Internships, Small HF vs PWM at BB

I am interested in going into either S&T or smallish hedge fund straight out of college if possible (ideally). For a freshman would it be better to take a small 1-2b HF internship with potentially good mentors or do a pwm internship?

 

Go for the hedge fund. A lot of kids in your position are usually falsely intrigued by interning in WM at a BB firm, but it's not going to be much except cold calling. You won't learn a lot either. Also, once you get a FO position, I have found that it's easier to get other FO positions. You can't go terribly wrong with either, but I would go for the S&T role.

 

Hedge fund without question. If you are looking to go right into a hedge fund straight out of ugrad, chances are you aren't going to get into a megafund. Work the internship at the $1-2bn fund (which still isn't a bad size if the guys are good and not a lot of people), work your ass off, try to get an internship next year, and the next year, and then maybe it turns into something full time or they point you in the direction of something else and put in a good word.

 

Do HF! It gives you prestige and more valuable knowledge, which will lead to a brand name firm later on. Plus PWM you have done already. Do not get carried away with the name-game: it is more important what you do than where you do it.

 

Yes I want to get into investment banking. I live in a city with practically no investment banks, the ones that are in the city are of very small scale (I contacted all of them and no one is looking to take on an intern because they are not getting any deals). That is why I have a choice of interning in PWM or a hedge fund.

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