Why The Chernin Group: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

The Chernin Group Overview

The Chernin Group (TCG) is a multi-stage investment firm which primarily supports consumer businesses.

Their portfolio includes Dapper Labs, Exploding Kittens, Collectors Universe, and many more.

Aside from that, they have an impressive track record of working with top consumer brands in the following space: health and wellness, consumer blockchain, consumer finance, gaming, sports, marketplaces, commerce, and digital media.

The Chernin Group was founded by Peter Chernin, Mike Kerns, and Jesse Jacobs in 2010.

The firm is based in Playa Vista, California with additional offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Menlo Park.

The Chernin Group AUM

According to Axions Pro, The Chernin Group has approximately $3 billion in assets under management as of July 2022.

The Chernin Group Interview Process & Questions

Each candidate could go through a slightly different interview process. However, if you interview at The Chernin Group, you can expect the following:

• Entire process lasts several weeks – unless it’s on-campus or on-cycle recruiting
• Junior investment professionals handles the first few rounds of interviews, while the more senior staff supervise the rest
• There will be around 4 to 6 rounds of interviews

The type of questions generally fall under these categories: technical/investing, behavioral, and fit questions.

Check out my course if you need help preparing for such interviews.

Why The Chernin Group

“Why this firm” always shows up during interviews because firms want to know the motive behind your application and see whether you’d be a good fit.

If you’ve met people from the firm during your networking efforts, tell the interviewers how they’ve made a really good impression on you and how their experiences at the firm positively influenced your decision to join the firm.

Also, it’s a good practice to know more about the firm. For this, I recommend listening to interviews with its key personnels – founders, investors, management teams, and so on.

Here’s an interview with Mike Kerns, Co-Founder and Partner at The Chernin Group:

More Interviews

• Discussion with Peter Chernin, Co-Founder & Partner, TCG
• Andrew Perlmutter, Funko CEO, on $263 million investment from Chernin group

The Chernin Group Case Study

Two traits that are important to firms like The Chernin Group: good communication skills and high level technical knowledge. To assess these, firms almost always ask candidates to perform case studies.

Most case studies are about recommending investments and performing financial modeling. However, a cold calling case study may also be necessary for junior roles.

Check my Growth Equity Interview Guide to better prepare for case studies.

The Chernin Group Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, you can earn around $39K – $74K per year as an associate at The Chernin Group, while there’s no recent data for analysts. These figures may vary based on an individual’s experiences, level of education, and other factors.

Associate

The Chernin Group Careers, Jobs, & Internships

Visit our job board to see open roles at The Chernin Group and other similar firms.

The Chernin Group Portfolio & Investments

According to Crunchbase, The Chernin Group has made 112 investments and four acquisitions. Some of their notable deals include Unrivaled Sports, Hume, and Immortal Game.

Notable Transaction: Funko

Funko is one of the leading pop culture brands. They design, source, and distribute licensed pop culture products including action toys, vinyl figures, board games, and many more.

In the past years, Funko experienced a strong trajectory in their growth and profitability. In 2021, their revenue grew to over $1 billion, and for the first quarter of 2022, they reported a revenue of $308 million.

In May 2022, The Chernin Group led a consortium which made a $263 million investment in Funko in an all secondary transaction.

TCG and its investor consortium acquired from ACON Investments 12,520,559 shares of Funko Class A common stock.

The Chernin Group believes that this transaction will help Funko maintain its leadership in the pop culture collectibles space.

Next Steps

If you decide to send your application and build your investing career at The Chernin Group, I would highly recommend that you check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide first before attending interviews.

Growth Equity Interview Guide helps professionals get a good grasp of topics that are typically covered during interviews such as financial modeling, case studies, and more. Check it out and start learning today!