One year of FDD Exit Opp
I just completed a year of FDD at a big 4 (first year, associate level) and am looking to exit. The deal experience is great but it's way more accounting heavy than I'd like + the hours I work (close to 70-80 consistently) make me wonder whether I could be in a better role (in terms of pay, hours, and/or experience, I'd be open 2/3 of those). Goal is to go get my MBA and make a transition to BB IB in a few years, so I'm wondering where I could go that would still provide me with relevant experience and open business school doors for me.
went from FDD to IB and I'm leaving soon - job really is not all it's cracked up to be. They value very little of the technical skills from outside laterals and so that puts you in a weird spot where you're overqualified technically but they'll still have you doing bitchwork that is the norm in banking
I will say that if you are able to get really good at FDD (data analytics tools, getting better with data consolidation in excel, etc), hours come down significantly
If you're going to aim for the MBA, I recommend just trying to go straight into PE. Might be tough, but it's a possibility if you go through a top MBA.
How many long were you in each role in FDD and IB and what are you going to next?
did a year in FDD, 2 years in banking. going to corporate finance / corp dev now
Do you think we can connect? Want to hear your story/get some advice from you
yep PM me
Are you set on doing an MBA? Why not go straight to the common FDD exit ops of private credit, corp dev, or MM IB?
Market is slower right now but I think you could get into a solid career directly from this role without the huge expense of MBA just to go to IB. Even if you really want BB IB, you could do that easily from a MM IB role
Corp Dev at a large public from FDD doesn't look like a common exit from what I've seen. I think MBA (although expensive) would open up more doors and allow me to build a network as well
If money isn't an issue and you want a vacation MBA is fine, but it's frankly foolish from a financial point of view given you can exit to any of your preferred paths already. The network thing is not what it used to be given how few people do MBA these days
Are there a lot of people going straight to PC without IB from FDD?
Just try to go straight to IB. Nothing worse than spending money on getting an MBA to go to IB and realize you hate it. You likely won’t get BB offers but you could potentially get a respectable MM spot and get the experience you need to go to a buyside role.
Also, MBA without prior PE experience significantly reduces your chances of getting into PE after MBA post-MBA.
Source: went from FDD to MM IB. Now looking at buyside roles
Any idea if banks are taking laterals from FDD in this environment? Seems as if banks have paused hiring for now/ doing layoffs. In the same boat and looking to jump over to IB.
If you are at big 4 FDD you can exit straight to PE in some cases. I say "in some cases" because you aren't going to get into a prestigious fund, but you could pretty easily hop to a LMM or maybe even MM shop. I have a lot of friends that have done it. Also 70-80 hours consistently in FDD is a lot for the level of comp.
As someone who has the val/FDD background and works in PE, I have never seen anyone make that transition. You won't have the deal-chops that LMM firms need. They don't have training programs or enough layers to teach you the basics, so you really need a grasp on the M&A process and modeling, both of which you aren't getting in FDD. Not hard to learn obviously, but my LMM firm wouldn't hire this background and suspect others would be in the same camp.
Note: this is just one persons perspective
A very valid viewpoint. I have not worked in FDD or made that transition so you know better than me in that regard for sure.
As for the people I knew, two of them started in Big 4 audit->Big 4 FDD (2 to 3 years)->MM PE shop 8bn AUM. They had both done modeling courses prior to any interviews so maybe that helped on that side. Both were hired by the same shop.
Different guy started Big 4 Audit->non accounting firm transaction advisory shop that was not large (3 years)-> LMM PE shop 2bn AUM. Also did modeling courses but said his interview was not super technical.
The rest I haven't asked their exact path. In every case I just mentioned, they knew people pretty well at the shops they ended up at, which is probably the entire reason they got the job. Your point about LMM and MM firms not usually hiring FDD guys because of the lack of experience is probably entirely correct. Certainly still ways to make that jump though if you get creative.
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