Working at either Yale or Stanford's Investment Office - Opportunity to work as an analyst?

How good is an opportunity to work at an investment office as an analyst at one of the top endowments? Say getting to work at Yale (with David Swensen) or at Stanford (with John Powers)? How does this compare to working for a top hedge fund (D.E. Shaw, etc.), PE Firm (Blackstone, etc.), or top BB IBD Group (GS TMT, GS FIG, MS M&A, etc.) out of undergrad? Thx.

 

As far as I know Swensen farms all of the endowment out to other managers -- some very large chunk to Farallon. Swensen's best in class at what he does, but it seems like this would be a tremendous opportunity for someone interested in, and otherwise considering, fund of funds jobs, not for someone who wants to advise on M&A and capital raising (go BB) or take companies private (bstone).

 
Best Response

It is good experience / resume fodder for an undergrad but bad for full time. I know people who have done this at both Yale / Stanford (and elsewhere).

The problem with it is that at the end of the day these shops outsource their work to other managers... so you are really just doing fund of funds management which is like due diligence, portfolio rebalancing, etc. You will learn much more as a proprietary trader, private equity investor, or even IBD than at a fund of funds investment office since you are much more directly involved in investment decisions and don't outsource the work.

BB IBD, Private Equity, Hedge Fund, Proprietary Trading, etc are generally all better for FT. The hours are nice though.

 
dabears432:
It is good experience / resume fodder for an undergrad but bad for full time. I know people who have done this at both Yale / Stanford (and elsewhere).

The problem with it is that at the end of the day these shops outsource their work to other managers... so you are really just doing fund of funds management which is like due diligence, portfolio rebalancing, etc. You will learn much more as a proprietary trader, private equity investor, or even IBD than at a fund of funds investment office since you are much more directly involved in investment decisions and don't outsource the work.

BB IBD, Private Equity, Hedge Fund, Proprietary Trading, etc are generally all better for FT. The hours are nice though.

Thanks for the insight. Would you recommend MM or BB IBD for a sophomore summer over Yale/Stanford if there's a good chance of BB IBD in junior summer regardless?

 

Aperiam doloribus dolorem earum rerum enim nam aut. Voluptatem harum accusamus minus fuga recusandae ducimus error dolorem. Ea dolores eaque eveniet molestiae. Est aut est incidunt ex ipsum reprehenderit quibusdam quidem.

Sit sit sunt sit temporibus aliquid. Iste est tempore vitae amet repellat quaerat aut iusto. Ex architecto eius qui est ut. Similique iusto et sit excepturi molestiae. Nobis vero molestiae dolorum suscipit.

Mollitia blanditiis aut impedit odit dolorem dolores. Ea est beatae consequatur. Quidem aut consequatur hic corporis. Qui molestiae magnam tempore aut eligendi. Quia esse iste debitis harum sed est et. Asperiores officiis minima natus aperiam autem saepe.

Nihil adipisci natus qui eveniet exercitationem blanditiis repellendus. Ad consectetur illo doloribus. Quibusdam quos qui aut temporibus maxime animi illo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (145) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”