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IBD (M&A) to Investment Management (Originally Posted: 06/14/2010)
Hi there,
I'm really interested in doing the 2 year M&A thing after college mostly because of the exit opportunities. However, I'm interning at a VC right now (rising junior) and I'm pretty sure I don't want to go into PE/VC after IB because I really like following the markets and PE/VC just seems to be too far away from those...
Is it possible to go into investment management (or hedge fund) after M&A or do they solely recruit traders?
Thanks
I would also like to hear people's opinions about this.
Most hedge funds recruit extensively from IBD. Depends what type of fund, but generally M&A will leave you plenty of options. From the PM's that I have spoken to, a trading background(flow not prop) will put you more on the execution side of a fund, while ER/IB will allow you to work as an analyst and hopefully one day a PM. Your best option for a two year stint would of course be a prop desk but realistically your chances of getting on a reputable desk that will not be spun off in the next year are slim. This is only my $.02 so take it with a grain of salt.
Interesting, but how would IB prepare you for the analyst role at a HF? From what I gathered, you don't really follow the markets in banking..
You do however build a skill set out of understanding the financials of a company. Also take in to account the backgrounds of many buy siders who have started their career in IBD and look favorably at their "alma mater". I personally decided to take the CFA to help make the transition, but that should be a personal decision (MB>MC).
There are different types of hedge funds who hire different skillsets. IBD isn't that great for Global Macro or Quant funds, but there are a lot of hedge funds like Long/Short, Distressed, Event Driven, Merger Arbitrage, etc. that need fundamental analysis of companies and hire guys from Credit or M&A groups.
Plenty threads already on paths to HFs. Do a search.
Moving to IM from IB - Possible? (Originally Posted: 04/22/2009)
I have heard many times that if someone want to move from IB to IM/HF, he should focus on S&T at the bank and move from there.
Just curious if it's possible to move into IM from another arm of the bank such as M&A advisory or CorpFin associate role.
If you want to do IM, then do IM. If not, sell side research.
Its possible. At my old firm, one or two analysts usually moved into the Asset Management arm which included the firm's FoF, HF, PE & PWM. Investment Management seems like it falls into this.
I was considering a move like that as well. People I spoke to came from different backgrounds - for example
PE at my BB -analyst for two years at the same BB and then promoted to PE Associate -2nd year analyst from another IB joined as an associate -Undergrad with prior BB summer internship experience
FoF -Undergrads from various semi-target/target schools -Banking & Research analysts moved through divisions -Operations analysts with 2-3 years experience supporting FoF made the transition
HF -MBA with prior investing & banking experience -Sell-side research analysts -lev fin analysts and above on debt/loan portfolio management side
There's no one way, but already being in a front office role definitely helps.
The guys that made it from ops to front office made it because of a few different reasons - they were already interested in AM so they read everything they could to be knowledgeable, passed the first level of the CFA during their second year and spoke with as many people as they could.
Hope it helps.
The world has changed. And we must change with it.
JoeMontana, the reason I asked is that I'm coming from a non-finance background and will be doing my MBA for the next 2 years. I've heard IM jobs are even harder to come by than IB jobs...so I figured spending 3yrs or so in banking (not S&T, they're not hiring either) and moving to IM from there if it's possible.
Post MBA opportunities in IM with BB IBD exp (Originally Posted: 05/29/2010)
I was looking to get some advice on post MBA opportunities.
Just a bit on my profile:
I wanted to know the odds of being accepted into an IM / HF role post MBA. Appreciate this is quite a general question and really it will depend on the quality of interviews and the stock pitch. However, my main concern is that I might not have enough experience (also additionally its outside the US) compared to those I'll be competing with, the typical Wharton MBA graduate having ~4-5 years pre-MBA experience. Just wanted to understand how the big names in IM and HF profile candidates ie. are they looking for people with more pre-MBA experience or less? Are they looking for IB+PE backgrounds or is it a broad mixture? Do they also get people from non-finance backgrounds or do they focus on those with some combination of IB/PE/Equities backgrounds?
While I've heard of a few cases of people with only 2yrs IB experience plus a good MBA getting into the likes of Fidelity, Capital Group etc (wouldn't mind getting insights on how specific firms profile candidates), I wanted to understand whether these people were the exception (as the majority getting in were IB+PE) OR that the big names do like to get people with a very diverse background, and that the level and type of experience holds lesser importance than the quality of the stock pitch and interviews.
Is it worth waiting another 1-1.5 yrs in IB and then consider re-applying so that I can leverage the number of years of experience or is the additional experience only marginal? Wanted to understand whether IM roles seeked candidates with a little bit more professional maturity or is their preference for younger people?
Thanks.
isn't this a repeat post friend?
Yeh, I assumed different crowds with different experience looked at each forum, so I thought it would be good to get the perspective of those already in IM and those thinking or already in business school
Your profile is pretty effin' sick. People like you make me feel like I've achieved nothing. Anyways, I got into a small HF with just 1 yr IB experience, so I think you have a good shot, although my impression is you're aiming for much larger, well established firms.
You're in HF already, so in my view you're ahead of me.
Any views to share on IM roles? Perhaps any insight into the small HF vs the big HF would be useful as well ie. how do they profile candidates? how structured are their associate programs? etc
definitely go to B-school now. 2.5 years of IB is enough. You'll be able to get a job if your persistent. What kind of IM do you want to go into.
Ideally, Equities IM roles at Fidelity, Capital, BlackRock, Wellington etc
Some HF roles like Citadel, Tiger cubs etc would also be interesting but understand that these tend to be heavily competed for and the roles are a lot less secure
HF and IM jobs are really tough to get, even at schools like HBS and wharton. i know for a fact that PIMCO and citadel only take about 2-3 from wharton. And tiger management does not recruit at business schools.
my apologies, i'm just jealous of you, lol. congrats!
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