Hi all,
I wanted to create a thread, (apologies if one exists already, in that case happy if you point me towards it) on people’s experience with making the switch from IB to HF/AM.
I have some of my own views as to why a possible switch would make sense, but wanted to see if I am in-line/totally off from those that are also currently considering the switch or have done it in the past.
In summary my view is
- IB has a serious amount of monkey work, which will hopefully diminish (i.e. less silly formatting at 4am)
- More thought in what you’re doing (i.e. you really get to sell your own views to senior analysts/PMs and think about the company, instead of processing/listening or simply doing what the seniors say)
- Accountability. What I mean by this is that your research recommendations make an impact, whereas what I find is done in IB a lot, is BS recommendations in pitches where you adjust everything you can to make the result be the one you’re looking for. Then the client simply says ‘not a deal for us’ and no questions are ever asked as to how the hell you made that deal look Accretive
- More transactions – well, I’m guessing you just look at and properly learn about new companies on a more frequent basis. Sure in IB you look at new companies all the time, but at least as an analyst, you just often end up making a profile in ‘process mode’ where you don’t have time to sit back and properly think about the company you’re putting something together for. In my opinion you really learn in-depth about companies on a more infrequent basis
- Less transaction driven environment, sure you may have to pull weekend work or a long night in the case of a portfolio company default or anything similar, but you’re not a client slave (so ultimately, more predictable hours)
What are other’s views? Would love to hear from those looking to make the switch, who have already done it, and also those who have and have regretted it.
Thanks guys!
BUMP
I think you're basically on track here. In general HF/AM is going to reward working smarter as opposed to working harder. Hours will certainly be meaningfully better than banking. There's also just a lot more autonomy. You can spend your time on whatever you think is the most valuable (e.g. wso) and likely to result in some differentiated insights, as opposed to formatting decks and making sure everything ticks and ties in your model.
On the negative side, I would argue the stress is more real in an investing role. It doesn't feel great to walk into a morning meeting with a stock that's down 20%+ and have to explain to PMs what you missed and make a half baked case for holding on/buying more/selling etc. It takes time to recover and rebuild credibility from PMs after those kind of blowups, and they will definitely happen regardless of how good you are. In banking the stress is more sort of artificial/deadline driven as opposed to anything more consequential...
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