Hi all, I will keep it short. I am a former IB analyst in LevFin at a BB in London who has long been interested in working in development finance. I did two years at the BB, and then quit to work for an emerging markets boutique remotely whilst learning a foreign language abroad. I am now looking at next steps and am very interested in the DFI world. Would anyone working at any DFI institutions be willing to answer some questions in DM about your experience and tips for moving into this space? Many thanks!
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I’d also be curious to learn more. Seems the perks are very generous, and environment is very stable compared to anything else exposed to emerging markets.
Best friend did this. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!
1. Pay is complete dog shit.
2. You still work long hours. Maybe not as bad as IB but still. And the deals take FOREVER to close because there’s 1000x compliance policies you need to fulfill.
3. Most of the people there because they couldn’t find a real finance role. The people there don’t actually know finance very well. Analysis is not rigorous. People are careless.
4. You think politics is bad in IB? 1000x worse at DFIs. No such thing as merit.
5. If you’re trying to polish your resume for MBA (which is already a horrible end in and of itself), schools care far more about 1) will you be rich one day and 2) what’s your GPA and test score for our rankings. All the life changing stuff they put on their website is just so the public doesn’t hate them for being the greedy bloodsuckers they really are.
6. Other exits opps are shit. No one actually cares that you wanted to “save the world.” You’ve been out of a rigorous environment for some time and it’s presumed you’ve developed bad habits.
7. You’re still VERY removed from the development impact. If you want direct impact, a non profit where you have direct interaction might be best (i.e., big brother, etc.)
Thanks for sharing this honest feedback. Any insights on your friend's path post-DFI (assuming he/she left)?
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