Will a 1-Year Masters in Finance at Oxbridge/LSE Help Me Break Into London IB?

TLDR: Singapore target grad with BB/EB IB and MM PE internship experience, now in FT MM infra PE. Thinking of doing a 1-year Masters at Oxbridge/LSE to pivot into London IB, but never did spring weeks and would be an older candidate. Is this even realistic?

Hi all,

I’m considering whether a Masters in Finance at Oxbridge or LSE makes sense for me if my end goal is to break into IB in London. For context, I graduated from a target university in Singapore with top grades, have around a year of M&A internship experience split between a BB and an EB (neither converted), and another year in MM private equity. I’ve recently started full-time at a mid-market infra PE fund.

My concern is that I’ve never gone through the UK spring week pipeline, and I’d likely be applying as a masters student who’s older than the typical candidate. Does a one-year masters at Oxbridge or LSE realistically improve my odds of landing a London IB internship or full-time role? Do firms in London even take on postgrad students who didn’t come through spring weeks, or would I essentially be too late for the usual funnel? And finally, would my prior IB and PE deal experience offset the lack of UK-specific early recruiting?