(Serious) PE Funds with Good WLB
What are some funds or teams with good WLB and what do you give up at these funds to attain it?
After the recent dumpster fire of a discussion, wanted to start one with non-sarcastic replies.
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Apollo.
Centerbridge
Audax
Kinderhook Industries seemed to have a great crew of people. Not sure how hard they get worked, but a good environment and great people there.
This is true. Don’t work there, but the head guys have cultivated a fun, collegial, and hard working culture.
Simply put you don't have good WLB wherever you go because in a deal environment when a deal is on, life outside of work must stop.
If you put the global spectrum of WLB on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0=chill 40 hour workweek and 10=Apollo, most PE firms fall into 9-10.
Optimizing for whether you find a 9 or a 10 is kind of missing the point.
Okay analyst
Analyst title is to anonymize, Principal in PE "I'm flexing my title for internet strangers" - LBOs
My point is that it actually does vary a lot… yes deal sprints are brutal no matter where you work but they’re exactly that — sprints. You might sprint for 2-4 weeks per deal maybe 3-4 times a year?
The other like 70% of the year really matter and varies a lot by firm. At the grindy end, you could be at a firm that sees 3,000 deals per year, does extensive work pre-IOI, submits a ton of initial bids, hangs around the hoop on processes, etc. vs. a firm that is more selective. Or you could be at a firm with minimal internal infrastructure and spend a disproportionate amount of time on reporting, quarterly letters, IR, etc. or you could do none of that.
Even on live deals there are a ton of factors that impact WLB and make the difference between 80 hour weeks and 90 hour weeks (and there’s a huge difference between the two).
These things make a huge difference on your overall WLB. To use your 1-10 scale, there certainly won’t be any firms below a 5 but to say the only two options are 9 and 10 is alarmist.
I don't think this is an unfair question. Even on a live deal, there are firm dynamics that can vary the pain - staffing model, IC process, WFH/hybrid, etc.
That said, I think the firms with the best lifestyle protection are likely MM firms that fly under the radar and have single digit number of partners which helps keep culture insulated and protected. Once you become an institutional fund, you probably fall more or less in line with lifestyle practices of other comparable funds.
Bain Capital from the account of a friend there. Note: good WLB != low hours. He still works a lot. Good WLB means your firm understands if there’s an emergency that you need to take care of, and your firm believes in sufficient rest after a deal sprint. Agreed on the fact that a deal sprint means your life becomes your job.
Hours and WLB at Bain Capital are absolutely horrendous. They are just more polite than people at other firms.
Thanks for your first-hand experience, Manager in Consulting.
I know people at LMM funds who work very chill hours. Pay is heavily weighted to carry so cash comp is lower. Seems worth the trade off though, guy never cancels on me.
Directionally yes but would advise against blindly joining a LMM firm for WLB. I know a few that are absolutely brutal, worse than some MFs (speaking from first hand experience here—it’s surreal to be working hours more trying to do a $5mm EBITDA deal than a $500mm EBITDA deal). It boils down to team culture and strategy.
Any you can name? Or at least give cities / fund size
Any info on: Platinum, Towerbrook, Searchlight, & TA? In terms of culture / WLB
All very sweaty, culture isn’t great at all either
Insights on any / reasons why?
TA is horrible culture and WLB
Insights / specifics?
Searchlight has terrible culture and sweaty. mini-Apollo
*ignore title, currently senior associate at west coast fund
Roommate works at HGGC says it has very good culture and is killing it recently in the MM space. Fundraising momentum is really strong and who doesn’t want to work for Steve young lol
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