Equity Research to Corporate
I’m a 29 year old equity analyst at a large asset management firm in London. Have become entirely disillusioned with the industry which I think adds no value and is way overstaffed. I think AI is going to gut a lot of the seats in the industry as well, and so competition for remaining seats (should I ever lose my job) will be pretty fierce. I’m also pretty sick of sitting in silence all day, looking at my screens and writing internal notes and recommendations in my ivory tower. I also don’t feel motivated by the fact that these roles have little career development. Equity research is a trade: you hone your craft and do the same job day-in, day-out until you retire.
I’m thinking of joining the corporate world. I’m looking for a role where I have a truer sense of career progression, can (eventually) have a tangible impact on a business and where I interact with people on a routine basis.
What I don’t know – and where I’d love some advice – is what types of corporate roles I could be a good fit for. At the moment, I’m thinking about (i) corporate development (ii) FP&A and (iii) investor relations.
Has anyone here got experience in making the move from ER to one of these roles in corporate? Would love to hear it!
I’m in a similar boat. Im early 30s in ER and exploring corporate as an exit. While I haven’t made the move yet, from all I’ve gathered, IR is going to be your easiest transition since that is the most transferrable skillset. You can use IR to get your foot in the door somewhere and pivot into FP&A or corp dev down the line. Comp is industry, company, and location dependent, but it seems like if you’re in the right seat you can clear $300-$500+ at the senior level (e.g. head of IR) and have a pretty chill life compared to equity research. Hopefully that helps.
500 is way too high for an IR seat in UK/Europe. 300-500 TC is more realistic in the U.S.
I’d echo the above comment. IR (especially at a larger company) is the “most natural” exit for sellside ER. Minimal learning curve and ability to leverage existing buyside relationships.
That being said, still possible for ER -> FP&A/CD at smaller/private shops where wearing multiple hats is necessary.
For background, I did 3+ years in sellside ER prior to joining private Co. in CD/IR/FP&A role. While IB > ER for deal exposure (I.e. a “pure” CD role), ER provides a unique skillset that translates well across the three disciplines.
Relate to this. In a similar position but earlier in my career. Looking at strategic finance and business ops type roles.
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