How do you all find a mentor?
I struggle to find someone as intelligent (or ideally much more intelligent) and senior to me that will offer genuine opinions that are free of bias (I don't want friends with my current boss, etc. due to LCOL city).
A good chunk of you know the issues with being the most intelligent person in the room. First world problems.
I am really working hard on not being an arrogant asshole but it really has been hard to find someone that can give advice without any skin in the game or that has been in a similar position and can offer advice on the best long-term strategy.
I am in a strange spot and I am worried about some career decisions where I don't know if I am being a bitchy analyst or I am someone that is rightly looking out for my long-term prospects.
Anyone in the LO AM or HF game that would be willing to pay it forward a bit and help would be appreciated but I am mostly hoping some people can help with tips on how to build these relationships.
Edit: After reading some good feedback I wanted to clarify my poor use of the phrases "as intelligent" or "more intelligent". Now I realize the more appropriate description is someone with sound judgement and reason that I believe generally makes rational decisions. I welcome any additional feedback on the process.
Disclosure: I am in a LCOL city with a small AM scene. Not claiming to be a prodigy in NYC AM.
You just need to:
If you are passionate about investing, which should show during a conversation, people are interested in learning about you and learning from you and in return give you takes on managing your career and the mistakes they have learned along the way. It's a mutual thing.
Literally just sent you a PM (you are a staple of this site) about connecting for this exact relationship. Not looking for a job but some (additional) unbiased advice would be welcome.
Also, the issue I am finding is identifying the person to reach out to. The content of the call is never the issue. The person I am connecting with seems to not be appropriate (albeit, small sample size).
Maybe I am just missing the point and not putting in the volume necessary? Happy to accept and constructive criticism here.
Seems that there is a need for an article on how to network (yet another way college career centers have failed us all).
Few things here (not criticism toward you, just observation):
Imo, you are approaching mentoring the wrong way. It's not about finding someone more intelligent than yourself, and if you set that as your minimum benchmark then you cut off a huge pool of successful people who could offer you great advice. It's about finding successful people who are willing to offer their opinion, which you can use to help shape your career decisions. They can't offer you the sure path to success, doesn't exist right?
I think all mentoring you need to take with a pinch of salt as these people have inherent biases to what has worked for them, which may not work for you. If I were you I would stop putting raw intelligence on a pedestal and just focus on getting advice from someone you admire in your firm/network (there must be at least 1).
Offered an update on what I meant by "intelligent" in the original post. Thanks for this feedback.
Any idea on how to go about identifying these successful people and actually getting them to have a conversation with you? More around the framework of the ask itself.
A few thoughts
1) Intelligence in investing is often overrated. Sure, you certainly have plenty of intelligent investors, but you also have plenty of intelligent ppl who are horrible investors, i.e. the types that over analyze everything and find justification for positions that plummet in value. Ofc you need a certain intelligence to do this job, but successful investors tend to be a blend of intelligence and street smarts. There are also plenty of ppl who happened to be in the right place / right time and seem very intelligent in hindsight, you know those who happened to be in the right seat at the right time with the right risk parameters and right capital base, etc.....I'd also be careful of those who present really well and sound smart, often they have the biggest blowups.
2) Commonalities - the best mentors seem to be the ones that have the most in common with you and are further ahead in your career path. If you're a LO HC person, a LO PM who covers the sector would make sense.
3) Cycle experience - ideally you want someone who's seen all parts of the cycle and knows how to survive when things don't go well. Ex - not the types that looked super smart buying high growth tech and talking about flywheels when rates were super low...
4) Sponsors - i always thought of my network in terms of sponsors (rain makers), mentors (ppl senior to you), peers (your level) and juniors (who you mentor). The sponsors are the types that can create a job for you or fund you if you want to spin out of your current fund. Finding good mentors is great, finding a sponsor can be life changing. I'd always keep my eye out for these types.
I suggest looking for someone senior who has commonalities with you to learn from and vice versa. It' has to be a 50/50 relationship, if you go in expecting to get all you can from this person, it will never work out. You do have to bring something to the conversation.
I do a lot of mentor work w/ a few MBA programs because the students are very smart, I genuinely enjoy it and it helps me expand my own network. I see it as a win win, they get to hear advice from someone who's been around a bit longer and I get to hear their ideas, often refreshing names I've reviewed at some point. We often keep in touch when they land good spots (I try to help as much a I can w/ the interview prep) and the relationship continues as they progress on the buyside. I tend to avoid those who ping me all the time ONLY asking for help or contacts, those types tend to drop off pretty quick and usually fizzle out or are siloed in their funds. A lot of idea generation comes from someone's buyside network and it's got to go both ways.
Best of luck!!
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