WSO Weekly Wrap-up

August 23, 2025

Hey WSO Monkey,

This week’s lineup has a little of everything, from insights from an HF PM reflecting on 14 years across L/S shops to some honest takes on life after IB/PE. Scroll through when you’ve got the time.

-Patrick

Top Discussions

  1. Q&A: HF PM After 14 Years in L/S (Credit, Tiger Cub, and Pod) - "What the title says - have had a unique career in that I've spent time across most of L/S, with stints at a credit HF, directional SM (one of the big tiger cubs), a start-up L/S fund, and a multi-manager (even had a short taste of MMPE as an analyst out of UG). I can't go into much more detail on sequence or trajectory without making it obvious who I am. Have lots of close friends at the top of some of the large LO's, but that's the main seat I've never directly worked in. I'm currently in a risk taking seat and have had associates / analysts / senior analysts work for me with public market exp that ranged from 0-1yrs on low end to ~5-6 on high end..."

  2. Venture Capital Is Paradise - "At first this gnaws at you. You wanted to be a capital allocator. An independent thinker. A true steward of innovation. But then you remember - this is venture capital. Your job is not to find undiscovered unicorns. Your job is to stay close enough to the winners other people pick so you can post about them later. No one is breathing down your neck about quarterly reporting. No LP is calling to yell about capital calls. Your calendar says “coffee chat” more than “model review.” You can “pass” on a deal without even writing why. And when you think about the nights in banking eating Seamless at 1:00 a.m. over a merger model you realize… this is better. Much better..."

  3. Grass Is Greener in a Life Beyond IB/PE? - "IB / PE are great jobs for the uninspired because they dominate your life and you have the perception that if you can put the rest of life on cruise control and just focus on this one thing you’ll be rewarded with money and prestige. The snuck premise behind this is that everything will work out perfectly in the office and you won’t get ejected from the industry involuntarily like most people. Outside of the idealized IB/PE career path, everything is more ambiguous. Careers are less clear and when suddenly you have a bunch of unallocated time, it might reveal to you how little depth your life has outside of work which can be very frightening and off putting for people. You blame the career switch for why you don’t feel great about yourself and your life rather than realizing it was the complete lack of non-professional things you can be proud of that now leave you feeling vulnerable and inadequate. You compare yourself to others still on the path and extrapolate what their outcomes will be in 10 years and, because of the ambiguity of corporate careers, discount where you’ll be in 10 years. All of this reinforces an inferiority complex that dominates the people posting on WSO about regretting their career change..."

Your Guide to Landing a Role in Private Equity

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Top Discussions (contd.)

  1. Q&A: Career Mobility / Internally Lateral’Ed - Moved From Back/Middle Office Into a More Revenue Generating Role - "Sounds real cringe but it's true - recruiting is Preparedness meet Opportunity... there's no secret formula but to get yourself well prepared before the opportunity even comes around (which is the tough part)... practice makes perfect and once you get to your 10th or 15th interview (hope u dont have to..), you'll be in great shape to walk in any interview with better success rate / moving on to next round..."

  2. The Irony of SAAS / Tech Banking - "Yeah it’s pretty funny the best business models are everything an advisory firm is not, but the main reason you don’t see bankers doing what you’re proposing is because the type of person who is a talented banker and the type of person who is a talented tech entrepreneur are two very different people. IB is the best toolkit to learn how to analyze businesses which essentially gives you the blueprint on what the KPIs of a good business should be (you’d be surprised how many scaled tech companies are still trying to figure out what metrics matter lmao), but that’s not the same skillset you need to be a great operational CFO to get those metrics hit. Whether or not you could be a visionary CEO depends mostly on your personality and creativity,and you’d need a stellar cofounder to build whatever you imagine up. This is a long winded way of saying that most vanilla bankers aren’t cut out for the entrepreneur life, but I’d imagine the few that are are doomed to be very successful if they can build the right team of executors around them."

  3. Healthcare IB Group Rankings - "It does take into account where banks tend to land on both fronts. GS tends to be towards the top in both (often buyer’s advisor if CVP is sellside, and often LL BR) but not always. JPM tends to be stronger in equities vs. M&A and just is a big shop which drives volume, which gives them a very slight edge over MS, plus the benefit of a big balance sheet. MS similar to GS but would argue slightly worse on both fronts re: positioning on M&A and equities. BofA is certainly best of the rest of the BBs in HC by a meaningful gap, but on less M&A total and will take financing seats to the right of GS/JPM/MS, while also having a big balance sheet to draw on. Evercore will have some good M&A roles at times and decent 2/3rd seats on financing but overall rounds out the list..."

New Podcasts Coming in Hot 🔥

  • University of Sydney to CLSA

  • Copenhagen Business School to PWC | Chat with Frederik Bang-Hansen | WSO Academy

Hot Jobs 💼

Finance Expert - "Mercor is hiring seasoned Finance professionals to join an exciting collaboration with a top AI research lab. The role involves contributing to the development and evaluation of advanced AI systems built to mimic real-world workflows across Investment Banking, Private Equity, Asset Management, and Equity Research. You'll help train, test, and calibrate AI agents on complex financial tasks derived from M&A, IPOs, debt offerings, equity research, pitchbook development, and more..."

Strategic Finance Expert - "Mercor is hiring experienced Finance professionals to join an exciting collaboration with a top AI research lab. This role involves contributing to the development and evaluation of advanced AI systems designed to replicate real-world workflows across Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Strategic Finance, Corporate Finance, Treasury, and Budgeting & Forecasting. You'll help train, test, and calibrate AI agents on complex financial tasks such as budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, cash flow modeling, and strategic financial planning..."

WSO Mentor - "Are you an experienced professional with a background in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, S&T, venture capital, asset management, equity research, quant finance, corporate dev, real estate finance, or top-tier consulting? Passionate about mentoring the next generation of leaders? Wall Street Oasis (WSO) is expanding its Mentorship Program, and we're looking for outstanding professionals to join our mentor roster—an elite network supporting students and young professionals as they prepare for high-stakes careers. Whether you’re looking to give back, stay connected to rising talent, or sharpen your coaching skills, this role offers you the chance to make a meaningful impact, remotely and on your schedule..."

Equity Research Analyst - "Buy-side research analyst opportunity with a family office. The analyst will work with the direct investment team and report to the Portfolio Manager. The team employs a fundamentally driven investment process and an owner’s mentality...."

Research Associate (Equity Small Mid Cap) - New York, NY - "This position will support the Small/Mid-Cap Equity research team and initially be responsible for covering multiple sectors in support of current team members."

On Deck - Training 🎓

All in Eastern Standard Time

Stay Strong,
Patrick Curtis
CEO and Founder, WallStreetOasis.com

WSO Mobile App: iOS | Android

PS - We're also always looking to add resume reviewers and WSO Mentors to our team. Set your own pay (from $40/hr to up to $400/hr) to increase or decrease mentee flow. To submit an application, go here.

PPS - Think you have an interesting story? Want to share it with our podcast listeners? Hit reply and let me know!




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