Buyside to IR - am I dumb?
Currently doing L/S HF but realizing more and more than despite liking stocks/analyzing business, I can’t keep up with the level of stress that seems to grow more every day. Realize that there is comp downside (i.e. really no bonus) but other than that, am I crazy to move to an IR/Strategic Finance role where I can still interact with investors, get even deeper on a business, while having way less stress? Oh and I would have time to do personal investing, which today I have 0 time to do.
This move is common, but usually after the fund / pod has blown up.
I don’t think it’s dumb at all. At the end of the day, everyone’s circumstances, preferences and goals are different - buyside isn’t the holy grail of success for everyone.
Reading your post, it’s pretty clear that the IR role will significantly boost your happiness. Go for it and good luck.
Ps if you’re worried about how your friends/family/coworkers will perceive you - don’t. Over time you’ll realize that managing your career to other people’s optics is not a wise thing to do.
It's not dumb at all. Do what makes you happy. If you don't like IR (can get repetitive over time), can transition to other finance functions within company too.
It's only dumb to stay in a job that makes you hate life.
Agreed. Also, I believe there are a lot more opportunities in IR especially if you do fundraising and get compensated based on that. Add to that building relationships with (in some cases) very successful people which can lead to more opportunities that are not even related to your actual role..
People really need to stop conflating IR at a fund vs IR at a pubCo. Clearly OP is talking about IR at a PubCo, so there is no fundraising responsibility.
IR gigs vary, like every other job, but can be very cushy and you can generate a very consistent healthy earnings stream. If you are able to get other additional Corp responsibilities like treasury, FPA, Corp dev etc can leverage into a CFO gig down the line
Absolutely not dumb at all — fast forward 5yrs, my guess is the stress only increases. Life is too short to do something you hate beyond 2yrs or so (which you can do for the growth opportunity
I’d consider this shift at some point as well though the stress is significantly less in LO vs L/S
Why is the level of stress growing everyday for you? For some people once they set an exit plan 2-3 years out the stress should slow down. Moving to IR long-term is very common just not sure its something you need to do right away versus creating a mental plan to find the right job later.
Have a buddy who moved into a large corporate IR role. Can end 3-ways: you make it to CFO (rare, rather in midcaps), remain an IR guy with limited upside or you will hate it. Latter makes it hard to exit.
I agree that this is the 3 likely outcomes, but I'll frame it differently, particularly outcome 2.
A good IR guy/gal in a corporate function is a rarity and can be so much fun. Other than planned/scheduled events like investor days, NDRS, quarters, etc, you are effectively the company face and you get to meet and talk to everyone about the company. You'll be the subject matter expert (but caveat it'll be a thousand miles wide and an inch thick) and generally is a very fun gig. You'll most likely be in IR for your career (unless you internally pivot to a different function), but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The reason there are so few of these opportunities is when you land one, you typically don't leave.
Financially, plain IR isn’t very rewarding and you entirely depend on senior management. I have seen guys who were treated like a PA publicly.
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