Incoming Oxford PPE Student → Sovereign Wealth Fund (Dubai/London?)

Hey all,

My Background:

  • American Citizen
  • AB in History from Harvard
  • 2nd year IB analyst at an EB (LAZ/MOE/PWP)
  • Incoming second BA student in PPE at Oxford

The last ~21 months have been nothing but brutal. I am working at a sweatshop in M&A and not only has the job been extremely boring but incredibly taxing on both my physical and mental health. I’m working easily ~90-100 hours/week on average since I’ve started and because of my awful experience I have thought about quitting constantly. With 3 months remaining in my analyst program, I’ll be able to stick it out but I need a total reset.

I decided that going back to school would be best for me, and that I wanted to go abroad to study a new and intellectual stimulating subject. Fortunately, I was accepted at Oxford to read PPE at Balliol College for a second BA and I’ll be heading there in the fall.

After Oxford I am interested in moving to a sovereign wealth fund, ideally in Dubai or London.

Dubai is appealing as a wealth creation opportunity given the scale and nature of investing there, the chance to live abroad, and the tax environment with no local income tax, even though as an American I would still be paying U.S. taxes on income above roughly 120K.

I’m trying to figure out how realistic this path is coming from Harvard and Oxford along with EB IB experience and whether it makes sense versus other buyside/career routes.

Thanks!

34 Comments
 

I know Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Company are in Dubai and the Public Investment Fund has a big presence in London. For SWFs I’m sure your pedigree will help but I don’t know much about the standard route to getting a role at one.

 

Yeah I’ll be going on senior status. I did my secondary (minor for most unis) in economics so I had a decent enough foundation to get senior status. Will still have to do quite a bit of self-study in the 2 months I’ll have between finishing my analyst stint and hopping across the pond.

 
Most Helpful

Don't you think going to both Oxford and Cambridge would be redundant? They're already going to be at the more famous/prestigious university within Oxbridge. That's like telling them to go to MIT after Harvard purely for brand stacking (though not the best comparison because MIT has respectable graduate programs). Oxbridge for graduate school is widely seen as a joke relative to their undergraduate programs, and a third bachelor's degree would destroy their prestige---it would be an awful decision. Even a second bachelor's degree is typically a very questionable decision although this case is a rare exception. 

It'd be better if they don't go back to school after Oxford because once you get a third degree and three different universities on your CV it'll begin to look like credential stacking which just makes you look like a spoiled rich kid not doing anything meaningful with their life besides collecting degrees. 

The only degree post-Oxford I can see helping them out for very specific career paths would be a GSB MBA, and even that would probably not be worth it.

 

Congrats on the acceptance! Your Harvard alumni network will probably be more useful/stronger in terms of landing those sorts of jobs. However, PPE will leave you plenty of time to network, so you can use your time wisely.

 

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