"The Pulse" -- #108 / Convergence of Public and Private Markets

Recruiting Timeline:

Banking:

Where We’re At:

• SA 2027: No new updates here—won’t see anything here until September

• SA 2026: No updates here. 105 firms are recruiting for SA 2026

• FT 2026: Baird and BDO Advisors opened their apps. 5 firms are actively recruiting for FT 2026  

• If you need some interview support or just need a place to vent, check out our Coaching Program: Coaching for banking, consulting, and buyside recruiting | The Pulse. 95%+ of those coached for the summer 2025 recruiting season received offers!

New SA 2026 Applications:

• None

New FT 2026 Applications:

• Baird: Equity Research (FT 2026)

• BDO Advisors: LMM advisory in Richmond, VA (FT 2026)

See below to gain access to our premium database, updated weekly, which houses the application processes for over 300+ banks/consulting/buyside firms! Gain an edge over everyone else by not having to spend countless hours tracking applications and deadlines.

Consulting:

Where We’re At:

• Although MBB and a few other firms have opened applications, most firms have yet to release their apps. BCG was the latest firm to release its summer and full-time Associate roles. July and August will see more action.

SA 2026 released apps:

• BCG - Summer Associate (SA 2026)

FT 2026 released apps:

• BCG - Full-time Associate (FT 2026)

Buyside:

Where We’re At:

• SA 2026: No updates here. Currently 107 buyside firms are recruiting for SA 2026 seats 

New SA 2026 released apps:

• None

The database is updated weekly and contains 300+ Investment Banking and Consulting internships/full-time positions along with:

• Interview tips for specific companies

• Interview prep material

• Applications and deadlines linked so that you can apply with one click

• Insider information about the application process

• Professionals to network with

• Buyside deadlines, interview prep, and people to network with for the sweatiest of students

We send the updated dataset every week with the latest banking and consulting job postings. We released our 108th update today.

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Market Update:

Convergence of Public and Private Markets

Recently, the hot topic in finance has been the convergence of public and private markets. Firms like Apollo are at the forefront of this change actively working to make private assets look public and therefore investable by the public.

Over the last 5 years, Apollo has: a). pushed into insurance via the acquisition of Athene, b). raised IG bonds collateralized by privately originated asset-backed credit, and c). launched a hybrid public / private credit ETF (PRIV).

The underlying thesis is that they want to be the first alternative asset manager to tap into the huge pools of ‘public’ capital (endowments, HNW, insurance capital, and retirement money). After all, they’re an asset manager and asset managers make fees by managing investments.

Aren’t all of these LPs already involved in the private markets? Yes, but the allocations are tiny.

David Swensen pioneered the optimal endowment allocation by focusing on long-term equity strategies such as private equity and venture capital. Yale’s private markets mix is ~40%, which is pretty good. However, firms like Apollo want to push that figure higher. Their claim is that private markets generate stronger returns with less volatility (more on this later).

On the other hand, 401Ks and other retirement vehicles have virtually 0 exposure to private markets.

There is at least $7.3tn of capital tied up in U.S. 401Ks—all outside of Apollo’s reach. That $7.3tn could be turned into hundreds of billions of fees.

Once again, for the sake of stronger returns, greater diversification, and less volatility, alternative asset managers view private markets as the missing link to optimize most portfolios. If you’re a long-term investor, why do you even need the liquidity granted by public markets?

Private markets have traditionally been characterized by two core pillars:

1. Illiquid investments

2. Proprietary sourcing

-Illiquid Investments-

Private markets were constructed off of the ‘buy & hold’ strategy. Investors give capital to asset managers upfront for a predetermined period and only receive capital once that period ends and the fund is wound down.

By nature, the investments in the fund are deemed to be illiquid as investors cannot actively trade them. Since the GFC, secondaries strategies have risen to serve as a liquidity mechanism within the private markets. However, this is only periodic liquidity and does not match the daily liquidity that can be found in the public markets.

Due to this illiquidity, private markets investors have demanded a higher return on their investments. If I can’t sell something whenever I want, then I better get paid more to hold it.

By buying into the public markets, you’re essentially buying liquidity as a feature. Also, liquidity allows for more efficient markets which compresses alpha generation. These factors lead to lower returns.

So, can private markets become more liquid and maintain their premium? That comes down to the quality of the underlying assets.

-Proprietary Sourcing-

The second core pillar of the private markets is the proprietary nature of deal flow from firm to firm. Especially in the middle and lower markets, some managers have developed truly proprietary sourcing methods. This is often why you see ‘key man’ risk outlined in LP investor docs.

One partner might be responsible for > 80% of deal flow at the fund. These deals are often sourced by his own network. The quality of the deal flow can be a tremendous engine for generating returns for the fund.

Let’s say I’m a real estate developer in Dallas and my best friend is a manager at a LMM REPE shop. We both hate the guy who is a manager at a different LMM REPE shop. So, I’m only going to share my deal flow with my friend at shop A and not with the other guy at shop B. My friend now has proprietary deal flow which could generate significant alpha if I get contracted to work on lucrative properties. These are the dynamics that fuel private markets.

Unlike the private markets, everyone sees everything in the public markets. There are no secrets; only different thesis’ and hold periods.

Phase 1 was to create awareness of the private markets as a legitimate asset class. Phase 2 was to offer this asset class to more people. Now Phase 3 is to bring daily liquidity to the private markets to unlock trillions of additional AUM.

The illiquidity premium will diminish over time, the premium from proprietary sourcing may hold, but will fees come down? Or will we all end up paying more for the same return generated from a ‘private’ label?

Disclosure: Nothing written here is financial advice or should be used for investment decisions.

Buyside Headhunters

We have written extensively about headhunter communication here: The Pulse Part 2: Buyside Associate Recruiting.

Three things to know:

1. Be direct. “I want to work in UMM PE in NYC ideally focused on industrials investing” is way better than “I’m interested in PE, but also interested in L/S opportunities.”

Headhunters want to know that you’ve done your homework and can clearly indicate your interests instead of being a tourist in the recruitment process. Don’t worry, being specific won’t narrow your pipeline. Headhunters will still send you a range of opportunities they think will be easiest to place you. These will be across strategies and geographies.

2. Respond early and often

If you want to see the best opportunities, then you need to be actively speaking with headhunters. Respond to every email. If you don’t like an opportunity say “I’m not interested in this opportunity at this time. I’m focused on recruiting for X.” No matter what you do, don’t just ghost them or else your pipeline will dry up.

3. Always say you have plenty of modeling experience

If you’re not cracked at excel, headhunters won’t want to give you interviews. Every interview for Buyside associate recruiting will require some form of a modeling test. If you fuck this up, you will not get the job. If a headhunter asks about your modeling experience, just say you do plenty of LBO modeling. A little white lie is fine.

Do not be too honest and say something like “first year analysts do not really hold the pen on the model within my group, this is typically reserved for senior analysts and associates.”

Headhunters are the gatekeepers of every legitimate Buyside associate opportunity. Treat every conversation with them like an interview and remain in constant communication to see the best opportunities.

Going Forward:

You Got a Job?

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“The Pulse” #108

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