We may have overstated everything about banking

Woke up early today and thought about an argument I had with a new analyst in my group yesterday, as I was looking for exit opportunities. I was thinking about CorpFin and CorpDev positions and working with HHs on it. I mentioned a FP&A director position at a startup, treasury and IR roles at different companies.

He was shocked I would consider positions that are so 'underwhelming' and 'not intellectually challenging'. I realized he doesn't know how many people at top banks' capital group and ER analysts dream about those positions and it's not uncommon for bankers or PE investors to exit there.

Then I felt there may have been a systematic prestige misconception among junior bankers. If anything, those positions are more technical-heavy than banking. How much have we overstated the excitement of changing colors and fonts in PPT and adjusting logos for pitchbooks 16hrs a day?

5 Comments
 

I know a couple new analysts at different coverage groups would 'jump right on it' for a commitment letter deal and get an erection for a 'potential M&A'

 

I do this this is the case sometimes, there’s threads about this here but especially a ton on r/FinancialCareers. Obviously this is person-specific, but if there’s a particular industry that you like, I feel like CorpDev would be a really great opportunity since you’re closer to the actual business and can really leverage your M&A experience, at least that seems to be the general consensus.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

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