Buy-side exit opp? Buy-side --> Industry? Is it possible?

It's not uncommon to see bankers on the sell-side transition into industries they cover at mid or senior level, especially during the bad economy. Is it possible for the people on the buy-side to make the same move when the financial industry shrink? Some may ask, why would they want to make that move. Well, when the financial industry shrinks, some people will have to make that move, willing or not. Do the people on the buy-side have the option of moving to the industries ? Or they can only bounce around among the buy-side firms? What will they do if the entire buy-side shrinks?

 
jrtr8der:
when the buy side shrinks....were all f'd

Well, the possibility that buy side shrinks is pretty high. A significant portion of the buy side money comes from public employee pension funds such as CalPERS. With many state and local governments cutting the public employee numbers and pensions, that flow of money may well shrink.

So here is the question. What can the people on the buy side do outside the buy side?

 
HedgeKing:
jrtr8der:
when the buy side shrinks....were all f'd

Well, the possibility that buy side shrinks is pretty high. A significant portion of the buy side money comes from public employee pension funds such as CalPERS. With many state and local governments cutting the public employee numbers and pensions, that flow of money may well shrink.

So here is the question. What can the people on the buy side do outside the buy side?

Yeah but that will just lead to increased 401k, IRA, etc. investing. That is not a trend that is going to pull money out of the market, just will come from a different place.

 
jrtr8der:
im on the buy side...(a high possiblity was 4 yrs ago)...its already began to shrink.......if you're smart and hard working there are opportunities in any field

But not everyone is as smart and hardworking as you are. When the entire field shrinks, some people have to exit, right? What can the people on the buy side do if they exit, and still make good use of their skill sets, experiences, and industry relationships?

 

well, depends on the skill set......and no reason to be sarcastic buddy.....for instance, i think a lot of back office/middle office type jobs (data entry) will have difficult times finding a new spot......you raise a great question

 

well, depends on the skill set......and no reason to be sarcastic buddy.....for instance, i think a lot of back office/middle office type jobs (data entry) will have difficult times finding a new spot......you raise a great question

 
jrtr8der:
well, depends on the skill set......and no reason to be sarcastic buddy.....for instance, i think a lot of back office/middle office type jobs (data entry) will have difficult times finding a new spot......you raise a great question

Let's just focus on the front office. Let say, HF analysts who make recommendations to PMs, or PE associates building models. What can they do outside the buy side and still make good use of their skill sets and experiences?

 

PWM, will always need some good analysts who can help with portfolio anylsysis, as will mutual funds....and i think PWM will only get bigger...as for traders...ive seen them start own businesses, get into diamonds...etc

 

A PE associate can generally make a jump to a corporate finance role in industry. Many PE associates become well versed in particular industries and their modelling/analytical skill set fits in well with various finance roles. This is also contingent upon how hands on the PE shop is with its portfolio companies and the level of exposure that an associate has to operations, strategy, etc.

 

From what I understand, Energy, TMT, and Sponsors do their own M&A, but in addition to other things as well. Would the buyside value someone with a more diverse experience base, versus, someone with a focus in M&A?

Some people are telling me that TMT would allow more VC exit opps while Sponsors (they deal with credit, structuring deals, etc.) would allow HF. Is this totally true?

 

I heard CS pays hourly to its SAs. Is that ture? Heard, $28/hr, is that true?

-------------------------------------------------- "Whenever I'm about to do something, I think, 'Would an idiot do that?' And if they would, I do NOT do that thing." -Dwight Schrute, "The Office"-
 

Aside from Sponsors???

as for my pay this summer, CS SA is the same as all the other BB's SA. 70K prorated. It does say that I get overtime for anything over 40 hours, but im not sure if this is enforced or w/e, doesn't really matter to me though. Housing allowance is 2k.

In any case. Aside from Sponsors, which groups should I look at (To be honest, Sponsors will probably be heavily oversubscribed). Which of the following groups: M&A, Energy, or TMT will give the best buyside exit opps outside of Sponsors?

 

Aside from CS FS team, it seems that Energy, TMT, M&A are all equal in terms of exit opps. (Together they have had people at KKR, Carlyle, BX, Silverlake, TPG, etc.) However, do people know which is most prestigious, has most dealflow? M&A will provide depth of skill with M&A work but TMT and Energy will allow M&A, IPO, Debt, various types of e/d derivatives, etc.

 

ya, i read that thread. It didn't provide much info about teams at CS, and the dealflow/prestige/experience gained at Energy, TMT, MA, vs FS. With that said, clearly FS is the best route to go, but given that its usually oversubscribed, I was thinking about what other groups would give me the best shot at a good buyside exit. Also, consider that I will be in NYC so this may have an impact on dealflow/experience.

 

I think it comes down to what interests YOU. The Energy group will be an almost completely different skill set than TMT (in terms of industry knowledge etc...). If you know which industry you'd like to work in, (energy vs tmt) go with that. If not, I guess M&A is a safe bet.

If it were me, I'd take TMT > M&A > Energy

 

You aren't going to become a senior analyst with 3 total years of work experience. I think you're overreaching, career development takes time and while you could jump ship to another, perhaps more prestigious fund, I think you'd be best served staying with this position until you actually have another offer in hand.

I'd be more concerned about your pay, if you aren't getting a raise by now then something is seriously amiss.

 
M.:

but after almost 3 years of this with no significant promotion/raise,

My PM doesn't seem to have any immediate intentions of promoting me right now but I am told quite often from other senior analysts that PMs 'see big things for me down the line' whatever that means.

Translation from corporate speak: "You do enough here that we don't want to have to go through the trouble of replacing you, but we're not going to pay you more or ever promote you. Please accept our throw away comment instead with our sincere hopes that this will be enough for you." - Signed, The Mgmt

The rule you never want to forget is that nothing they say ever means anything unless it is backed in writing or coupled with increased compensation. Everything else is a free look for management at your expense.

 
Ravenous:
M.:

but after almost 3 years of this with no significant promotion/raise,

My PM doesn't seem to have any immediate intentions of promoting me right now but I am told quite often from other senior analysts that PMs 'see big things for me down the line' whatever that means.

Translation from corporate speak: "You do enough here that we don't want to have to go through the trouble of replacing you, but we're not going to pay you more or ever promote you. Please accept our throw away comment instead with our sincere hopes that this will be enough for you." - Signed, The Mgmt

The rule you never want to forget is that nothing they say ever means anything unless it is backed in writing or coupled with increased compensation. Everything else is a free look for management at your expense.

1) This is spot on

2) I'm not recommending this at all, but as a data point, if you are able to lateral and get out of there then that's probably the best thing to do. A lot of the time young guys can fall into that dangerous zone where they're too complacent to ever demonstrate any kind of push-back or greater aspirations than the duties they're currently held to, and managers will use this to keep you where you are if there's no immediate need to bump you up or lock you in for the long-term.

Ultimately I'd suggest trying to lateral (obviously you do this quietly) if you think you're worth way more than they're paying you / what your responsibilities are, and when you've got your opportunities essentially sewed up, you bring those concerns to your manager about not being able to move up. Sometimes he'll tell you to fuck off, but other times they may come back to you the next day with something to try and make it work to keep you. It's a bitch to replace people, honestly. My old employer did this, but the "upgrade" was more of an insult than anything, but I've also heard of other people doing this and getting pretty significant bumps in comp or position or whatever it may be.

I hate victims who respect their executioners
 
Ravenous:
M.:

but after almost 3 years of this with no significant promotion/raise,

My PM doesn't seem to have any immediate intentions of promoting me right now but I am told quite often from other senior analysts that PMs 'see big things for me down the line' whatever that means.

Translation from corporate speak: "You do enough here that we don't want to have to go through the trouble of replacing you, but we're not going to pay you more or ever promote you. Please accept our throw away comment instead with our sincere hopes that this will be enough for you." - Signed, The Mgmt

The rule you never want to forget is that nothing they say ever means anything unless it is backed in writing or coupled with increased compensation. Everything else is a free look for management at your expense.

Spot on. Talk is cheap.

OP i would get the hell out of there once you've found something else.

 

Take_It_To_The_Bank, I appreciate the feedback. I definitely realize I'm a 'youngn' in this field and I can't expect a 'senior analyst' title in the near term. I see your point about staying put until I have a viable alternative to jump to as well.

I have received modest ~4% annual raises (I was under the impression this was standard but maybe not?)


Ravenous, I would say that may be quite accurate which is why I am quite motivated to either get a comp bump or find that alternative.

Appreciate the reality check guys.


Blackhat, I appreciate your analysis here.

Would you call it premature to bring up the issues with total comp before finding a potential alternative?

On a side-note, I have done some basic research on salaries and I am trying to determine whether most websites/services include the bonus in their "total salary" numbers?

Thanks for your thoughts guys!

 

Web sites with salary information either display total compensation or will break it down into base + bonus (e.g. Glassdoor).

Hey, go shop around, it can't hurt, and can only help when you have leverage to give your company an ultimatum.

 

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