New user here and very impressed by how helpful the comments here are so I'll give it a go as I'm looking for advice...
What exit opportunities are there from AM (either from analyst or buyside research roles) if you don't turn out to be a great investor?
I did the typical two years sell side equity research at a BB (I left mainly because that job seemed intellectually dishonest) then transitioned into a large asset manager/mutual fund as a research associate 2 yrs ago. This job is interesting, I enjoy learning about new things, good people to work with, and decent (though not excellent) hours and pay.
My progression, if I stay, is to become an analyst (in about ~2 years), from where pay and responsibilities start stepping up more substantially.
But I am having some doubts as to whether to stay or pivot careers for two reasons:
(1) Returns in active management are highly skewed to the very top performers, and at the same time decreasing due to the shift to passive, so even though senior analysts/PMs make good money I am not sure their comp is representative of my earnings potential in 5+ years.
(2) if in ~2-3 years time when I will have had some sort of a track record it turns out that either I am not that brilliant investor or they choose not to promote me if the industry keeps shrinking then I might be stuck on a lower-pay career path than I could have been on.
Would it be feasible to transition into infrastructure funds/PE/IB with no deal or private market background? Am I just imagining that the grass is greener on that side? Where do people go from AM (and ideally still make decent money)? Or can I pivot within AM to be on a career path that has growth prospects (I imagine easier to get paid if the industry is growing)?
Thanks for any thoughts.
