Stay at EB vs. Move to MF
Received an offer to join a MF in London in September. PE was always my objective but I'm really liking the team at my EB right now. Culture is great, I don't often work on week-ends, I will likely be ranked top bucket again this year (i.e I'm expecting the bonus to be good) and the goodwill I've built enables me to take days off whenever I feel like it.
While I could stay long-term without too much effort / stress, I feel like I'm not learning much in terms of business acumen (but hey I'm a XLS / PPT machine). I've closed a few sponsor deals and was always impressed by my PE counterparts and how sharp they were. I've come to realize my MDs are everything but role models to me and I don't feel fulfilled by facilitating transactions.
Anyone regretting moving to the buy-side? Is the work more intellectually stimulating at the junior level? Is the work-life balance significantly better?
Tldr; should I stay at my comfortable EB doing monkey tasks or move to stressful MF PE to actually learn something meaningful
Benefits as you mentioned include more intellectually engaging work and perhaps better wlb/pay with carry over long term. However, with the latter, I’ve seen countless threads of people complaining that there isn’t much of a WLB benrfit, and the pay gap between IB and PE is so narrow that I don’t think it’s worth to switch from a risk tolerance POV.
In addition, you don't know if you're going to burn out (saw a lot of posts on here where VPs at funds just lose interest) and/or not be compatible with your co-workers.
Personally, if I see myself liking my work culture at the EB, where my reputation is good and am getting top bucket compensation… I don't see the point in jumping ship. There's more to lose than gain, but I'm curious to see what other people think.
Could you link some of the threads with VPs saying they're not compatible with co-workers?
Not sure if more to lose than gain per the above poster. At this early stage in your career, you can always come back to another EB if you don't like PE. Thinking like an investor will help you become a better banker. See my other post in a similar thread. Applies less to you as pay difference isn't meaningful. Don't expect rainbows and sunshine anywhere anytime soon. But I don't think you will take any risk by moving to a MF at all. If you hate it, come back to your or another bank. If you like it, then congrats you got a very good seat at the table on the buyside. The brand can help you long-term on both sides.
Yes you can come back if you don’t like it, but then you’ve lost those years of progression.
Are the years and compensation lost in IB progression worth the insights you’ll gain as an investor?
@ExpensiveCashFlow, you're a prospect. Don't conjecture on the merits of banking as a long-term career
Holy fuck. If i made some fake account saying I’m an AS in banking would that make you feel better?
You can maybe come back without losing progression - I don't know; but you guys need to realize 2 years in 20+ year career doesn't matter. I think it does give you a broader perspective - you will build a broader network (lawyers, consultants, other banks). You can't put a $ value on those things. Personal choice but just my .02 having been on both sides.
You wont lose years of progression. What OP will lose is the certainty of being in a team with good culture / WLB, which is extremely valuable and not easy to come by if OP decides PE isn't for them.
Curious, would you say this would hold, i.e. being able to mov back to an EB if OP moved to a MM fund or only cos he/she has an offer from an MF?
Should still be doable. Depends on you - already have a good resume regardless of MM vs MF. Also depends on the bank, economy, number of seats open etc.
Out of curiosity, is it viable for one to return to the bank they recruited from? I haven’t seen many people on linkedin who left for pe and returned to banking. Is that a function of self selections or are there structural factors that make it difficult to return to banking that people might be overlooking?
It is viable and many people have done it. Probably easier to return to your old bank than recruit for a new one because the people there already know you which means the process can be fast-tracked.
I know many people who have gone back - often to the same bank because they really liked the culture like OP here. But certainly able to go to other banks if you want to. Just not that common because the lifestyle is typically worse than PE, and you usually make more long-term in PE.
I was in the same situation - really enjoyed my time in banking but wanted to try the investing side.
Definitely give it a try but keep a good relationship with your old team - what happened for me is the following:
1) clearly communicated why I was leaving
2) worked through my notice period (or a chunk of it but was flexible to give the team room to pickup my deals)
3) in my final week my team head took me for dinner and said to me - if you ever want to come back in a year or more just give me a call we’ll happily take you back
Really helpful!
Any regret moving to the investing side so far? Do you not miss the collegial culture of IB?
As per your title you seem to be an Analyst still, do you get to work on PortCo / fundraising?
No regrets so far, learning different things so great to see the learning continue.
I sometimes miss my peers from banking but I am still close with them and grab drinks/dinner relatively frequently with them anyways.
My title is not up to date - I am an associate in the investment team. I don’t touch fundraising (beyond answering questions asked to me by our IR team) but I indeed have some portco responsibility from both deals I just did and legacy deals where the junior has left.
Agree with everyone else, give MF a try but leave on the best of terms with your EB. They will always take you back - although I'd give MF at least a year as I'm sure the first six months will be a tough transition. Your resume will benefit significantly in the long run from having brand name investing experience.
OP, make sure you do your DD on the team you're joining. If their culture is bad, no matter how good / valuable the PE experience is my guess is you'll eventually come to regret it once the honeymoon period is over and it starts to grind.
The work is more interesting at first given you need to think more critically, but it's also a lot more stressful. If teams are run lean, there may not be someone above you checking your work, and your fuck ups have more significant consequences. Some people can handle this, but I've seen it really stress some people - particularly those who didn't spend much time modelling in their old firms and are now responsible for detailed LBO models which aren't being checked by those above them. Once you've been through a few processes, it starts to feel like monkey work too as you're working through the same steps on each new process.
Given we're going into what looks like a quieter period for banking, now could be a good time to try PE. Make sure you leave on good terms, and leave the door open to coming back by saying you're not 100% sure if PE is for you for the long term.
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