First time poster here. I wanted to work on Wall Street when I was in college but it did not work out for various reasons (including graduating in 2009 amidst the financial crisis). I ended up at top insurance company in Boston where I have been working on annuity valuation and hedging. I flew through all 10 of my actuarial exams (raises and bonuses are great motivation) but after four years in the field I am realizing it is simply not interesting / challenging / competitive enough for me. I enjoy the complex financial modeling, but the aspects of deal making, strategic thinking and human judgment don't seem to come into play all that much for actuaries.
I am interested in private equity. I know PE would be a huge change and is very difficult to break into. My proposed plan of attack is as follows:
- Get into a top 5 MBA program. I took one practice GMAT so far and got a 710 with minimal studying so I'm hoping I can push that up to around 750. I also think the actuarial designation (FSA) will help strengthen my application.
- Network like crazy and try to get an internship at an investment bank or private equity firm the summer before I start grad school. The goal here would be to have some type of relevant experience on my resume, even if it means working unpaid for a few months.
- Leverage this experience and b-school contacts into a more desirable internship between years one and two of grad school.
- Hopefully by this point I will be considered among the same playing field as other b-school students who may have had full time pre-MBA experience in IB or PE and that will translate into a full time offer at a PE firm.
I know PE is an extremely competitive field but I am willing to put in the work necessary to make it happen. I think the skills I have learned as an actuary will be a great help. Constructing lbo models should be a breeze and my insurance product knowledge would make me a good fit at a firm that specializes in insurance industry deals.
I would greatly appreciate any comments or advice anyone may have. Thanks in advance!
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Just a guess, Liberty Mutual?
You're a prime candidate for an MBA reboot. However, post-MBA PE gigs are way harder to secure than pre-mba ones.
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I don't think I would enjoy being a fixed income trader, as traders tend to focus on short term trends rather than long term fundamentals. I could see myself being a FI PM, but don't think I would need the whole MBA reboot to do so. In my current annuity hedging role, I work closely with PMs (FI and equity) to determine how much we need to hedge (short futures / buy options / enter interst rate swaps) to hedge the company exposure to their investments.
McKinsey hires actuaries as management consultants. They usually have a posting specific to actuaries open on the careers site for US offices. Recommend you try this and skip the MBA if it’s a possibility
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