[Post-MBA] IBD Associate OR MM Fund Associate if Goal is MF?

Hello all, hope that all of you are staying safe.

I would love to hear your opinion on whether it is better to work as (1) an IBD Associate at BB / EB or (2) a MM Fund Associate / Principal right after MBA if the ultimate goal is to get into top megafunds?

Thanks.

4 Comments
 

Thanks a lot for your comments, super helpful.

My pre-MBA experience is principal investing at a financial services company, I will be going to one of the top business schools this fall (think H/W/S) and I may target special sit / credit / FIG-focused funds (keeping my options open, is that a good or bad thing?).

Reading between the lines, it seems that even a smaller fund (say AUM of 1bn and below) would still be more preferable than Associates at an investment bank (regardless of EB or BB).

Also wanted to ask what are the exit opportunities for post-MBA IBD Associates? Do they either stay in banking or move over to corporate doing in-house M&A/strategy?

Thanks a lot for your comments so far.

 

It's good that you have pre-investing experience. This also means that banking recruiting is even more so not a good idea, given how hard it will be to sell why you want to move to sell-side from buy-side. If you're targeting smaller funds, any of the top 5 business schools will do, with the right amount of networking.

I would definitely say that even a smaller fund is more preferable than IB at post-MBA level. It's fundamentally a different skill set that you learn (which I'm sure you already know), from driving thesis-based investment approach to thinking like an investor, rather than just an advisory role.

Exit opportunities for post-MBA IBD Associates are extremely slim no matter which MBA degree you have (and you'll be surprised how little this matters once out of MBA), although small/MM funds are definitely open to talking to you at a more senior level. You will have to grind out a couple years in banking first though. From what I've seen, most stay in banking for a while till ED/MD or move over to corporate. Unfortunately, those pursuing IB post-MBA aren't exactly the top top candidates you meet at the top programs. Spots for MF or most UMM funds are reserved for those with the right background pre-MBA.

 

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