Motivation for Finance if I already have the money?

This might sound stupid to some of you ... but. My biggest goal was always to break into Banking / Finance, I love the industry and I love markets and all the buzz around it.

Im at the end of my Econ Bachelor and have great grades (top 5%) but my motivation slips more and more away.

I trade since around 3-4 years and am profitable since around 2 years, very short timeframes and mostly FX and Crypto since 2 years.

When BTC ran vom 3k to 13k I made a f*ton of money running heavy derivative longs and my account grew hyoge from it. Which means I could / can take bigger risk now and bank a lot.

I have a lot of money on the side (think about ~10 years BB salary prolly) and I just dont know what to do now.

A big part of the motivation of banking is gone now for me but I also dont want to stay at home trading in my room, yeah it makes money but the status part is missing a bit.

Has anyone had a smilar situation for example found a business who already made money before Finance?

Do you think my trading track record will impress them somehow, how should I audit it? Seriously dont have the motivation for all these gmat garbage and entry tests anymore when my net worth is now higher then most of the VPs in the bank (I hope that doesnt sound too cocky).

Cya guys

7 Comments
 

Yes its true, Im only interested in trading. Thing is I feel completely lost over here in Europe. I dont live in London or Frankfurt, where I live there is basically no Financial industry at all.

Its not like that I could write a few shops and get a shot at it, there are huge frictions involved.

Also I feel like extremely frustrated with the always higher, and higher entry requirements. You have to go to your Target School, have great Grades, 10 internships, 750 GMAT you know what I mean?

Today I looked at some top target schools in europe and there introduction youtube videos and it all feels so fucking fake.. like every student running around in their nice suits, smiling like ken - like a plastic world.

I dont want to put that down but Im more the "Dr. Michael Burry" kind of thing (see The Big Short) I sit alot at home and basically my only hobby are the financial markets. I follow them ~14 hours a day when Im not writing exams. This is what gives me energy.

How should I express that when applying for funds? I already send out a few applications last year but did not get a single interview (was early in my degree though) - frustrating.

 
Most Helpful

OP - (if there is any truth to the post), first of all, take a breath, relax and pat yourself on the back. You are well ahead of most people in the game, by far. That's awesome.

Now with all due respect, if you like trading, then why on Earth would you want to sit in some cube around doing excel/ppt and being bossed around by insecure and arrogant pricks who aren't as well off as you and will most certainly work you to the bone?

By the way, said pitches and models may seldom be used and especially for you, may be a royal waste of time and energy.

Plus VPs don't get paid what they used to, and remember living in big cities is expensive post tax and that's before you get into the lifestyles.. There are a lot more people who are on thinner ice (savings-wise) than you'd think.

An idea at the very least (not that I'd understand this either) is to try to get into a trading desk, but even nowadays with less prop much of it is about client flows and often about playing defense and not blowing up the book rather than making money from positioning like it used to be.

If you love trading, why not move to a big city in Europe or wherever, start your own crypto/whatever fund (if ex-Europe that should help with the visa)? Get some friends and family money, even small tickets, a little one person office in a we-work (this way you can socially interact and go to "work") and be your own boss and make money. If you keep making money, then word of mouth will spread pretty fast. Your overheads will be low and you won't have to pay anyone else out but yourself. Need to show off your PnL? You can always show them your bank statement (this is assuming you do not have family wealth or have software that has tracked your performance).

Plus you'll be in a co-working space and meeting people and if you are in a big city that means you can network more and learn more into other business lines, finance, whatever.

Seriously, financial jobs are not that prestigious anymore. Very few jobs are as prestigious as "You don't know who I am but I have $5m in the bank that I made myself by the age of 22".

If all else fails and you don't like what you've read above or in this thread, then maybe its time for you to travel around the world, meet people, eat different food, read a lot, pick up new hobbies, relax etc. After all, you have the money and the time to do it. You never know what you will learn or who you will meet.

Good Luck

I used to do Asia-Pacific PE (kind of like FoF). Now I do something else but happy to try and answer questions on that stuff.
 

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