Looking to break in w ER background: Bite the bullet in IB?

Hi I am currently working in ER but looking to break into investing (L/S HF) Based on quick linkedin search, most people have 2 yrs in banking, 2 yrs in PE before joining the HF. How hard is it to break into the HF space with an ER background? Should I bite the bullet and try to do banking for a few years?

4 Comments
 

Most would argue a ER background is more relevant for public equities investing vs banking so from a skills standpoint I don't think it's worth doing IB. It's not really fair to look at linkedin sample size IB > HF vs ER > HF since ER is much smaller so naturally you'll have fewer people going to HFs

Source: did ER > HF and know plenty of sellsiders that ended up on buyside

 

It's just sample size bias - the absolute number of IB-turned hedgies is higher because there are more people going into IB every year versus ER. With that said, the elite hedge funds are enamored (I don't really know why) by the typical "Ivy League and then I did 2+2 IB/PE" type. If that's your goal (which it shouldn't IMO if you are just chasing prestige / pay without assessing fit), you could try to do IB, but then you must get top BB IB and then Mega PE experience, which is a rite of passage by itself and is no guarantee that it will lead to a Pershing Square or top Tiger Cub spot. 

 

What would you say if someone asks you whether he/she should get a MBA from Stanford if a tech startup founder is all that he/she wants to be? Many startup founders have a MBA from Standford and get millions of funding from VC. So maybe that is what they need.

 

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