Support
During my internship with PilotShip Partners this past summer, I had the opportunity to broaden my financial, research, and analytical skills. I had the privilege of working alongside professionals who specialize in placement and capital introduction, connecting institutional investors with investment managers across private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, and other alternative asset classes. In doing so, they assess fund strategies, track manager performance, and help identify the right capital partners for their clients. Having the opportunity to observe how investors evaluate and select fund managers, and how relationships are built and maintained within the industry, was an excellent learning experience. As someone aspiring to build a career in investing myself, I found these experiences further affirmed my career path choices.
Additionally, while I gained exposure to client-facing aspects of the business, my internship mainly consisted of hands-on research and technical skill-building. As I mentioned before, placement agents specialize in capital introductions, but they also rely heavily on rigorous data management and financial analysis to support their work. Hence, I was mainly tasked with developing advanced Excel proficiency for data analysis and financial modeling, managing and organizing the firm's CRM database of institutional investors, and using the Bloomberg Terminal to research fund managers and track information about investment companies. Much of this work centered on private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds, industries where manager selection and investor relationships can be difficult to navigate given the sheer number of strategies and the nuance between them. Therefore, the work I was conducting looked to support new capital introductions for clients through more organized and accurate investor data. In other words, improving the firm's ability to match investors with the right opportunities by strengthening the information behind those decisions.
In sum, this internship opportunity has provided me with valuable skills such as financial modeling, Excel-based data analysis, CRM database management, and a foundational understanding of how the investment industry operates. As I continue my studies in economics, I will look to employ these skills this year as well as in my journey in pursuit of a career in investment banking and, ultimately, private equity.