Operations position at hedge fund as a path to investment banking?
I worked at Point72 in the Research group as a freshman, and this summer I have an offer to work at Point72 again in the Operations group.
What kind of exit opportunities would this research-to-operations path set me up for? Would a research and operations position at Point72 put me in the running for an interview at a BB?
Side note: Are there any downsides to working at the same company two years in a row?
What did you do in the research group? It's usually more front office-y than operations, and generally you want to be doing more front office things than back office things if your goal is IB, but IDK about Point 72's research group specifically. Generally doing ops work won't be a great stepping stone for IB, but research might be. I do understand it's your sophomore year so you might get a little more leeway in SA recruiting, than say, someone who did ops junior year recruiting for FT IB.
"Are there any downsides to working at the same company two years in a row?"
It shows that you did a good enough job to be welcomed back, but at the same time, part of the appeal of internships is that you potentially get to "try out" a few different roles/jobs/companies and see what you like.
Thank you, you sound very knowledgeable. I was working more FO at the company; the team provides research reports directly to analysts.
I would be very appreciative if you could answer some additional questions as well: The only tools I used at P72 were Google and Microsoft Office, so to prepare for IB, I think that I should focus this summer on developing modeling skills, would you agree? Can you list a few non-IB positions at banks that would be the best stepping stone into IB? Is it too late in the recruiting process to apply for an IB position at any bank?
I'm basically wondering what would be the best stepping stone between a research position at a hedge fund and an IB position at a top-tier BB, which would be my dream. Should I be focusing my job search toward companies with the best brand recognition, regardless of position, or should I focus on getting that "Investment Banking Summer Analyst" title at a smaller bank?
"I was working more FO at the company; the team provides research reports directly to analysts."
So I guess a question for you would be why would you rather be doing back office stuff like trade confirmations and internal accounting over work that actually gets seen and used in a tangible way?
"I think that I should focus this summer on developing modeling skills, would you agree? Can you list a few non-IB positions at banks that would be the best stepping stone into IB? Is it too late in the recruiting process to apply for an IB position at any bank?"
Modeling skills are actually not all that useful for interns. Most analysts won't let interns touch their models for at least a month anyway and then you're halfway into your internship already.
Regarding non-IB positions that are good stepping stones - commercial/corporate banking, PWM, and PE/HF roles that focus more on the investment side are all good. Also boutique IBs. Probably will need to do some legwork and do some networking to find good opps as a sophomore.
"Should I be focusing my job search toward companies with the best brand recognition, regardless of position, or should I focus on getting that "Investment Banking Summer Analyst" title at a smaller bank?"
The latter - interning at a bank that does tiny M&A deals would be better than doing back office work at JPM.
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