How do I pitch for an internal switch from credit to equity?

Hi people!

I have been working as a credit research analyst for a mutual fund for about 20 months and I have come to the realisation that this is not for me. The risk appetite and depth of research that is required is quite shallow. It doesn't help that, unlike equity, the way the credit research role is defined here, the path to becoming a debt fund manager (which was my end goal) is not straightforward because there is no overlap in the skillset. Also, to be frank, I'm paid quite well compared to other analysts who are senior to me (and the general industry average) because I was hired from a premium business school right out of MBA. 

The good thing is that all my bosses (including the CIO) are very happy with my work and appreciate my work ethic. Now, I've been considering talking to the CIO about a potential switch to equity because honestly I feel like I can add a lot more value in that role. The skillset I've developed in my current role is transferrable to ER. I would look just at fewer companies, all within the same sector but in a lot more depth. And I would have to get up to speed on valuation, which I'm sure I can do reasonably quick. I would like to add that the equity research team sits next to us on the floor and we have frequent interactions with them. 

The tricky part is that the credit research team has seen a lot of churn in the past year and we are currently a little understaffed. However, new analysts have been hired and they are expected to join in the next couple of months. I understand that as things stand, it wouldn't make sense for them, but I am ready to put in extra hours to get started to equity, while doing my regular credit work till the situation stabilizes if that's what it takes. I'm banking on the fact that if I decide to leave, they would have to find my replacement anyway, so if they think I'm valuable resource it would make sense to retain me, even if in a different role. Do I sound too naive lmao?

How do I approach a conversation with the CIO about this? He's quite friendly but also very sharp. Any and all advice welcome! 

Thanks!