Reneging 1–2 weeks after accepting FT offer, with nine months until start?

College senior looking for advice on a potential reneging situation.

I recently accepted a full-time investment analyst offer at an asset allocator in Boston, starting in late June—roughly nine months away. I then received an offer from a leveraged finance team at an investment bank (think of HSBC, MUFG, SMBC) in NYC. The team got back to me late in the process, after I had already accepted the allocator offer.

I think I would enjoy both roles, but I'm worried that if I start off my career in the allocator space (not direct investing), I won't be able to leave that space for the rest of my career (likely going to work for endowments or family offices) unless I pursue an MBA, which is expensive. However, if I join a bank, I'll be able to leave banking and go to allocator space or any other space later on. A couple of people at the allocator actually took that path.

Brief overview of the roles:

- Asset allocator: Helping manage multi-asset client portfolios, making asset allocation and external managerb recommendations, and analyzing portfolio performance and risk.
- LevFin credit underwriting / portfolio management: Analyzing leveraged corporate borrowers, assessing cash flow and debt repayment capacity, monitoring credit quality, and evaluating loan amendments and financing requests.

The LevFin role may align more closely with my longer-term interest in company-level credit investing. I’m still weighing the opportunities, but if I switch, I would be withdrawing approximately 1–2 weeks after accepting the allocator offer.

I’m grateful to have both opportunities and take the commitment I made seriously. How bad is reneging in this situation? Does notifying them shortly after accepting, with nine months before the start date, meaningfully soften the impact? Should I primarily expect to burn a bridge with that firm, or is there a realistic risk of broader consequences through recruiting or my school?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has done this or handled it from the hiring side, including advice on communicating the decision professionally.