HF -> Investor Relations
Have spent 8 years in buy side equity research, 2 years in banking at a BB before that. I am current at a SM hedge fund. Performance is solid, but culture is tough. Fast paced, no vacation, no paternity leave type situation.
I have a chance to hop to an EXCELLENT company that is still private. Feel high conviction about this company’s future and growth opportunity. Can say with conviction the company will be a lot bigger in a few years. Think big VC funded name, 10s of bn of equity valuation already. Job is technically investor relations, but the ask is really to help bring them public. Means helping craft the equity story for public markets, working with FP&A to make sure process is in place so guidance we communicate to street is high probability, etc. Not the typical IR role where I’m just communicating with investors, this is definitely more to help position the company for IPO. Crafting story and making sure the transaction is successful, working closely with sell side during that process.
Is this investment career suicide? I feel confident I could pitch this opportunity in a compelling way if I wanted to return to an investment role - but curious what others experiences are / what they think. Cash pay would obviously be lower than my current HF role, but feel like this is the right move for my “career story” if that makes sense.
following
It’s clear you are really excited about this opportunity and are passionate about it. Sounds like it affords you a modicum of real life with tantalizing upside.
It’s just hard to grasp what the delta is here, if you’re comfortable with it then this seems like a go for it.
People burn out in those shops all the time because it’s just unsustainable for most people.
Are you sure the WLB would be much better? Probably can't take paternity leave if your job is to take them public :-)
I would look through WSO and maybe even Reddit to see whether you'll like transitioning into IR. Some of the IR folks I have to talk to usually work similar hours to me (~60-65 hours) and are always travelling doing something with the company. It doesn't sound like a bad opportunity at all, but also isnt as "calm" as one might think (perhaps you already know this given you're on the buy side).
Also once you leave the investments side of the business you can always go back, it's just a matter of do you want to? You're leaving to reclaim time back that you sacrificed earlier in your career, why gain some of it back just to give it up again. Sure, maybe you find that one fund that works 50 hours and the team takes vacation time, but lets be honest we always hear about these places but never actually encounter them in real life.
You've got the pedigree to climb the corporate ladder, maybe even break CFO or CEO of the company, but try to do some more research before making the jump. Last thing you want to make is a choice that you've questioned about from the start.
Happy to keep the convo going either PM or here.
Can I ask how you came across this oppy (organic interaction, headhunter, etc)? Am in a very similar situation to yourself and am looking to make this move, so from my perspective seems like it would check a lot of the right boxes you’re looking for.
Sure. We are trying to invest in this company in past round so I have become friendly w team. Have traded thoughts w them on their story etc. so very organic. Which is obviously a huge plus.
Appreciate the response - best of luck with your decision!
I almost had a similar position, no matter what they say in the interview, they may not actually go public. in my case, huge private company hires an IRO for the first time, looking for a #2. Tells me the same story about positioning for IPO. I get to final round and lose out to a guy who was in IR for 8 years at their top competitor. fast forward, it has been years and they haven't gone public and the guy who i lost the job to has moved to strategic finance after 1 year internally. they recently started re-hiring IR people so maybe they are going for round 2.
It is somewhat career suicide from a buyside perspective. hours are way cooler. Unless your ambition is to be a CFO. I've worked with IRO's for mega caps that have successfully transition to CFOs at smid companies. A pathway is there.
May I ask why it would be career suicide? Perhaps this is an unknown thing and I'm not educated enough on this, but OP has almost a decade on the buyside, wouldn't any PM see this and not even bat an eye that they went corporate?
Sure, there are plenty of people who would still value the past experience, and i'm sure they have contacts that they can leverage and it would be fine. However, many would question the move in general. lets say he goes ~3 years in IR (1.5 years going public, 1.5 years public). He will make new contacts with dozens to hundreds of buyside firms which is a plus, but will they explain they have a decade of experience to everyone? on face value it is a signal that they've chosen a different path and now they've been out of the game for 3 years and could be rusty. People could see it as they took a QoL exit and want back in (or in the worst case were forced out and couldn't find another HF role). I like the story with this opportunity but there's a risk they can't get the foot in the door to explain that story when returning to an investment role outside of their network.
maybe a better question for OP is, what is his end goal and what is the right "career story" to get there? Again, it could be the right career story if he wants to be a corp exec, but probably not if he wants to be a pm. If end goal is QoL with pretty good pay then sure take it. This won't be a rainmaking opportunity.
-
Interested
If you leave the buyside now, prepare to never return again.
Do it. IR pay at VC backed / pubtech cos can be very attractive and can eventually lead to more ownership over strategic finance/fpa processes. I suspect I know the company you're talking about and would definitely take it (if it's in the enterprise software space). Look at the career development of the person who did it at the company's direct competitor.
Totally agree here
Not to hijack the thread but seems OP got his answer here, I'm a PE senior associate and may have the opportunity to jump in at the "Sr. Manager" level for a F500. Comp that I was cited by recruiter is pretty weak. Is this a dead end like corp dev or some serious potential for upside here? VP I would report to is a former SM HF guy seems pretty sharp.
sr manager in IR? what type of upside are you looking for? If it is IR then yes as mentioned in the thread there is the upside of a road to CFO. mega caps can have large IR teams, so sr manager could be pretty low in the pole when the chain is IRO - Exec director/Sr director/director - sr manager/manager - associate/analyst. I've worked with conglomerates that have 10+ teams in IR.
Yes public co IR at a large cap. Would be only two others on the team not including my self. The head of IR and another sr manager. So three of us total and not exactly as large of a team as you describe. I would be looking for upside to at least be able to work my way to director than VP within IR within not a huge number of years at least. CFO would be great too but given the lack of FP&A experience I don’t know the viability…maybe at a smaller co later on.
Perspiciatis esse pariatur delectus voluptas rem nostrum et. Ut labore omnis ut nemo debitis. Quia doloremque numquam dignissimos est et. Est necessitatibus perferendis dolore dolor consequatur in quidem. Sed magni vero dolorem dolorem. Voluptas tenetur officia aut ut.
Possimus voluptate hic saepe molestiae qui et blanditiis. Impedit dolores nihil saepe ut iusto consequatur.
Neque fuga eum qui quaerat nisi. Eius dolorem ut quibusdam animi fugit molestias. Laboriosam quam adipisci unde expedita a qui.
Vero sapiente itaque quas aliquam. Adipisci nostrum magnam expedita dolores. Ipsum porro dolore est laborum modi molestias id.
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...
Perspiciatis in fuga libero quidem magnam quod minus. Animi saepe numquam quidem. Exercitationem velit est enim.