Am I crazy

Hey everyone, I am in a fortunate place to be in a comfortable seat. Think ~50 hrs a week, long-only SM, good job stability with visible comp increases and trust from mgmt. Currently making about 300k with 2.5 yoe buyside experience expecting to 450k-500k next yr. West Coast which is great given my hiking hobbies. 

Issue is I am curious about the other side of public markets in the l/s world, and I have an offer to join one of the M/C/Ps on the East Coast. Obviously I would be giving up stability and hours for more potential upside + learning about other side of the markets that I am relatively dark on. 

Am I crazy for considering this? Anyone make a similar transition that can opine here?

13 Comments
 
  • stability is very rare - great SMs shut down all the time
  • what is comp trajectory LT? that is the biggest question. if you want to start family by 30s you need to have $5-10 million in bank + high paying W2 in order to afford a family in WC or NYC, so you need visibility into that and best way is a few big years at pod. worse case is trajectory not great, then SM shut down, and you are in tough spot + have to recruit 
 

HFPM15

  • stability is very rare - great SMs shut down all the time
  • what is comp trajectory LT? that is the biggest question. if you want to start family by 30s you need to have $5-10 million in bank + high paying W2 in order to afford a family in WC or NYC, so you need visibility into that and best way is a few big years at pod. worse case is trajectory not great, then SM shut down, and you are in tough spot + have to recruit 

You do not need anywhere near that to start a family in NYC and especially not WC

 

Hilarious take, no one needs to have 5-10ml in the bank to afford a family in WC or NYC. If that was true, we'd be extinct as a species 

OP ignore this dumb take unless you want to have kids when you are 65

 

I mean its great but the current comp doesnt rlly go that far after taxes in VHCOL city and Im still in my 20s so Id rather grind now than regret later for staying cushy young 

 

Directionally, how large is the AUM? Is the mandate more long term oriented or tactical?

Curious how is it possible to lateral to a large platform from a very different mandate.

 
Most Helpful

It's impossible to give the answer because it depends on you and your goals. 

I was not at long-only but remained at SM for long time until leaving to a platform. Unless you really trust your CIO / PM to take care of you in a bad situation and depending on your family and childrend plans, just please be careful. Maybe he/she turns it into a family office worst case and still brings you on and you clip a couple hundred k? I don't know but it's hard to say for sure and also what is AUM like and can they raise? Some people just stay forever and have amazing lives others suffer a blow up and are out of the game for good and had to turn to totally new career. 

I am happy with my choice. But yeah not going to lie, if you go to a poor performing pod and get axxed it is stressful. That didn't happen to me so maybe I'm biased. Totally depends on PM. If you're on a crappy team, overworked and fighting a drawdown from the moment you join that will suck but conversely you could make a lot more than your current job and have a great time on a good team. 

 

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