Can an Associate on Portfolio Management team at a large core fund switch to acquisitions, or is it too late?

Hi All,

I am at a crossroads in my career path and need to make a very big decision, and am seeking advice on what role to take: I have been presented with two offers, both at Associate level, one as an Acquisitions Associate for a €500mn opportunistic fund in London, and the other as a Portfolio Management Associate at one of the largest Asian core funds based in Hong Kong.

Background - I have 1.5 year's experience in investment banking (private placement) and 1.5 year's experience in Investment Management for a real estate private equity GP (1.5bn aum for my funds).

I have always wanted to switch into a PERE acquisitions role and the offer for acquisitions associate would be great experience and in line with my long term career goals. The only problem is that I am very much over living in London as I am greatly affected by the terrible weather here. I honestly don’t think I can live here for another 1.5 years even though the opportunity is great. It is my dream to go back to Hong Kong for work as I have previous experience in the city and absolutely love it.

Intuitively, I believe that the longer I wait to switch into acquisitions, the harder it will be for me to do so as I get to more and more experience and rank outside of acquisitions. However, my real estate financial modelling skills are sharp and I have a solid resume, I have the expectation that if I go to HK, I could probably switch into acquisitions in 1.5 years or so if I want to (which is likely). **Would anyone here advise me to NOT take the HK role? **