MBB Internship-pivot to AM?

Hey guys,

I've been investing my own savings for a few years since starting college, and have been trying to recruit for AM since last year. I've also placed okay(like 5th out of 30+ teams) at a stock pitch competition. Most finance places weren't willing to take a sophomore. but I was able to network and parlay my own investing experience into case interviews for consulting, and got an MBB summer associate internship.

I've enjoyed the internship so far, but:

  1. I'm not sure if I can get a return offer. I've been working reasonably hard(12 hour days), but am not sure if my performance is up to par.
  2. I feel like my heart is still set on investing/AM, but I'd like to know more about the process.
  3. I am aware that most people think of IB as a route to end up on the buyside.

I don't particularly have great interest in PE and IB (TBH, I think the emphasis on 'closing the deal', makes me a little uncomfortable), and am far more fascinated by the 3 statements and understanding how a business works.

So for my 2021 internship, I'm thinking of: 1. Just going for MBB, tracking how much I enjoy it as I progress(assuming I get the return offer), possibly switching via an MBA 2. Trying for sell-side ER(really hard with MFID) 3. Trying my ass off for AM/HF-networking, cold-calling etc.

These are all not mutually exclusive, but I was wondering if anyone had any advice to help me refine my perspective on what I should be aiming for, and how I should think about my options.

TLDR; always wanted to do investing, managed to get an MBB internship sophomore year, not sure how/whether to try to push for AM internship junior year, or continue down MBB consulting path, or how to even think about options during this difficult time

p.s. I'm international (MBB office is in my home country), and my college is probably not target (Smart, but not professional/business-i.e. like Harvey Mudd) if that helps

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