Are private equity people smart?
Private Equity Career Training
Private equity professionals work long hours and are highly competitive and must think critically, and have a passion for financial investing deals, not just following the markets. Other requirements to start a career in private equity are: Excellent grades and a notable transcript in school.
Compared to other jobs in the financial space, private equity roles can provide a more balanced lifestyle, potential for better pay and more engaging, connected work. Private equity is growing in popularity, and an increasing number of college graduates or financial professionals are looking to break into the space.
IB is full of hardworking people and sometimes with great sales skills but to be honest not the smartest guys on earth. Some very senior guys are truly impressive but majority is average.
The most prestigious private equity firms are the ones that have a track record of consistent performance over a long period of time. These firms will have a strong reputation for their expertise in identifying profitable investments, managing distressed companies, and implementing successful exit strategies.
but nowhere near as much as in management consulting. While the travel will be less, the work in private equity is very stressful and demanding, so the hours you actually spend working may be more stressful or mentally demanding.
Working at a Private Equity Firm
The private equity business attracts some of the best in corporate America, including top performers from Fortune 500 companies and elite management consulting firms.
Private equity investors also face greater market risk with their investments compared to traditional investments since there's no guarantee that any of the small companies in which private equity firms invest will grow at all.
Because private equity investments take a long-term approach to capitalising new businesses, developing innovative business models and restructuring distressed businesses, they tend not to have high correlations with public equity funds, making them a desirable diversifier in investment portfolios.
| Private Equity Salary Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Year Associate | $135k – $155k | $275k – $385k |
| 2nd Year Associate | $160k – $180k | $330k – $450k |
| 3rd Year Associate | $180k – $200k | $360k – $500k |
| Senior Associate | $200k – $220k | $410k – $610k |
What career has the highest IQ?
- Professions with the highest IQ requirements are:
- Doctors.
- Physicists - mathematicians - scientists.
- College professors.
- Directors in all corporations.
- Pilots.
- System Engineers.
- Electrical engineers.
How high must your IQ be if you want to work in banking? If you're an M&A junior assembling pitch books, an IQ above 110 should stand you in very good stead. If you're a quant working on complex trading algorithms or answering impossible hedge fund interview questions, it's going need to be several notches higher.
The path to riches doesn't necessarily require high IQ scores or an extensive list of academic achievements. Your unique qualities, emotional intelligence, creativity, perseverance and practical skills can be your secret weapons on the journey to financial success.
It's no secret that private equity firms have a bad reputation. They're often seen as ruthless vultures that swoop in to buy up struggling companies, slash costs, and then sell them off for a profit.
Analysts at all types of private equity firms earn significantly less than Associates, just as Analysts in IB earn significantly less than Associates. In fact, PE Analysts often earn less than IB Analysts! So, you might initially make less money if you start in private equity.
And even if there is a path, advancement can be challenging because Partners rarely get “burned out” and leave. You could end up doing a lot of cold calling, research, or portfolio company monitoring rather than deal execution – and even if you do work on deals, you'll be lucky to close ~1 major transaction per year.
PE is all about deployment of capital via valuation of target companies, and return optimization based on the PE firm objectives. If you are the models person, the valuations person or the treasury person with multiple currencies exposures then a lot of math.
Raising enough capital is extremely difficult, and a startup PE firm requires more capital than a startup hedge fund. There are no second chances if you fail. It's stressful and time-consuming, and you'll almost certainly take a pay cut when starting out.
As for hours, both private equity and investment banking can be demanding careers. However, investment bankers tend to work longer hours, often working late into the night and on weekends. Private equity firms also tend to have a more relaxed work environment and offer more flexible hours.
| Annual Salary | Weekly Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Earners | $241,298 | $4,640 |
| 75th Percentile | $187,500 | $3,605 |
| Average | $143,004 | $2,750 |
| 25th Percentile | $113,500 | $2,182 |
What are the odds of breaking into private equity?
For a student looking to break into one of the top 10 PE firms, your chance is 1 in 300 or 0.33%. To break into one of the top 10 hedge fund firms, your chance is 1 in 147 or 0.68%.
Ultimately, it depends on your goals and needs. If you're an established company looking to expand or restructure, PE may be a better fit. If you're an early-stage company looking to grow and develop, VC investment would make more sense.
Private Equity Associate Lifestyle and Hours
At many smaller funds and middle-market funds, you can expect to work 60-70 hours per week, mostly on weekdays, with occasional weekend work when deals heat up.
| Position | Typical Time in Role | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Associate | 2 – 3 Years | $50k – $150k |
| Senior Associate | 2 – 3 Years | $100k – $200k |
| Vice President | 3 – 4 Years | $200k – $500k |
| Director | 3 – 4 Years | $250k – $600k |
Heidrick & Struggle's data suggests that at the top end, a managing partner in a private equity firm with at least $1bn in Assets Under Management (AUM), can expect to earn at least $3.5m in salaries and bonuses, plus around $35m in carried interest over a fund's lifecycle (typically around five years).
