HF to IB

Hey everyone, I’m going into my second year at a HF and am realizing the public market is not where I see myself long term. I started out of undergrad and had internship experience at a BB and EB sophomore and junior year. Would it be possible to go back to banking? What is the sentiment on this move from a bankers perspective? Is business school the only option? Would greatly appreciate any insight. 

16 Comments
 

Some people may find out they don’t like public markets or investing. For them, IB or hell even consulting may seem more attractive. 

 
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Ignore title, but I'm looking to do the same from an objectively good seat at a non-pod fund... I just don't want to be an investor. Logging into bloomberg every day trying to cynically add or trim to a position off shit that doesn't really matter isn't for me. I liked research and debate a lot in college, so assumed that investing would be the seat for me. It's not. I dislike it and would much rather work in a role in which I have defined tasks and responsibilities (obviously, this varies by team /product/role). There's also the fact that as a public equities investor, you don't actually invest IN the company. You're pretty much just cynically betting on whether or not a mgmt team is bullshitting the market or not. HF/momentum LOs will often sell down their holdings when they raise capital to invest in R&D or to bring a product to market, aka you're just investing in the story and less so the companies, which is another thing I don't like. Additionally, in IB you can just grind it out even if you're mid but still "coast" your way into high 6 figures granted you're not sped and can play the political game in a banking setting. Most of equity shops also don't offer much earnings/promotion visibility past today (your fund could cease to exist tomorrow realistically). For some people, buyside is the promised land, and I totally get why that's the case– it's just not for me.  

 

Not sure if one can go from HF to PE without banking experience first?

 

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