MIT major for HF + IB
So since I was about 11 I have had a very strong interest in both economics and mathematics. I was just recently admitted into MIT and need help deciding what to major in for IB and HF. Right now I am thinking about a double major in econ and management science.
My plan, as of now, is to double major, work in sales at a big bank for a year then transfer to the IB division for two, earn a CFA and MBA, work at a HF for about two years then start my own hopefully.
First question: How long would this double major take to complete? By the way I already took everything up to multi-variable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations in high school.
Second question: Would this be a good double major for my plan?
Your majors seem fine, but you should be able to go straight to IBD from MIT.
Having a life-plan as a freshman isn't a bad idea necessarily, but yours appears to be based on a number of misconceptions. I'll talk about your life plan and then try to address your double major.
1. Investment banks do not care much what your major is. Economics can be a slight boost, because it implies an interest in finance, and doing well in a very difficult major can make it clear that you are diligent and intelligent, but really all majors that require basic mathematics are well received. In fact, at good colleges, a humanities major can also be just fine if you have good grades. At MIT, your major shouldn't matter that much, because it is assumed that everyone there is sufficiently competent to work out how to use Excel. (In case you didn't know, you will never need advanced mathematics in investment banking). 2. Working in sales for year to transfer into investment banking is a bad idea. Internal transfers are never as easy as banks like to tell potential recruits. And there's no reason why a determined MIT student could not start out in investment banking in the first place. You would get fairly little from your first year in sales; its unlikely that in your first year you would be making any important connections, for instance. Sales is its own career, and not a bad one by any means; go into sales to stay in sales. 3. People place far too much weight on credentials. The CFA is pretty widespread in asset management firms, but by no means necessary for a career in hedge funds. If you look at most leading hedge fund managers, a considerable majority do not have a CFA. Similarly, an MBA teaches you nothing you will need as an investor. It can be a good place to make connections, or switch careers, but there are many hedge funds that do not require the degree, or even actively shun MBA holders. 4. This point is debatable. If you want to work at a hedge fund, set out to work at a hedge fund. Don't spend years of your life in an investment banking program unless you have to. This is a comment I have heard from multiple successful hedge fund managers, all of whom started out working in other funds themselves. 5. When you say you want to work for a hedge fund after investment banking, the implication is that you want to work at a shop that focuses on fundamental equities. As someone going to MIT with a strong background in mathematics, you also have the option of working at "quant" funds. That is, places like Two Sigma that use statistical analyses to devise trading strategies. Working in investment banking is not merely useless for working for such funds, it would be an active disadvantage because it suggests you are interested in a very different style of investing. If such funds interest you, set aside investment banking and instead plan out your undergrad with a focus on computer science, economics, and statistics. A good coder with a background in statistics and economics is in high demand. 6. As for your double major: those sounds like two good majors to combine, as they have significant overlap. The best way to figure out how to do a double major like that is to carefully go through the schedule and regulations, and find the maximum number of courses you can take that will count toward both majors. If there are a few courses that you can do that for, it makes double majoring much easier and quicker.,
Would it be hard for me to go straight into a fund after college? Because the reason I was going to go into IB was because I heard it helped with getting into a fund and that it was extremely difficult to go into a fund straight out of college with no banking experience. And another reason is because when I open up my own fund I want don't want it to be solely quant or fundamental fund but rather implement a healthy mixture of the two. For example create models and evaluate risk with a quantitative outlook and use both quantitative and qualitative analysis when analyzing. So I figured IB would show potential investors that I also rely on fundamentals and am not just another quant.
Hedgefundfreak, Markov broke it down quite well. My advice: pick a major you know will result in a high GPA; add in a tough minor to indicate your interest further. Also, it is not impossbile to break into HF straight out of undergrad. Search for the member Blackhat; he did just this with less than superior credentials, although he went to Wharton and seemed to know a lot about investing when interviewing.
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