Private Equity Investor Relations Specialists

Employers

Thousands of firms actively manage private equity and private debt funds worldwide. Many PE firms are headquartered in the United States—typically in big cities such as New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago.

According to Private Equity International, the world's five largest private equity firms in 2020 were:

• Blackstone (New York)
• KKR (New York)
• EQT (Stockholm)
• CVC Capital Partners (Luxembourg)
• TPG (Fort Worth, Texas)

Only a small number of IR specialist positions are available in the PE industry. Many more opportunities are found outside the industry. For example, a significant portion of the National Investor Relations Institute's members are employed in manufacturing, finance and insurance, information services, and retail trade.

Starting Out

“General partners tend to recruit their investor relations people from elsewhere in private equity, such as direct investment professionals, financial control, or fund administration, or externally from corporate finance,” according to Private Equity Recruitment, a PE recruiter. So getting your foot in the door at a private equity firm, or obtaining investor relations experience in the corporate world, will improve your chances of landing a job.

Visit https://jobs.niri.org/home and https://www.efinancialcareers.com for job listings. Consider joining the National Investor Relations Institute to improve your skills (via its certification and continuing education offerings) and build your network. The bigger your network, the better your chances of landing a job. Other job-search strategies include networking on LinkedIn and other social media sites, using the resources of your university’s career services office, participating in internships, and working with private equity recruiters.