how to get into private equity?

Hi, 

Sharing my experience based on working in BCG's PE practice and having friends in PE as well.

• The most typical path to PE (deal team) is through IB, they recruit most of their junior analysts after ~2-3 years in IB
• Some PE firms do hire from top MBAs (e.g. H/S/W) but even then the preference is for IB experience prior
• It is possible for consultants at MBB to make the switch, but you need to switch relatively quickly e.g. ~3 years in MBB, before you reach Manager level
• Once you are at Manager, it becomes very difficult to switch to deal team 
• If you are thinking of Ops team (i.e. value creation), then the switch is more flexible (you can join junior or more senior)

Happy to have a short chat with anyone considering this - just drop me a dm

Hi Bob,

It's a very general question asked without a lot of context given - yes, for sure it's possible, but it mainly depends on your credentials which make you attractive (or not) for private equity. Definitely, consulting is not the only safe way into PE anyway.

Robert

Honestly to break into PE investment roles post consulting you will have to go through the pains of breaking into consulting once again.

I know I am kind of a bummer right now but hear me out.

The skills you will have to do as an investment associate at PE firms will be different than what you are doing in consulting roles, and yes including the DDs you have done for the PE firms. These PE firms will appreciate you more if you come from IB buy side background since IB jobs more closely resembles PE investment roles.

This is not saying that having consulting background does not add value, because it does, but not as much as IB roles do. Your consulting background will be merely viewed as a brand name and not transferrable experience.

Hence if you do want to break into PE investment roles I would suggest to skip consulting and go ahead with PE. The more senior you get, the more difficult it will be. Just my two cents.

Hello!

To give you an insightful response about your posibilities, we would need to know a little bit more about yourself (your title, university, experience if any, class rank, etc.)

For sure it´s a possibility, and also it´s clear that going from Consulting is one of the usual doors. 

However, as mentioned, "general" is not that useful and best thing would be to know what applies to you especifically. 

Hope it helps! 

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi Bob,

If I understood correctly, you would like to:

• Do a couple of years in the industry
• Join a consulting firm
• Join a PE fund

Theoretically it is possible, but PE is very competitive. Moreover, you would have better chances at PE doing IB for a top brand (GS, MS, JPM) than Tier 2-3 consulting companies (MBB should still give you a chance if you do due diligence there, but IB gives you more chances).

Best,

Francesco      

Hi A,

In general, PE firm recruiting from top consulting firms as well as from Investment Banking background. However, one of the prerequisites for being recruited is that you already have relevant experience. Don't expect PE firm will teach you any basics in finance. So by the time of your application you have to prove your finance skills (in a parallel you can do a CFA being a business analyst) and ideally have been completed a couple of due-diligence projects with McKinsey. These are key requirements to be selected and invited to the PE firm.


Best,
André