills. He/she must be computer literate and must be able to work under pressure and with deadlines. Key Duties & Responsibilities: Analyse financial statements General office administration Client liaison **// Questions: - Should I pursue this role? ie is it worth it? - Should I rather complete an MBA (current employer may finance, will take 2 years to complete) and seek a role within the company?
This position is basically for a middle office role in a PE firm. Either you’ll be working with the IR/marketing team, or just doing some type of internal finance. You’d think this sounds like a good idea to be working for a “PE firm,” but I think this is very unlikely to translate into a transacting role. If you’re hoping to get into PE at some point, you really need to get banking experience pre-MBA or having something else special about your resume. Without pre-MBA experience in PE, it will be hard to get into PE on a post-MBA level.
Numi, Do you think the company that supercom is talking about one of those SBICs companies? I read in that Fed article you recommended in the other thread, that those companies hold a very small portion of the PE market share. In your opinion, how good would be a work experience at one of those companies? Thanks.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you’re hoping to get into PE > at some point, you really need to get banking > experience pre-MBA or having something else > special about your resume. Without pre-MBA > experience in PE, it will be hard to get into PE > on a post-MBA level. Numi, I’m curious about these statements. What about someone that whose career progression goes like this: Unrelated Work Experience (4-5 years) -> Top 15 MBA -> I-Banking Associate (2? years)->? Are you saying that this is *not* a progression that could potentially then lead to the next step being PE? I know that this isnt the standard I-bank -> PE -> MBA -> Back to PE/Whatever or the other standard of I-bank -> MBA -> PE, but it seems pretty close Thanks
krnyc2008 - not sure how well SBIC work translates to a straight-up transacting role as is the case with banking or PE. Based on my limited understanding of SBIC’s, it seems like they make pretty small minority investments in VC and PE opportunities. i don’t know what their investment process was, but they’re generally not in the business of doing buyouts and really only invest small quantities of money in small companies, as far as i understand. farney – it’s possible for that person to transition out of an IBD associate role and get into PE. however, while investment banks are much more open to hiring people out of business school who don’t have prior transacting experience, that’s not the case with PE. there are so many people that want to get into PE post-MBA that the people with PE experience on the pre-MBA level get the first crack at it, followed by bankers, followed by consultants. it’s not impossible to land a PE job after business school without prior PE experience, but it’s difficult and i wouldn’t recommend it if you can get into PE before business school. that was a big factor in my decision to do PE before going back to business school (in fall of 2010), as well as the fact that i’d spent the last 2.5 years in equity research and didn’t want to do that anymore.
95% of people moving into PE these days come from one of two areas: - I-Banking (min. 2 yrs) - Management Consulting (min. 2 yrs at a top tier firm such as McKinsey, BCG, or a handful of others) It’s as simple as that. Coming from one of those two areas is a right of passage. If you do not have an MBA, you will go in as an Analyst. If you have an MBA (from a top school), you will go in as an Associate.
Thanks Nume for reply. I am still trying to figure out how this industry operates, and the reading you recommended was very helpful…
sbic funds can lead buyouts but most of the ones i’m familiar with are small (under $200MM aum) and typically do minority co-investments and mezzanine. we originally applied for sbic funding and we’re a lead equity sponsor. it’s a pretty sweet deal if you get it - they’ll match $2 for every $1 raised so that definitely limits the amount of fundraising and i believe they only require a certain level of preferred return, anything above is carry for the GPs. i’m not too familiar with all of the restrictions but i know you can’t invest in certain sectors and situations. which sbic are you looking at?
Sorry… Misspelled your nickname krnyc2008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks Numi for reply. I am still trying to > figure out how this industry operates, and the > reading you recommended was very helpful…
Is it not true that a lot of PE guys recruited from industry as well? For example, a fund that focuses on tech firms hiring a VP of finance from a tech company. I was reading the The Deal, it mentioned a lot of PE guys get picked up in this manner.
fredfunk04 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- which sbic are you looking at? If this question is for me… I am actually not looking at any particular sbic - just doing a research on the pe industry and the opportunities that it offers. I have been working in an asset management company (ABS group) for about a year, and not very happy with what’s going on in the ABS sector. I realized that I enjoy more analyzing companies (we do thorough company due diligence for private ABS transactions), rather than ABS structures. From what I read on AF so far the best path for me would be : MBA---->IBD BB------> PE
krnyc2008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > fredfunk04 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > which sbic are you looking at? > > > If this question is for me… > > I am actually not looking at any particular sbic - > just doing a research on the pe industry and the > opportunities that it offers. I have been working > in an asset management company (ABS group) for > about a year, and not very happy with what’s going > on in the ABS sector. I realized that I enjoy more > analyzing companies (we do thorough company due > diligence for private ABS transactions), rather > than ABS structures. From what I read on AF so far > the best path for me would be : MBA---->IBD > BB------> PE top 10/15 MBA --> top associate @ BB IBD ----> possibly PE
if you can get into PE or IB before MBA, then by all means…otherwise, business school + networking like mad is probably the way to go
pacmandefense Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > krnyc2008 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > fredfunk04 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > which sbic are you looking at? > > > > > > If this question is for me… > > > > I am actually not looking at any particular sbic > - > > just doing a research on the pe industry and > the > > opportunities that it offers. I have been > working > > in an asset management company (ABS group) for > > about a year, and not very happy with what’s > going > > on in the ABS sector. I realized that I enjoy > more > > analyzing companies (we do thorough company due > > diligence for private ABS transactions), rather > > than ABS structures. From what I read on AF so > far > > the best path for me would be : MBA---->IBD > > BB------> PE > > top 10/15 MBA --> top associate @ BB IBD ----> > possibly PE Yes I agree that it has to be top school… I also realize that to get to a top school, I would need more than 2 years of experience. Therefore the question arises whether I should stay at my current place after two years, or try to diversify my experience and look for something that could make me more competitive?
krnyc2008 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > pacmandefense Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > krnyc2008 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > fredfunk04 Wrote: > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > ----- > > > which sbic are you looking at? > > > > > > > > > If this question is for me… > > > > > > I am actually not looking at any particular > sbic > > - > > > just doing a research on the pe industry and > > the > > > opportunities that it offers. I have been > > working > > > in an asset management company (ABS group) > for > > > about a year, and not very happy with what’s > > going > > > on in the ABS sector. I realized that I enjoy > > more > > > analyzing companies (we do thorough company > due > > > diligence for private ABS transactions), > rather > > > than ABS structures. From what I read on AF > so > > far > > > the best path for me would be : MBA---->IBD > > > BB------> PE > > > > top 10/15 MBA --> top associate @ BB IBD ----> > > possibly PE > > > Yes I agree that it has to be top school… I also > realize that to get to a top school, I would need > more than 2 years of experience. Therefore the > question arises whether I should stay at my > current place after two years, or try to diversify > my experience and look for something that could > make me more competitive? I’m personally in the boat of not being able to transition to banking or PE prior to B-school (this is very difficult if you dont work in finance at all, especially with the current job market). I’m leaning towards sucking it up for another year here and applying to schools, then hopefully ibanking then PE. It is not easy to get a true transaction based job in PE with no banking experience at all.
Yep… That’s what I heard… Some people manage though:)
pacmandefense Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > krnyc2008 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > fredfunk04 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > which sbic are you looking at? > > > > > > If this question is for me… > > > > I am actually not looking at any particular sbic > - > > just doing a research on the pe industry and > the > > opportunities that it offers. I have been > working > > in an asset management company (ABS group) for > > about a year, and not very happy with what’s > going > > on in the ABS sector. I realized that I enjoy > more > > analyzing companies (we do thorough company due > > diligence for private ABS transactions), rather > > than ABS structures. From what I read on AF so > far > > the best path for me would be : MBA---->IBD > > BB------> PE > > top 10/15 MBA --> top associate @ BB IBD ----> > possibly PE your experience due diligencing companies and modeling them should be rather transferable. there are actually a good number of small no name funds under $200MM including your sbics and young / first-time funds started by proven partners that left larger funds. these places don’t adhere as strictly to the bulge bracket ib or mbb consulting experience requirement as the apollos and silver lakes of the world. i’ve seen some associates and analysts with backgrounds in valuations, transaction accounting, commercial lending, etc. i encourage you to consider these as well because you may have better luck breaking into the industry at the smaller end and working your way to a larger more prestigious fund. to broaden your opps. i’d say go to a top 10 mba that’s strong in finance and pe - i know wharton and columbia have strong pe networks and pe clubs and conferences. if you don’t land a pe position directly out of mba, at least you can still go into bb ibd. i’m at a small fund right now currently exploring my options to move up the food chain and also looking at applying for b-school this fall. if you’re in nyc, i encourage you to check out nypen events.
and Tuck
Thanks fredfunk04! Yes I am in NYC and will definitely check out NYPEN events. fredfunk04 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > pacmandefense Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > krnyc2008 Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > fredfunk04 Wrote: > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > ----- > > > which sbic are you looking at? > > > > > > > > > If this question is for me… > > > > > > I am actually not looking at any particular > sbic > > - > > > just doing a research on the pe industry and > > the > > > opportunities that it offers. I have been > > working > > > in an asset management company (ABS group) > for > > > about a year, and not very happy with what’s > > going > > > on in the ABS sector. I realized that I enjoy > > more > > > analyzing companies (we do thorough company > due > > > diligence for private ABS transactions), > rather > > > than ABS structures. From what I read on AF > so > > far > > > the best path for me would be : MBA---->IBD > > > BB------> PE > > > > top 10/15 MBA --> top associate @ BB IBD ----> > > possibly PE > > > your experience due diligencing companies and > modeling them should be rather transferable. > there are actually a good number of small no name > funds under $200MM including your sbics and young > / first-time funds started by proven partners that > left larger funds. these places don’t adhere as > strictly to the bulge bracket ib or mbb consulting > experience requirement as the apollos and silver > lakes of the world. i’ve seen some associates and > analysts with backgrounds in valuations, > transaction accounting, commercial lending, etc. > i encourage you to consider these as well because > you may have better luck breaking into the > industry at the smaller end and working your way > to a larger more prestigious fund. to broaden > your opps. i’d say go to a top 10 mba that’s > strong in finance and pe - i know wharton and > columbia have strong pe networks and pe clubs and > conferences. if you don’t land a pe position > directly out of mba, at least you can still go > into bb ibd. i’m at a small fund right now > currently exploring my options to move up the food > chain and also looking at applying for b-school > this fall. if you’re in nyc, i encourage you to > check out nypen events.
Gouman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Is it not true that a lot of PE guys recruited > from industry as well? For example, a fund that > focuses on tech firms hiring a VP of finance from > a tech company. I was reading the The Deal, it > mentioned a lot of PE guys get picked up in this > manner. These people are recruited to senior levels (i.e. VP, Director or higher), not Analyst / Associate levels that people on this forum are gunning for. Executives are recruited to (A) source new deals through their vast network and/or (B) add value and knowledge to existing portfolio companies in their realm of expertise.