University Endowment Fund Summer Intern
I am a junior in college and I recently got an offer from a university endowment fund. The size is about 6 billion dollars, and the school is a Top 15 university (US news ranking). The fund invests in hedge funds, PE, VC and also has direct investments in real estate and natural resources. I wanted to do banking at the very beginning but ended up getting no offer for the summer intern. My question is that is this a good place for me to start my career in asset management? Or is it better to keep looking for spots in BBs and other more well-known asset management firms? Thanks!
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Assuming this would be a good internship. Will give you exposure to many different asset classes and teach you how to think like an investor (I'm assuming that's what you want). If you approach it right, could give you some nice bullet points on your resume and good talking points for future interviews. Will probably have decent pay. Not BB IB level pay, but definitely above average for internships done by other juniors in your class.
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Do I think it is a good place to start full-time?
That really depends on what you want to do, and how you leverage it. I have been exploring things outside of the endowment space, but have definitely been held back by not specifically having IB experience (I did do commercial credit for 18 months... has similarities, but less prestigious and not quite the same).
What about moving to Top Tier AM, Hedge Fund, or PE after 1-2 years?
I think you have the best shot at moving into Investor Relations in one of those three, not necessarily an investing role (anything possible though). Usually IR at one of those firms is interacting with LP's, aka endowments, so you have direct experience in thinking/working with endowments. You could always go back for an MBA after 1-2 years, at that point having the endowment experience may be very helpful in getting in to PE. You could also start studying for the CFA, which combined with the endowment experience, may help break into AM or HF.
I'm not an expert in any of these areas and am still working for an endowment. Just my thoughts.
bump
Can't post a link but search for Bluewing's post titled AMA: Endowments, Foundations, & Asset Allocators. Should answer most of your questions.
I have read that post but it's not too clear about the exit opps.
Bump
Piggybacking off of this, does this apply to internships in investment divisions at insurance companies too (Allianz/AIG/Prudential/Metlife)? Or do these companies do more direct investments in equity/fixed income?
Not sure what investment divisions at insurance companies are like. But endowment funds usually have 40% in equity. 30% in Hedge funds, VC and PE. The rest is in real estate and natural resource.
Performance Analyst Intern with University Endowment (Originally Posted: 01/20/2010)
How would you best utilize an opportunity of working as a Performance Analyst Intern with University Endowment for 1 - 2 years...Recommendations? ...any other thoughts on it?
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