M&A experience, CFA®, MS Finance- is MBA right for me?

Hi,
I work at a tech company, supporting their corporate venture capital group. My role is pretty broad in scope and includes some equity research, selling public company shares, negotiating M&A terms and conditions, reporting the VC P&L etc. I would like to continue to be close to the markets. I would like to move to the finance industry, but I find that it is hard to do this without prior experience in the industry.
I have a CFA®  and MS in Finance. Will a part time MBA from a reputed school such as Duke be a good move to help me land a job in the finance industry? As a side note- i have 8 yrs of work experience, so would prefer not to start at the analyst level.
Your feedback is much appreciated!

 

As someone in equity research interested in tech/media corporate VC, I'd be curious to hear why you want out.

A part-time MBA probably won't help much but I guess it depends on where in finance you want to go. I would think the CFA/MS would be enough to break into equity research, with a better chance on the sellside. If banking or PE is what you're after then a part time MBA probably wouldn't even get you there.

 

Why an MSF & MBA? I was thinking of going down this way but it looks weird.

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 
Best Response

You are already part of the finance industry in some respects. If you really want to transition into equity research, investment banking, VC or PE, I suggest going full-time. Part-time programs are designed to supplement existing work, not necessarily provide you with tools to move into a different area or industry. But, with a CFA and MSF, you should be able to land some interviews with a well-tailored resume.

Given your work experience, you shouldn't have a problem moving since you are already doing some equity research (and likely public comps analysis), working on M&A (even if it isn't from a finance perspective, you are involved in the deal process) and working on the P&L (corporate finance).

If you do decide to go the FT MBA route, it will probably give you a better chance to break into PE or VC from the investment side.

 

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