Endowment Funds

Think of it in skillsets - IB and/or PE will build a set of skills that is optimized for transactions and dealmaking. You build a ton of models, spend countless weekends/nights/days/years perfecting pitchbooks, re-casting models, and getting firsthand experience into how to value companies or in the PE world, create value through how you structure the transaction. Depending on the firm/industry/deals you work on - you'll build a network within an industry, experience/knowledge of that industry, etc. which are all valuable. Thus - should you, say, burnout on the IB world - those skills are generally more applicable/transferrable to other things - jump from IB to Private Equity or Private Debt. You could, though it's still not easy, jump to a research role at an AM - covering a sector you are familiar with. The list goes on and on - but you get my point - you have a strong base of technical skills, and maybe Stockholm syndrome to go with them. Add in a high level of compensation, deadline driven projects, etc. - that's the flexibility. It's not just a 'OMG - a banker! So dreamy' that you may see out there - the cachet fades pretty quickly. 

The role you are looking at, in contrast, builds different skills. You'll understand how large asset owners make broad asset allocation decisions, think about market dynamics/economics/drivers of returns, and practically how to invest. Since you are an allocator, or a fund of funds for the most part, you'll be thinking both in what you want to invest in - say, international fixed income - and figure out how to get the exposure you want. Can you allocate via a mutual fund, an ETF, a separate account with a specific manager, maybe you can more readily run a portion in house with one or two investment professionals if you are large enough. You will also learn things like performance reporting, analyzing a portfolio, returns, etc. - all sorts of fun operational stuff that isn't sexy, but will give you an appreciation for what it takes to manage large portfolios - probably working with an investment consultant or similar provider. You might eventually do manager research directly, cover specific asset classes, or a host of other things - those roles tend toward a more generalist skillset. You'll probably get a CFA or other designation as well - then can jump around to different Asset Managers, etc. 

Compensation is largely backloaded in Asset Management for the most part - PE is in Asset Management, though it's under that 'sexy' umbrella with hedge funds or similar where you can get comped higher earlier with more volatility than others. Endowments/Asset Owners/Long only AM - they are pretty big, boring, and relatively steady - you can start making some money once you get into an investment seat where you make decisions that influence returns or you decide to jump to a firm and move into a client facing/sales role.