Career: outlook vs. personal satisfaction
I changed ship from a LO fund to an alternative asset class 18 months ago. This niche asset class has been growing very nicely, and there is still a lot of room for sustainable growth. But I've been struggling a bit. My work is valued and I have somewhat differentiated skillsets, but most of the work that I do here feels mechanical and a bit too "elementary" for me. The LO work used to be much more intellectually challenging and stimulating. But then again, I didn't feel like I had a repeatable source of edge in LO (other than our investable universe, which was more inefficient than the likes of US large cap).
Michael Mauboussin likes to say we need to look for "easy games," where differential skill pays off. I am curious to hear your takes.
Everything has its own risk and reward. It comes down to what you value the most in your current life stage and in the longer run.
Hey OP, I know exactly what you mean and have wrestled with the same dilemma myself. A great number of people like us seem to be "passionate" about public equity investing as a career, but a good counterpoint I saw on fintwit: "don't be passionate about investing. Being dispassionate is essential to long term survival". And another: "be passionate about your hobbies. Investing should be boring."
So I've thought maybe I should do a "boring" but niche/edge-obtainable investing job, and leave the public equities in my PA as a hobby. (Also when you say your new job is mechanical my first thought is credit. I'm not a fan of investing that requires network/sourcing advantages, or of messy situations like workouts, but the icky factor is exactly why they deserve to earn superior returns - and we don't, in public equities, which are easier for most of us to be passionate about.)
Or... get paid less / accept poorer career stability working a public equities job, but at least you enjoy the day to day more?
Curious how others here have worked through these considerations.
The fun in investing for me is about doing research, learning new things and connecting the dots. You can bear a down year and job uncertainty if you enjoy what you do day-to-day.
Working in a global public L/S is what I like doing and I believe in the possibility to make a difference here. Then, would I prefer to live elsewhere, earn more, have a different set up at work? Definitely and I'll make sure there will be changes down the line. But I wouldn't exchange my current tasks for working in a higher-paid and better-positioned job that doesn't excites me as much as what I'm doing.
It's about chosing and balancing priorities. I wouldn't sacrifice the intellectual gratification that I get here. Then I might be out of HFs in a few years because I cover an unfashionable segment or because I perform poorly, but that's what I subscribe to when I decided to play this game.
There are... so many of us in the exact same boat. This is exactly what I say, and what my friends in the same role say. If anything it demonstrates we have some groupthink in this regard.
I have no problem bearing uncertainty. The problem is when the downside branch actually crystallizes e.g. your PM gets blown out, fund shuts down. If you can't get another job you end up having to do something wildly unfulfilling in comparison (and end up in the investing = hobby spot).
Honestly I find that doing equity investing as a job has ruined almost every other job for me lol
What I also like in the industry is exactly the group thinking in enjoying what we do. It's demanding in terms of life choices and mental resources - I do not believe many people could do this for long just for the money.
I'm early in my career and don't think on plan B as I wanna be 100% on plan A. Worse case I'll have put some money aside and have the time to think on finding other options.
Agree on the fact that doing other jobs or even just being on the sell-side doesn't entice me. Isn't that a good thing to enjoy that much what we do? I have many friends working in other branches of finance (wealth, IB, etc.) and seldomly got a similar feedback on how much they enjoy what keeps them busy.
Absolutely this is the way you gotta do it at that stage. Hope it all works out for you. Just reflecting as I am several years past that, investing as a career is a hell of a drug to get over...
Atque consequuntur architecto vero deleniti repudiandae unde. Corrupti alias aut quam sint dignissimos. Voluptates quia qui rerum quis.
Voluptate et a qui atque illo eaque. Est eos libero culpa sunt officia. Nulla assumenda nobis non aliquam eligendi. Natus quia dolorem quo soluta fugiat et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...