Why AlpInvest Partners: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Explore AlpInvest Partners’ interview process, salary, track record, & notable investments

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AlpInvest Partners Overview

AlpInvest Partners is a private equity firm that invests on behalf of 450+ institutional investors from Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and South America.

The firm operates three investment teams that are focused on private equity:

Primary Fund Investments
Secondary and Portfolio Finance Investments
Co-Investments

AlpInvest Partners get involved in various private equity such as middle-market buyout, large buyout, venture capital, private credit, mezzanine, growth capital, and distressed and energy investments.

Since 2011, AlpInvest Partners has been operating as a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group – a global PE firm. Before 2011, the joint venture of ABP and PFZW (Dutch pension funds) owned AlpInvest.

Founded in 2000 by Volkert Doeksen, AlpInvest’s headquarters is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and has offices in London, New York, Hong Kong, Indianapolis, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

AlpInvest Partners AUM

According to most recent regulatory filings, AlpInvest Partners has $63.4 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

AlpInvest Partners Interview Process & Questions

Each candidate may go through a slightly different interview process. However, if you interview at AlpInvest Partners (or a firm like it), you can expect some consistencies in the general nature of the interviews such as:

4-6 rounds of interviews
Junior investment professionals or the HR team handle the initial interviews, while more senior staff supervise the later rounds
The entire process can last for several weeks – unless it’s “on-cycle” or “on-campus” recruiting

Also, expect to receive a mixture of fit questions, behavioral questions, and technical / investing questions when you interview at AlpInvest Partners.

For more interview lessons, resources, and expert tips, check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Why AlpInvest Partners

“Why this firm” is one of the frequently asked and crucial questions you’ll encounter.

If you’ve met professionals at the firm during your networking efforts, this is the right time to mention whoever you’ve made connections with and share how they’ve made a really positive impression on you.

It’s also important to do some research about the firm before you attend the interview. For this, I suggest you listen to interviews with its founders, investors, and executives.

Here’s an interview with Erik Thyssen, Managing Director, Co-Investment at AlpInvest Partners:

More interviews

AlpInvest Partners Case Study

Interviewers often face case studies during interviews. Case studies is one of the tools that firms use to assess their candidate’s level of technical knowledge and communication skills.

Most case studies at firms like AlpInvest Partners will have you perform financial modeling and investment recommendations. However, for junior roles, cold calling case studies may be required as well.

To gain an in-depth understanding of case studies, check out Growth Equity Interview Guide.

AlpInvest Partners Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, associates at AlpInvest Partners typically earn around $141,405 per year, while there is no recent salary data for analyst hires. Keep in mind that this figure represents the median salary and can still vary depending on several factors.

Associate

AlpInvest Partners Careers, Jobs, & Internships

To find open roles at AlpInvest Partners, head over to our job board which also features promising job vacancies at similar firms.

AlpInvest Partners Portfolio & Investments

As per Crunchbase, AlpInvest Partners has made 19 investments and manages 4 funds. Some of their notable deals include VPIsystems, Develogen AG, and SolarWinds.

Notable Transaction: Stagwell

Stagwell is a global communications and marketing group founded by Mark Penn. The company operates in four areas: research and insights, content and media, marketing communications, and digital marketing.

On August 14, 2018, Stagwell raised $260 million funding from the investment funds management by AlpInvest Partners.

This capital was allocated to support Stagwell’s strategy of creating a network of research and marketing companies.

According to Michael Hacker, Managing Director, AlpInvest Partners, the reason behind the strategic investment was Stagwell’s superior operating model and its portfolio of leading digital-first marketing companies.

Next Steps

If AlpInvest Partners piqued your interest and wanted to land a role at their firm, one of the ways you can increase your chances of impressing your interviewers and getting selected for your target role is to learn from my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

It’s a self-paced online course which tackles interview topics such as financial modeling, market thesis, and many more in great detail and also provides examples, frameworks, and expert tips that can help you during your actual interviews.

Get the course and start learning today!