IBD at Regional Office (Frankfurt/Milan/Paris) vs. Top MSc and LND Recruiting

Hi there,

so I applied to the BB banks and top boutiques in London but wasn't fortunate enough to receive an offer for FT2014. Although my academic performance is quite good and my experience is competitive as well (top banking internships in a continental European country), I guess the fact that my home university is an absolute non-target and my weak high school grades seem to prevent me from getting invitations in London.

However, I do have the possibilty to join a top independent advisor (think Greenhill / Lazard / Rothschild) in my home country in Continental Europe. Additionally, I'm currently studying for the GMAT.

I'm interested in joining a L/S hedge fund in London after a few years of banking, so the question is:

*Do I have the chance to recruit for a L/S hedge funds in LND coming from a regional office of a top boutique or will these funds only recruit from banks in London?

I'm undecided whether to pursue a MSc in Finance (LSE, SSE, Bocconi, ESCP etc) and give London recruiting another shot or just take the regional office offer and try to get in front of HF somehow.

(Btw, I'm not interested in joining any PE megafunds or sth. like this)

Thanks for your insights.

 

I would joint a top boutique in your country of origin and I say that coming from Europe myself. If it's Greenhill / Lazard / Rothschild quality shop you should not go for MSc because on the job experience is much more valuable than the in class learning to potential L/S hedge fund in London. You might have to stay 2-3 years unless it's an internship role for 7 months since they tend to do that in Europe.

 

Thanks Beny.

It's no internship role, it's a real FT analyst position at one of the three shops. The problem is that I'm not sure if London HFs even recruit from Continental European regional offices? So my alternative would be to do a top MSc and apply for banking jobs in London after the degree. This would give me the chance to recruit with HFs in London..

 

I'm not sure about Europe, but in the US, there are many ways to break into the HF industry. You don't necessarily need to work at a top bank to get in. If you are that worried about working in HF in London, I'd still suggest taking the FT position and then perhaps doing CFA & MSF in London after your stint.

However, the key will be to network (as I'm sure that working FT at the shops you mentioned would afford you this) and do well in FT work.

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