Why Onex: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Onex Overview

Onex is an asset manager and investor which handles capital on behalf of clients and shareholders across the globe.

The firm has two primary businesses: credit and private equity.

In Private Equity, Onex raises capital from limited partners or third-party investors, and invests them together with the firm’s own capital through the funds of their PE platforms, ONCAP and Onex Partners.

In Credit, Onex raises and invests capital into several public credit, private credit, and public equity strategies.

Onex’ investors include a wide range of clients including private and public pension plans, family offices, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds.

The firm shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the “ONEX” stock symbol.

Gerald W Schwartz founded Onex in 1984. He previously worked at Bear Stearns under investor Jerome Kohlberg Jr., who later on became a founding partner of KKR.

Onex AUM

According to most recent regulatory filings, Onex has $19.1 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023.

Onex Interview Process & Questions

There can be changes in the interview process with each candidate. However, if you interview at Onex or similar firms, you’ll most likely to go through the following:

• More or less five interview rounds
• For the first rounds, the junior investment professionals will be in charge, while the more senior staff handle the later stage
• Entire process could take multiple weeks – unless it’s on-campus or on-cycle recruitment

Prepare to answer behavioral questions, fit questions, and investing/technical questions when you interview at Onex.

You can check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide if you need help with interview preparation.

Why Onex

The one question that always comes up during interviews is “Why this firm”.

If you’ve had the chance to do some networking prior to your interview, this is a great time to mention whoever you’ve met and how they’ve positively made an impact with your decision to apply at their firm.

Also, it’s always a good idea to research about the firm so you can come up with a more relevant answer. For this, I recommend listening to interviews with its founders, investors, or portfolio companies.

For example, here’s an interview with Ed Sims, CEO of WestJet, where he talked about Onex’ $5-billion dollar takeover deal for the airline:

Onex Case Study

Be prepared for case studies as they always show up during interviews. Case studies help firms like Onex evaluate each candidate’s ability to communicate and technical abilities.

Most case studies are focused on asking for investment recommendations and financial modeling. But a cold calling case study might be required as well for junior roles.

Check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide if you need help preparing for case studies.

Onex Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, associates at Onex earn salaries of $82,508 per year, while there’s no recent data for analyst hires. This figure can change depending on several factors such as experience, education, and skills.

Associate

Onex Careers, Jobs, & Internships

Visit our job board if you’re looking for open roles at Onex and other similar firms.

Onex Portfolio & Investments

According to Crunchbase, Onex has made 22 investments and 59 acquisitions. Some of their notable deals include Ryan Specialty Group, Emerald X, and Wealth Enhancement Group.

Notable Transaction: Resource Environmental Solutions

Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC (RES) provides environmental mitigation, water quality, climate and flooding, and stormwater resilience solutions.

They build, design, and sustain sites which preserve the natural balance, and restore waters and lands to improve the lives of future generations.

In February 2022, RES announced that Onex Corporation’s $7.2 billion fund has decided to make a significant investment in RES, along with funds that are affiliated with the existing investor, KKR.

With this funding, RES continues to invest in talents and grow into new markets. The fund also helps in their product line expansion.

Next Steps

If you’re interested in becoming part of Onex, one way to improve your chances of getting selected for the role you’re applying for is through my Growth Equity Interview Guide.

It’s a self-paced online course which tackles topics that typically show up during interviews such as case studies, financial modeling, and more. The course will help you gain a competitive edge over other countless candidates.

Check it out and start learning today!