Best Route to a fundamentally driven HF in Londob: IB vs AM?
Hello, I am a money-driven student who also has a genuine passion for investing. My long term ambition is to become a PM at a hedge fund and eventually starting one (very brave, I know). I am trying to weight different offers. I have received an offer from a large AM in London for a rotation 6-months program, mainly in equities and Credit. I am leaning towards equities as my main interest. I have also gotten a full-time offer in M&A from a solid BB (Credit Suisse/Citi/BAML) and interviews coming up with GS/MS/JPM.
I have always wanted to be an investor and this leads me to go for the AM gig. However, given the shift to passive and the opinions I heard, I am scared that one cannot truly make it big when starting in asset management, I am passionate about investing but would want to earn ps1-3m+ in my late 30s and 40s. Can one do that by being a top performer in AM? And just as importantly, how easy is it to move to an HF if one is a good equity/credit analyst? Should I choose M&A over AM?
I know starting salaries for AM are slightly less than IB, but how about salaries 5-10 years in? How about total comp once you make it to PM? Does it rival that of M&A MDs?
Given my objective to make it big as a HF PM, should I start off at a reputable AM or in M&A?
Thank you all!
I am sure that the best way is not to create two different threads asking the same and bumping them two times in a few minutes. I hope that it is helpful.
Congrats on the offers, you must be a well sought-after candidate. My view is as follows: IB gives you a springboard for the broadest possible options. Right now you have no idea what kind of investing you will like or be interested in. When I was a student I was 100% sure I wanted to be a long-only value investor in equities like Warren Buffet. Here I am today and I love credit and all things bonds and work in a bond fund. IB opens doors to merger arbitrage, activist investing, credit (stressed and distressed debt), and also private market strategies like PE and direct lending. For this reason I would go with the M&A position.
In terms of comp, at a large AM comp is good but no one, unless you are a star PM managing a big fund, is making millions in their 30's. I'm 35 and making around 250-300k all-in which is nice money but not FU money. If you land at a HF and can generate ideas you can make significantly more money. The downside is you have less job security and can be shown the door at any time.