Starting out in a LO Buyside role (Insurance firm - Private Credit)

Before the post,I would like to say thank you to all the people on this platform. I have learnt a lot from the various posts and comments by various users. I was able to prepare for London recruiting, coming in as an International student because of your help.

A brief background: I did my MSc Finance at a semi-target in London (UCL/Imperial) this year.

Work Exp: 1 year with a few internships in equity research, trading, real estate and an FT experience in an EV battery startup (VC Series A fundraising). The most recent and relevant internship is in a Distressed credit HF in London. I did this internship during my classes this year. It is one of the main reasons I got more interviews and this job offer.

Offer: I have accepted a Fixed income investment analyst position for a large UK life insurance company. My team invests the Defined benefit (DB) scheme money in mainly private credit such as Infra, RE, DL (Alternative credit), some sovereigns and corporates on the public side. Our goal is to match the cashflows with the pension liabilities (annuities). I believe that starting in credit would be a great beginning role. I would be able to gain institutional buyside experience and learn more about rates and credit.

Not cons but things to consider:

1) We can only invest in Investment grade credit because of the Solvency II regulation. I would like to venture into HY/Distressed debt in the future similar to my HF internship.

2) I am joining in as a direct hire (limited experience) unlike my friends who are joining analyst classes in IB/S&T/Consulting.In the future, I would like to work in a firm like my HF internship. They invested across the cap structure and also did special sits/event-driven equities. Blackstone has a team like this called Tac opps, even Oaktree with their flagship Global opportunities fund. The other area I'm interested in is Global macro funds. I'm interested in cross-asset research which macro funds have the flexibility in their mandate.

I came from India to London with a net worth of -50k GBP (Student loan). I was able to achieve all the goals which I had set. I am happy that all my hard work has paid off. I finished my masters recently with a predicted first. I will be able to repay my student loans with the salary. I'm also getting the work visa sponsorship too.

I would like to ask if anyone has gone through a similar experience of starting on the buyside. How do I shape my career for my future aspirations and avoid the IG label?