FLDP v. Risk Management Consulting

So, i've been pretty set to do an FLDP program since I accepted an offer several months ago. But I just recently got an offer in Risk Management Consulting. The Risk Management job pays more both in salary and bonuses so my all in pay would be roughly ~10-15k more as a first year. And the Risk Management job is in a city I prefer over the FLDP program, though both are in big high COL cities.

My question is this, if I want to get into investment management later in life and/or get into a top MBA program which should I choose? Also, is it really bad form to renege on an offer this late in the game? I've met some of the other fldps and the management team. I'm also only like 12 weeks away from my start date. I'm feeling guilty though leaning toward the risk management job. Any insight would be appreciated.

 
manbearpig:
If it's Market Risk, I would pick that. I find Credit Risk quite boring. Operational Risk is seriously back office work. Choose wisely.
They couldn't tell me the exact group yet, but hinted that I may end up working my first year with a group that does a lot of work for mortgage lenders but that I would also need to do some financial modeling. So i'm not exactly sure what to expect.
 

Not sure what group i'd be in. But it's essentially enterprise risk management and the work is primarily with financial institutions and insurance companies. So anything from issues with market exposure to liquidity risk to capital allocation. I'll be in one of the client facing groups working as a consultant doing some modeling and such myself but also working as a liaison between clients and the more quantitative analysts.

 

Consider the brand names. See which programs have a better chance at the MBA programs you want to attend.

The Risk stuff sounds interesting, especially if its Market risk. As mentioned before, credit risk is boring.

Which city would you be happier in? How important is money at this point? And what are you looking to get out of your experience?

I would personally choose the program which is in the city that I would prefer to work in, but that's just me. Also, with the FLDP program I'm sure they're going to rotate you to different jobs in a relatively short period, this should give you good exposure to the industry.

 
Best Response
pacman007:
Consider the brand names. See which programs have a better chance at the MBA programs you want to attend.

The Risk stuff sounds interesting, especially if its Market risk. As mentioned before, credit risk is boring.

Which city would you be happier in? How important is money at this point? And what are you looking to get out of your experience?

I would personally choose the program which is in the city that I would prefer to work in, but that's just me. Also, with the FLDP program I'm sure they're going to rotate you to different jobs in a relatively short period, this should give you good exposure to the industry.

The FLDP program isn't a great brand name. It's not GE or MSFT or something of that stature. It's a middling manufacturing F500. I do get 3-4 rotations through FP&A, Treasury, Accounting, etc but no Corp Dev or something that is more banking related and it's not an industry i'd like to be in long term. It's hard for me to judge the brand name of the risk consulting practice because it's a boutique but they have a lot of impressive clients. That said I had never heard of them before I interviewed for them. I would definitely be happier in the city that the Risk job is in, but the lack of knowing exactly what group I would be in is a little disconcerting. And as far as money goes, it's important, though not terribly because both jobs pay well. But a 10-15k difference is certainly enough to weigh on me, especially in high COL cities.

At this point i'm torn, especially because I feel bad for reneging this late in the game. Also, no one has mentioned whether or not they think it's plausible or feasible for me to get into IM through either of these jobs.

 

I think you've just answered your own question. You don't want to work in the industry that the FLDP job is in so that alone should be enough to make your decision when you take into account your long term goals.

I would go with Risk and do the CFA at the same time, that should give a solid shot at AM after your MBA.

People tend to group all F500 rotational programs together, I think that is BS. For instance, doing a shitty rotation at Exxon/Shell is much more valuable than doing one at Xerox Printing Co....If you're at Exxon chances of you getting into a top MBA program are much higher when compared to some random manufacturing Fortune 200 company. I'm just saying this because you'll have people tell you that F500 experience is awesome.

And bro, you didn't sign your life away to the FLDP company did you? So who cares if they get pissy when you tell them you found something better. Do what is best for you, especially in this economy.

 
pacman007:
I think you've just answered your own question. You don't want to work in the industry that the FLDP job is in so that alone should be enough to make your decision when you take into account your long term goals.

I would go with Risk and do the CFA at the same time, that should give a solid shot at AM after your MBA.

People tend to group all F500 rotational programs together, I think that is BS. For instance, doing a shitty rotation at Exxon/Shell is much more valuable than doing one at Xerox Printing Co....If you're at Exxon chances of you getting into a top MBA program are much higher when compared to some random manufacturing Fortune 200 company. I'm just saying this because you'll have people tell you that F500 experience is awesome.

And bro, you didn't sign your life away to the FLDP company did you? So who cares if they get pissy when you tell them you found something better. Do what is best for you, especially in this economy.

Ya, admittedly, when I wrote this thread I was really looking for a reason not to pick the risk job. I've definitely been leaning towards doing that and clearly the fact that I've still been taking interviews is an indicator i'm not all that excited about the FLDP. I just wanted to make sure that I got other viewpoints and that there wasn't anything I was missing.

 

Do not pick enterprise risk management. It is just risk reporting. Boring as shit with very little growth. FLDP will be much better in the long run even if you're taking less money now. If you excel, it can open up a lot of doors for you.

-MBP
 
manbearpig:
Do not pick enterprise risk management. It is just risk reporting. Boring as shit with very little growth. FLDP will be much better in the long run even if you're taking less money now. If you excel, it can open up a lot of doors for you.
The point is that it's full sevice risk consulting. So I could and would get involved in everything from market risk, to credit risk, to liquitidyy, capital allocation, ERS, etc if I stuck around. But I can't be positive what I would be involved in during year one.
 

Oh right I forgot that it's a consulting role. Internal ERM will seriously kill you!

Risk consulting isn't considered sexy or anything (especially not on this forum), but it's lucrative and has a lot of growth right now. Definitely not a bad way to go. I would focus on Market Risk to build your core foundation, and Liquidity Risk to broaden your experience. Plus liquidity is becoming more and more important.

-MBP
 

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