HY or IG credit research analyst?

Hi all,

In terms of career progression and exit opps, which field tends to be better in the long run comparing HY vs IG analyst? My background is in M&A, post MBA if that matters.

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Best Response

while the above poster is correct, credit is credit. are you being presented an opportunity where you need to choose between them? both are fine options, but that being said, HY has a bigger opportunity for alpha generation because there's a greater chance the issue may not be rated or followed widely, meaning if you do great bottoms up research and find it's priced like a CCC but really BB quality, you can add value.

 

I recently became interested in credit market especially in distressed space as I think it's more fun/challenging to analyze such companies. However, I wasn't sure if I was going to be pigeon holed if I make the move to credit from M&A and practically making a career mistake

 

are you sell side currently? that's the bigger decision, moving from sell to buy side. also, distressed and HY are not one in the same. I would think the opportunity set and exit opps are better for HY than distressed, but I could be wrong. I know Kenny_Powers_CFA is a distressed analyst, but he's not all that active anymore, you should read some of his past posts for more color.

 

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