Why Equity Group Investments: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Equity Group Investments Overview

Equity Group Investments (EGI) is a private investment firm founded by Sam Zell in 1968. EGI specializes in complex and opportunistic investments throughout the equity and debt markets.

The firm has a multi-billion dollar portfolio which includes public and private companies in the following industries: logistics, energy, manufacturing, waste, healthcare, transportation, and real estate.

EGI invests in different types of businesses regardless if they’re big or small, in different locations or sectors. The firm is willing to support both private and publicly traded companies.

They can also either own a significant portion of the company or a non-controlling interest. They can provide financial support through debt (giving loans) or equity (buying part of the company). All these investments can be done for a short or long time, depending on the economic situation.

Some of the partners that EGI have worked with in the past are educational institutions, family-owned funds, and other large investors.

Currently, Equity Group Investments is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. 

Equity Group Investments AUM

Unfortunately, there is no publicly available data on the assets under management for Equity Group Investments at this time.

Equity Group Investments Interview Process & Questions

Firms can always make changes in their interview process with each applicant. However, there are some consistencies within the general nature of the process at Equity Group Investments (or a firm like it) such as the following:

• There will be 4 to 6 rounds of interviews
• Junior investment professionals or the HR team will supervise the first parts of the process, while the more senior staff will conduct the later rounds
• The entire process could take several weeks – unless it is “on-cycle” or “on-campus” recruiting

Interviews at Equity Group Investments will be a combination of behavioral questions, fit questions, and technical / investing questions.

If you’re looking for resources and guidance for your interview preparation, I suggest you check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Why Equity Group Investments

When you interview at Equity Group Investments, it’s best to expect one of the most common and most important interview questions: “Why this firm?”

If you’ve done networking, this is an excellent opportunity to mention whoever you’ve met and how they’ve positively impacted your decision to apply at the firm.

It’s also a good practice to research about the firm prior to interviews. One of the best ways to learn about a firm is to listen to interviews with its founders or investors.

For starters, here’s Bloomberg’s interview with Sam Zell, Founder and Chairman at Equity Group Investments:

More interviews

• Sam Zell on What Assets Are Attractive During War
• Zell’s Best Investment Advice: Walk Away From Mistakes
• CNBC’s interview with Sam Zell

Equity Group Investments Case Study

Interviewers often ask candidates to conduct case studies during the hiring process. Case studies help firms evaluate their candidates’ level of technical knowledge and communication skills.

Most case studies at firms like Equity Group Investments center around financial modeling and investment recommendations. However, a cold calling case study may be required as well for junior roles.

I have an in-depth discussion of case studies (plus examples) inside my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

Equity Group Investments Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, you can receive an estimated total pay of $210,808 if you’re an associate at Equity Group Investments, while there is no recent data for analyst hires.

Keep in mind that this figure represents the median and can still go higher or lower depending on many factors such as your level of experience and education.

Associate

Equity Group Investments Careers, Jobs, & Internships

To view open roles at Equity Group Investments, visit our job board which features all vacancies for them and other similar growth/VC firms.

Equity Group Investments Portfolio & Investments

According to Crunchbase, Equity Group Investments have made 9 investments and 5 exits. Some of the firm’s notable deals include Cross Border Xpress, Covanta Holding Corporation, and Exterran Corporation.

Notable Transaction: Anixter International

Equity Group Investments acquired Anixter for $500 million in 1986 through Itel corporation, an NOL holding company which owned rail and container leasing businesses.

In the same year, Sam Zell, Founder & Chairman of EGI, became Chairman of Anixter. By 1991, he decided to sell Itel’s other investments to focus the company solely on Anixter and renamed the company accordingly.

Sam Zell chaired Anixter through 34 years of growth which established the enterprise as a global industry leader.

Anixter went from $650 million to $8.8 billion in revenues from 1986 to 2019, and also expanded its presence from three to 50 countries.

Anixter was sold to WESCO International for $4.5 billion in 2020.

Next Steps

If you’ve decided to join Equity Group Investments’ team (or a firm like it), I highly recommend you check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

It’s a self-paced online course which will help you better prepare for case studies, valuation, and all other topics that your interviewers will most likely have you answer or perform.

Check it out and start learning today!