Main Responsibilities of an Associate at Aurora Capital Partners
As an Associate at Aurora Capital Partners, Brandon's role is "quite varied," encompassing both new acquisitions—including "thesis generation" and investment committee materials preparation—and portfolio company management. This involves supporting portfolio company finance teams with tasks ranging from budgeting and strategic planning to add-on acquisition analysis and even CEO recruitment, offering a "pretty diverse experience."
Financial Analysis, Investment Management, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Portfolio Management, Strategic Planning
Advizer Information
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Brandon Priest
Associate
Aurora Capital Partners
UC Santa Barbara
UCLA Anderson School of Management, MBA
Biology & Related Sciences
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Associates are the core of the team, handling both new acquisitions and portfolio company management.
2. Responsibilities include investment thesis generation, financial analysis, and creating presentation materials for investment committees.
3. Portfolio company management duties vary widely, ranging from budgeting and strategic planning to compliance and add-on acquisition analysis, depending on the portfolio company's financial team capabilities. This can even include recruitment of key personnel such as a CEO or Head of FP&A
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
The responsibilities are quite varied. Typically, the associate is the workhorse of the team. Your job is twofold: there's the new acquisition side and then there's the portfolio, company management side.
For new acquisitions, you help with thesis generation – what makes a good investment and why. You also handle all the analysis and put together IC materials, which are presentations for the investment committee. These get approval to either spend money to learn more or to do the acquisition itself.
On the portfolio management side, the associate is the first line of defense for questions from the head of FP&A, the CFO, and sometimes even the CEO. Responsibilities vary depending on the capabilities of the finance team at each portfolio company.
If the finance team is strong, you'll be less involved. However, if the finance team is newer or the organization less developed, you'll be building their budget and helping with strategic planning. You'll also handle compliance certificates for lenders and add-on acquisitions.
If you're doing an M&A rollup type program, you'll be screening opportunities, doing the analysis, and negotiating legal documents. There's quite a range, and it can be as varied as hiring the CEO or the head of FP&A. It's a pretty diverse experience.