Unborn Child Has No Finance Experience - Already Behind?

Wife is 6 months pregnant with our first child and I’m starting to get a little concerned about his trajectory.

Before anyone says I’m overthinking this, I know he is obviously still very young and there is plenty of time. I’m not expecting him to have a fully developed resume before birth. That said, the recruiting environment seems to get more competitive every year, and I’m starting to wonder whether waiting until high school to think about this is just irresponsible parenting.

At the moment, he has zero finance experience. No internships, no leadership positions, no investing experience, no relevant clubs, no demonstrated interest in markets.

I asked the OB during our last appointment whether there was any way to assess quantitative aptitude prenatally and she looked at me like I was insane. Not particularly helpful. His ultrasound measurements are solid, but from what I can tell none of the major banks care about fetal growth percentile.

My bigger concern is that I’m already seeing other parents get much more aggressive. A guy I work with has a 3-year-old who apparently already has a custodial brokerage account and can identify the logos of Goldman, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. Another MD’s daughter is 5 and is apparently “very interested in business.” I don’t even know what that means, but it bothered me more than I expected.

Meanwhile my son currently spends most of his day floating in amniotic fluid.

I’ve tried playing CNBC near my wife’s stomach in the mornings so he can start developing some familiarity with markets, but my wife keeps turning it off because she says it’s “psychotic.” I disagree. Nobody complains when parents play Mozart for unborn children. But suddenly Jim Cramer is a problem?

The current plan is to keep things pretty light initially. Birth to 2: mostly relationship building. Obviously too early for technicals, but I think it’s important that he gets comfortable around senior people. Planning to bring him to a few alumni events once he has basic neck control. Nothing aggressive. Just exposure. I don’t want him becoming one of those kids who gets to sophomore year of college and realizes he has never spoken to an MD.

Ages 3 to 5, I’m thinking basic business concepts. Revenue, costs, profit, maybe simple valuation if he picks up numbers quickly. I’m not going to force DCFs on him before kindergarten unless he shows genuine interest. I think that would be excessive. But I do want him to understand that $1 today is worth more than $1 tomorrow before he starts losing baby teeth.

The school situation is probably my biggest concern. We live in an area with good schools, but I’m starting to realize “good” and “target” are not the same thing. There is one preschool nearby with a very strong alumni base. A surprising number of parents work in finance. Tuition is obviously ridiculous, but if it gives him stronger placement into a target elementary school, I think you almost have to look at it as an investment.

If he attends a non-target preschool, then goes to a semi-target elementary school, by the time he reaches middle school we could already be looking at a very difficult path to upper-middle-market PE. People will say you can lateral later, but why create unnecessary friction?

I also worry about extracurriculars. I don’t really care what sport he plays as long as there is some leadership potential. Soccer seems fine. Hockey probably plays better in Canada. Golf could be useful for relationship development long term. My only hard rule is that if he wants to do something like theatre, he needs to be exceptional enough to spin it in interviews. I am not paying for 12 years of drama classes so that at 20 he tells me he “likes storytelling.” He can learn storytelling by writing CIMs.

Another issue is whether to push public markets or private markets first. My instinct is public markets because it is easier for a child to understand. He can follow stocks, read basic filings, maybe pitch something simple. Private equity is more abstract and I don’t want him memorizing LBO mechanics without understanding businesses first.

That said, I’m conscious that MF recruiting keeps moving earlier. By the time he is college-aged, on-cycle may happen during freshman orientation. I don’t want him to be caught flat-footed.

There is also the question of networking. I personally think this is where most parents fail. They focus too much on academics and not enough on relationships. Grades matter, obviously, but if the kid has a 4.0 and nobody knows who he is, what have you really accomplished?

I’ve already started making a list of people I know at different firms who might be useful later. Not asking anyone for favors now. That would be weird. Just mapping the network. Goldman, Evercore, PJT, Apollo, KKR, a few strong MM funds as a downside case.

My wife found the spreadsheet and asked why there was a tab called “Son — Coverage Universe.” I told her it was self-explanatory. She did not agree.

To be clear, I’m not trying to put pressure on him. If he grows up and genuinely wants to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, whatever, I’ll support him. I just think children make better decisions when they understand the opportunity cost.

If at 8 years old he tells me he wants to be a marine biologist, I’m not going to say no. I’m just going to make sure he fully understands the compensation trajectory. Same thing if he says he wants to work in consulting. I’ll love him regardless. I may need some time, but I’ll get there.

The biggest thing I want to avoid is him becoming complacent. You see it all the time. Kid gets into a decent school. Gets comfortable. Takes a corporate finance internship. Suddenly he’s 22, working in FP&A, and telling himself he “values work-life balance.”

That is how it happens. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to abandon optionality. It happens gradually. One reasonable decision at a time.

My wife thinks I should spend less time thinking about his career and more time choosing a crib. The crib is already selected. Solid construction. Good downside protection. Should last through multiple children. I have handled that.

What I’m asking here is whether anyone has experience with early-stage career planning for children and, specifically, how early is too early to start building toward finance. I want to strike the right balance between being supportive and making sure he doesn’t permanently close doors before he understands what those doors are.

At the moment, I’m thinking:

0–2: networking / brand awareness

3–5: basic accounting and business literacy

6–8: public markets and first stock pitch

9–12: modeling fundamentals

13–15: first serious internship

16+: traditional recruiting path

Does that seem reasonable or am I already behind?

Serious replies only. I’m going to be a father in three months and would rather address this now than wake up in 18 years and find out my son is recruiting for corporate banking.