IR at MF or PC at LMM
Having to choose between two roles currently and both seem to have significant pros and cons. People have said IR is basically a dream exit so entering this area now would be a good move. Others have said I will be stuck there if I choose to do it with no way back into investing.
The PC opportunity presents higher comp but significantly more hours. Generally, I am more interested in PC investing when compared to IR. The question is, which would be the overall best move and would I potentially be able to move out to investing from IR perhaps internally or through an MBA?
Cheers!
What does the process for recruiting to IR look like? What is the prep like?
Internally IR to investing will never happen.
Would I be able to move to another MF firm but for investing?
Perhaps if I completed the CFA and networked, is it likely?
99.9% not gonna happen. MBA would be the only shot. Why would another MF take a shot on an IR person? Versus a top bucket IB individual or a lateral from an investing role
IR -> investment team may not be the norm but there’s certainly precedent out there…some shops more perceptive/accommodating than others (eg Advent). That being said I wouldn’t make the move banking on a switch being offered to me. The fund may not need new people, they may overhire men and prioritise women when you try and move, you might realise you hate the investment team, etc etc. The likely outcome would be you try and move to an investment team elsewhere, in which case you’d recruit with a weaker profile and probably take a pay/title cut or move downmarket. Sounds like a good opportunity regardless, as does the debt gig. I’d personally do some diligence on the people and go with the team I like, the one where I can see myself growing, one where you think people would help you.
Lol Advent has a good culture but there is 0% chance of them letting an IR person transfer into an investing role
I can’t imagine any MM/UMM/MF has ever taken an IR person direct into an investing role. I’m happy to be proven wrong here but based on what I’ve seen in the industry this doesn’t seem like a viable pathway at all (a cursory LinkedIn search confirms this at first).
If you want to be an investor then I would highly recommend you take the investing role and not try this IR to investing jump.
Bump
Anyone who tells you there's a realistic shot at moving from IR to an investment team role is either clueless with no idea what they're talking about or intentionally lying. It may have happened a couple of times across every investment team member from all the MM/UMM/MFs there are and I guarantee you none of them were normal cases and had significant extenuating factors (e.g. someone very senior heavily pulling for them). There are 0 transferrable skills or value-add someone coming from IR can bring to an investment role. Not sure who says it's a "dream exit" because it's not... Sure, it's cushy compared to IB/PE/HF investment roles in terms of hours worked but the comp as a result is significantly lower. You can kiss goodbye any chance at carry. It's a good career, you'll still make 6 figs if that's how you gauge "dream exit", but it's not what most people looking at PE are aiming for.
PC (assuming private credit?) is much more possible because it is, at the end of the day, and investment role. I personally know 2 guys who made the shifts from PC teams to PE investment roles, both at MFs. I admittedly know nothing about how PC day to day is or how it's looked at in the LMM, but you're certainly much closer to developing the skillsets that a PE role would be interested in should that be your LT goal. I would imagine PC also recruits better for BSchool, but there's an argument to be had about the branding of a MF vs LMM and how your undergrad stats factor in.
Totally up to you, you haven't really explained what your long-term goals here are or what your current work experience is. Both are good long-term career options, just vastly different paths. If you were to go down the IR route you're much more likely to get pigeonholed into non-investment roles so worth keeping that in mind. MBAs are for career pivots, yes, but trying to do PE post-MBA without pre-MBA investment/IB experience is going to be VERY difficult if not impossible. There's just too many good candidates vying for too few seats who would have more relevant skills that most firms wouldn't spend more than 10 seconds looking at your profile before tossing it in the trash in lieu of someone better qualified. Harsh reality, but it's because your decision here is important. Good luck!
Thank you very much for the comprehensive answer - very helpful for me. I’m going down the PC route!
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