I’m working at FTI in the Restructuring group, but with things being so slow, I want to try to transition into Private Equity. I don’t have any CDD experience, so was thinking about trying that out first to make my case stronger. Two questions though. 1. Would this be an advisable path to take? 2. I’m looking at EYP and Kearney PEMA. Which one would be best for a transition into PE in a year or two? Or are there other firms (besides MBB) that would have better exit options? EY-Parthenon Kearney
I think “easiest” path to PE will be to hop to an IB for an Analyst stint to recruit in the traditional way. Hopping between consulting firms may make the story marginally better for PE, but still very uphill. Also no guarantee you’d even be staffed on ideal projects
I agree with consultant 1 - if you want PE go the traditional path.
As someone who made the jump from Restructuring (AlixPartners) to PE, I would recommend a few things.
1) Agree with the above comments that switching to another consulting firm is generally not the way to go. Consulting experience is generally not looked upon very favorably by PE firms so EYP/Kearney vs FTI isn’t a huge difference.
2) if you want to be on the origination side of PE, the truth is that making the jump to IB is almost 100% necessary. Sure, there have been people who have made the jump without it. But it is very difficult to do. And even then, those jumps are almost always to LMM firms. You’re not getting a job at Blackstone with FTI Restructuring experience.
3) If you’re looking to make the jump to non-origination roles, like PE portfolio management, that’s definitely possible (albeit not easy to find). The biggest difference is that instead of finding new investments for the company (origination), you would be managing current portfolio companies. In my current role, I do zero origination (which I think is a plus bc it’s zero travel) but manage all the responsibilities for our current investments (from reporting/tracking to follow on investments/M&A deals). Consulting experience, particularly restructuring, can be a useful way to make yourself competitive for those kind of roles. You just have to know how to sell yourself and your experience.