Exit opportunities post sell-side BB trading on various desks
Hi,
Could someone give an idea regarding the exit opportunities post a stint in sell-side BB trading? Given the volatility in headcount, it seems like a prudent idea to get a clearer view on the exit opportunities available to traders on various desks.
There are practically none. Unlike IBD, if you do a 2 year stint in trading, you are not likely to find numerous exit opps. Instead you have to be an absolute pro within your product and network with clients in order to jump ship. This could take 3-4 years minimum. A lot of HFs and AMs are recruiting directly out of target schools now so you would be even less likely to land something after a BB S&T stint. Also, if you go into sales, you're just plain old screwed for exit ops unless you wanna sell used cars? or AC units? It is a worthless skillset when it comes to recruiting for HFs these days.
My advice: learn Python and excel and then you will have many more options outside of traditional markets roles. You could work in fintech, data science, or even marketing. Great a broad skillset while you're there to open up doors for yourself.
This isn't entirely accurate. As someone at a top BB S&T desk, everyone generalizes the entire S&T quantum and assigns notions to the whole industry which are just not true. When you're thinkin about S&T, you have to differentiate: are you thinking about Sales, Trading, or Structuring? Go a step deeper, what product are you thinking about? FX? Rates? Securitized? Corporate Bonds? EM? ABS structured credit? Equities (barf) ?
Broadly, most exit opps for Sales desks are typically indifferent of product: your role exists only at sell side investment banks and you don't have real value to a hedge fund or real money account. You're either going to another bank doing the same role or trying to lateral, or a typical corp dev type gig to leave sales behind.
IMO, trading and structuring yields the best exit opps. You learn how to take risk even if you don't do it in a very real way in your first 2 years and once you begin understanding "how" that works and get a true feel for the product, you can go buy side in a junior role or hold on at the BB and wait to move as a real rainmaker. Structuring is much the same: if you're working on infrastructure, energy, ABS, direct lending, etc. type deals at a bank, then your exit opps are likely at the MF level where you'll go to a KKR or BX to do Infra/RE/DL etc lending seat.
Equities is the worst of the pool. BB equities desks mostly just execute and there's little true value add. Glorified salesmen even if you're a sales-trader and almost certainly need to learn coding, python, whatever else if you want to exit opp into something relevant.
tl;dr if you're looking at BB S&T, pick a desk with an asset class that's interesting to you and aim to shoot for a gig where you have the ability to generate pnl. Otherwise, you run the risk of being run of the mill and facilitating instead of actually making money, thereby limiting exit opps and just your entire work experience.
also at a top BB in trading. i’ve never heard of anyone in structuring going to kkr or blackstone for real estate or infrastructure
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