I'm 27 and a medical student that just landed an IB internship at a strong bank in Canada in one of our major metros. My long-term goal is to become an investor, either through my own PE company, or by just investing my own net worth to the point where I can be self-sufficient.
In the short-term, my plan was to rip IB in Canada and then try to get into PE in the US. As an international, at an advanced age, at a Canadian Big 5, am I facing a way harder uphill battle than I think? Will sponsorship alone limit me to MFs, who will not even look at me given my lack of prestigious UG (which wasn't a finance degree) and "un-prestigious" bank (they only want BB)?
Would I have better luck looking into a Canadian PE firm (Onex) and then after experience there get an MBA and leverage the educational VISAs I can get with it to move to the US?
Depends how “advanced” your age is? Think you should focus on healthcare sector specialist PE funds where your experience in medicine will be an advantage.
Although the Big 5 banks are great in Canada, they do not place well (at all?) into US PE funds.
As an alternative idea, why not stay in medicine, build wealth, and invest on the side? Assuming you have specialized in something that will bring in some decent coin, you can use your own balance sheet to invest in small healthcare businesses. For example, there are a lot of search funders that could benefit from your cash and expertise. Depending on how much you invest and your level of expertise, you could also potentially join in an Advisor/Board capacity.
It's a big commitment to finish medical school with no income just to not want to focus on healthcare at the end of the day, it's not my passion whatsoever. I'm also in Canada which has a far less robust healthcare commercial industry.
Why don't Big 5s place well? They're very strong banks and competitive in Canada.
How many years into med school are you? If you're 27, does that mean you are already 3 or so years in?
I started at 24 and took a year off after finishing it to travel and make up for travel I lost for personal reasons prior to starting school (death in family + COVID). Once I got back I realized medicine wasn’t for me and gunned it for finance, leading me to land IB job to start in January.
If I went back I’d be 28 starting my second year.
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