As a buy side research associate/analyst in China/HK, do I ever have any exit opportunities back in the U.S.?

I'll be starting as a junior on the research team of a large U.S. AM firm based in China. I'll be working both on companies listed in China, and also Chinese companies listed abroad - mainly in HK and the U.S.

Will I ever have the chance to transition back to the states also in an AM/HF research role? If so, would it only be with specialized emerging markets funds? If it makes a difference, I invest in U.S. equities in my personal portfolio, but I obviously won't be touching those in my work.

I haven't decided yet whether it'll be worth the investment for me to spend the larger part of the beginning of my investment career specializing in China, when the outlook for the markets there is shaky at the moment. The pay is also not as good. I'm assuming this will change at some point, but the question is whether that'll be during my career.

Should I try to go back to the states asap assuming that the longer I spend in China, the harder it'll eventually be?

3 Comments
 

I'm assuming you're a Chinese national which is why your firm is sending you to China. If that's the case, I'd think the chance is not so great for you to get a transfer to the U.S. office of the same firm, which you can then use as a springboard to another U.S. AM/HF role. That said, you can always do an MBA in the U.S. (if you're a pre-MBA hire) and break in that way.

 

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