My fund shut down. What's now?
Hi guys,
Long time user on this forum and right now I am an Associate in a private equity fund managing some portfolio (~$2bn AUM) and latest news is the fund is shutting down due to disputes within partners and the anchor individual who we were managing the companies on behalf of.
Needless to say, this was not the outcome expected as the plan was to manage those companies (in which the partners of my fund are significant minorities), cash in the sale and fundraise. Opportunity was risky yet potentially very lucrative (as i was getting good carry being the first junior)
Long story short this is not gonna happen as the biggest shareholder cleared out the mandate and we are shutting down the fund. Partners at my fund offered help to find a job and said they're happy to explain situation to headhunters and help me as they can. Effectively runway is not a big issue so far as i will be on payroll for a few months + severance / bonus. One senior partner said if anything he will work on needs a junior i will be in, needless to say while this is very good, but I am not in his shoes and he does not really have pressure to work in mid-short term, so who knows.
Clearly, given the market and the fact I am in this role since less than 1 year, this is not ideal. Any suggestion and tips are more than welcomed on what to look for / how to play it with headhunter as i see some are quite reluctant to talk.
For reference, background is:
Analyst - Associate in EB -> Moved to this PE fund -> ...
Cheers
Sorry to hear, this happened to me years back. I ended up going to bschool, I saw the writing on the wall a few months in advance and did round 2 applications
What fund is this lol
That’s wild, curious to hear the name of the shop you’re in
Has to be OpenView. Really sucks for everyone there.
after looking through the entire openview list, i can confirm his bio doesn't match up with openview empoyees
Quit tryina stalk the kid ffs, it doesn't matter.
OP here - Not Openview but I'm afraid I won't disclose the name rn.
Can you give us an idea of fund type? Late stage, venture, growth, etc? Thanks.
Why? Its no longer operating
Sorry to hear, really sucks. Curious to know how much carry % you were given and what the vesting schedule was like?
I’m in a similar situation where I have the opportunity to join a new PE fund as the first junior.
OP here. I’ll pm you
I would
A) Keep working hard and stay on good terms with all your supervisors
B) Find some time to grab lunch with VPs and above. Ask each of them about their future plans, offer up that you're obviously in the market to if any of them need a junior where they're going. Politely inquire as to if they've got any leads of other funds their friends are at that need junior bodies.
C) Work the recruiting circuit. It's a shit market as far as I know, but there are certainly some MM roles being posted by the usual suspect head hunters. I actually think you could have good success with this. A lot of headhunters posting off-cycle PE roles are getting spammed by laid off bankers, boutique guys, accounting guys trying to break into IB/PE without direct experience, etc. I think at least some of these headhunters will realize direct PE experience and EB experience will make you a quality candidate and thus will see you as highly placeable (ie, likely to earn them a commission) and will keep in touch with frequent opportunities.
D) I'd just include on your resume in parenthesis and the first bullet point a brief explanation of what happened. Ex:
XYZ Capital Partners - Private Equity Associate (Fund Currently In Wind-Down)
Thank you - appreciate the inputs and yes on point C you’re right. Big issue is so far is some headhunters are reluctant to reply but once I explain the story they’re very understanding and say it’s not my fault nor a big issue in their view.
Hey OP, could you DM? Would love to know which fund.
Forget Bschool.
Call the anchor individual and ask to work for him. Someone is left holding $2bn in assets in a messy situation and needs help making sense of the portfolio and managing it.
What’s the worst that can happen? If he’s game the initiative you show will catapult your career.
OP, if possible DM me. I've heard a similar thing about a firm and wondering if it's the same -- the anchor is trying to raise capital for something else.
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