Finance jobs with best pay/hours balance?

In the last couple months, I have been worked by multiple teams at my IB job. I've started having big doubts regarding staying in IB or going to PE. I find finance interesting, but I feel like no matter what your position, it completely takes up your life. If you're more junior, you're in the office until very late. If you're more senior, you leave the office early, but then you spend all your evenings and weekends dining with clients and expanding your network.

Does anyone know of any jobs in finance that pay relatively well, don't work you too much, and allow you to have a fair bit of actual free time?

What positions are you in, how much do you get paid, how many hours in the office do you spend, and how many hours do you work per week total (including at home)?

 

If you can develop relationships, Asset Management may be the way to go. Fee on AUM, be at the office a little before market hours (catch conference calls of portfolio companies) to a little after market hours (catch conference calls of portfolio companies). Sure, there is networking outside, but if you like that work, it's not really work.

 
Best Response

Back office. First 10 years will suck because the work is butt, but if you can gain some expertise in something like performance, fund accounting, derivatives administration, or overall operations, you can become fairly valuable and never been there past 5:30. Never gonna have a 9 bedroom place in midtown, but the money can be decent. Most PE/HFs have an operating partner/COO who gets a slice of the firm equity/carry.

Asset Management is good, but that's a broad field. Cushiest gigs in there would be family office/endowment management, where you're essentially a manager of fund managers, so you've got HF managers coming through your office on a daily basis to worship your taint. Tough gigs to get though, as there aren't that many of them and turnover is zilch. Again you're probably not going to buy a boat that is large enough to carry another boat, but the money's not bad.

 
exemplaria:

Back office. First 10 years will suck because the work is butt, but if you can gain some expertise in something like performance, fund accounting, derivatives administration, or overall operations, you can become fairly valuable and never been there past 5:30. Never gonna have a 9 bedroom place in midtown, but the money can be decent. Most PE/HFs have an operating partner/COO who gets a slice of the firm equity/carry.

Asset Management is good, but that's a broad field. Cushiest gigs in there would be family office/endowment management, where you're essentially a manager of fund managers, so you've got HF managers coming through your office on a daily basis to worship your taint. Tough gigs to get though, as there aren't that many of them and turnover is zilch. Again you're probably not going to buy a boat that is large enough to carry another boat, but the money's not bad.

That's funny. I say "butt" a lot. The "worship your taint" part was good too.

 

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