Boutique ECM-focused Equity Research VS Family Office (Multi-asset) out of College
I'm seeking advice on choosing between two potential roles right out of college.
For context, I have an offer for a small family office (~100m AUM) as a multi-asset investment analyst (PE, private credit and public equities), while also being in the late stages of interviewing with a boutique ECM-focused independent ER firm focusing on DD and research on companies that are in the process of an IPO.
If my long term aspiration is to work in the public equities investing space, which of these two roles will give me a stronger profile? The challenge here is that the family office is rather unknown and I'm afraid that starting my career in a family office will hinder my exit opportunities. At the same time I'm not too sure if an ECM-focused ER role (e.g. DD and research for institutional investors to decide if an IPO is worth participating in) provides me with the skillset and credibility to exit to the buyside, as there seems to a disconnect given that the research work done in the ER role will not be touching on any publicly-traded stocks. I don't have any other interviews in my pipeline so its down to these two options at the moment.
Comp wise the ER role is ~10% higher than what I was offered for the family office role, though this is a lesser concern right now. While I'm still interviewing for the ER role, I would like to know any of your opinions on these two roles, so I can decide if I should continue the interview process with the ER firm or give it up and just take up the family office role.
Thank you!
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's how you can evaluate your options:
Family Office Role:
ECM-Focused Equity Research Role:
Key Considerations:
Recommendation:
If your primary concern is building a strong profile for public equities investing, the family office role might be the better choice due to its direct exposure to public equities. However, if you value brand recognition and networking opportunities more, the ECM-focused ER role could be worth pursuing. Ultimately, weigh the trade-offs between skill set development and exit opportunities to decide which aligns best with your career aspirations.
Sources: ECM Exit Opportunities, ECM, the high finance brain drain, Q&A: HF Analyst @ $5bn+ Fund - Breaking In and Transition to Risk-Taking Role, ER Career Paths, Career ECM Banking
Skip the $100MM FO allocator role.
FOs are all different and chances are you’re not going to get great experience at a small ($100MM) FO, nor great exit ops and training will be questionable.
I’d go as far to say that if you want to do direct investing, the FO role is not for you. This will set you up on an asset allocation path.
There are other FO issues in terms of comp & career path, that just compounds the issue.
Best of luck with the ER role, though I fully don’t get what the exact role is.
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