Long term goal is HF.
Went to no name state school bur broke into BB IB thru network.
Will be VP in a year.
Unwise to drop out of IB to go to HSW for prestige reset + HF opps?
Don't find my MDs lives appealing one bit. Am I pigeonholed at VP?
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, your situation is a classic dilemma for mid-level investment bankers aiming to transition to hedge funds (HF). Here’s a breakdown of your scenario:
Key Considerations:
HSW MBA for Prestige Reset:
Timing and Opportunity Cost:
Pigeonholing at VP:
Direct HF Transition:
Recommendation:
Final Thought:
The decision ultimately depends on your risk tolerance and how much you value the prestige reset and structured recruiting at HSW. If you’re ready to invest in your future and pivot, the MBA is a strong move. If not, start networking aggressively for HF roles while leveraging your VP track.
Sources: Join startup HF or pursue MBA? Seeking advice.., Leave MF PE for H/S MBA and Pursue Goal to Develop Country?, What I've learned so far after 1 yr at a top MBA program (If I could do it over):, Current Value of MBA for Highly Successful Young Professionals
I don't think it's unwise to drop IB for HSW... you can always return post-MBA and/or recruit for HF with IB as a fallback.
Getting a brand name MBA won’t help you get a job at HF. If you can get one, you can get one now and if you can’t, it’s unlikely to make a difference. Same with private equity. It will help marginally with a transition to corporate but the reality is that finding a job once you’re employed for 5-6 years in IB is often a function of how much effort you put into it and whether you are capable of doing it doing well, not your “credentials”. HF work is also very specialised, you have to live and breath specific markets and a specific investing style. They will see right through you if you don’t.
If you go to business school, do it because you want to not because you think it will land you somewhere specific. It’s entirely possible you will return back to banking as an associate zero (remember hiring a guy out of Wharton that did three years of banking and two years of PE at a top firm as a stub). But if you can live with that risk, and the fact that you’re down $1mm cash in lost comp, tuition and living expenses (basically a down payment on a really nice house in Darien), everyone I know who went to that calibre of business school - I was an A2A - had a blast.
Absolutely this - MBA is not going to be that useful to you at this point and you're getting pretty senior for it as well.
Your time is way better spent grinding on prep and networking or using HH connections to get into a (likely smaller) HF, then hope you do well from there and try and trade up.
You better be absolutely obsessed with the public markets and have solid pitches, as well as a story for why you spent so long doing transaction work if you are so obsessed with the public markets.
If HF is the real goal, an HSW MBA only makes sense if you use it as a reset, not a detour. Going VP first narrows your optionality fast and makes you look like a career banker, which most HFs don’t want. On the other hand, leaving a near VP seat is expensive if you don’t have a clear post MBA HF plan lined up. You’re not fully pigeonholed yet, but you’re close. If you stay, start recruiting quietly now. If you go HSW, treat it as a two year HF recruiting grind, not a prestige break.
That’s 1mm spent on the possibility of recruitment. Most HF PMs I know don’t gaf about your MBA and recruit on the training, intellectual and behavioral features specifically targeted for that position. People either have it or they don’t. If you have it, it’s about getting in front of the right people. If you don’t, an MBA isn’t going to help you.
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