From M&A to Equity research / Asset Management: What to expect?

I recently left the firm I was interning at in M&A because I didn’t like the direction the organisation was going and because of the distance to my house. Whilst I’m applying for new m&a jobs, I randomly received an invite for in asset management and it does interest me. But would like to know if it’s too risky for me to go into a new direction, is it much more quantitative aside from the portfolio fundamental analysis / equity research in comparison to DCF modelling etc… Since I’m prepping for this ER interview, I’ve gauged my interest level and decided to apply for more equity research / asset management positions in the meantime (whilst also in search for m&a). I think this would speed up my time for finding a new job too. 

Moreover, I’m a bit of an ambivert, perhaps equity research serves me better for my more reserved personality? I have a commercial side but dislike being a sales person every second. 

Also, aside from the typical reading into some online prep course of it and asset pricing academic papers which I studied once before during my MSc in Finance, what other way is suggested to become good at it?

1 Comments
 

Rerum est sit mollitia velit dolores pariatur provident. Dicta eum iste et nesciunt voluptatibus ut. Possimus eum exercitationem aut est architecto ducimus. Ratione dignissimos sit voluptas soluta odit voluptatem.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”