Property Management --> Finance
Dear Diary post incoming (Age 28. BA degree)
Currently working in the property management division at one of the bigger CRE firms (JLL, CBRE, Cushman, etc.) and interested in switching over to finance. Been in my current role almost 2 years
I originally wanted to go into leasing as a longterm career but have since decided finance would be a better career fit. I missed the i-banking train when in undergrad but have followed financial careers closely since school just as a hobby so like to think I have avid knowledge of what career tracks look like/hours/etc.
I would prefer to not get an MBA despite all the doors it may open as I just hate school and candidly suck at testing
Asset management seems to pop up for people in similar career boats as mine (my boss even had one person in my role make the switch years ago). Our team works closely with the top team in our entire company's investment arm as well. Currently, I have been thinking of trying to switch to our firm's capital markets division, then after a few years there, a switch to something like corporate finance at one of the banks, etc. would be less of an uphill (impossible) battle
What would be the smartest approach for someone trying to lateral with only a few years of experience in a corporate setting?
If you want to enter an IB as an associate, you'll need an MBA.
I doubt it's going to be possible to lateral to IB M&A analyst positions from your current role, especially in this market. Sorry man, just keeping it real.
Focus your energy on the MBA if you are dead set on banking / M&A, and you can totally get into a spot at a solid bank.
However, this other path of going cap markets and then corporate finance would be something great to do while applying to business school. If you then lateral to an AM I mean that’s the exit opportunity from banking so maybe that becomes a more long term thing. You’ve got a lot of opportunity.
Thanks!
I think my hatred of school has ruled out an MBA for now so I was focusing on if the cap markets to corporate finance makes sense?
Or if there is another path that would be more efficient for a switch to work in fin services
That’s fine - I also don’t want to do an MBA lol, f that.
But it’ll be hard to get into FO IB jobs, especially M&A, without it I think, especially given the market.
But if that isn’t a goal of yours, then I think you could totally go cap markets to corporate finance and to something in asset management in your asset class.
Grad school is likely the most efficient path for someone with your skillset to transition to a more principal side role. Depending on your market, you can find a program that doesn't require the GMAT, see if you can knock out a MSRE/MSRED part-time while you work to make the switch.
Other than that I'd work on things like modeling in your spare time, along with networking in local industry orgs to help you scope out potential opportunities to lateral.
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