From EU to New York
Intro
Hi All,
I am a french graduate from a top university in the UK.
Unfortunately (to some extent), I haven't been put any effort towards recruiting during undergrad/masters. Frankly, I also had an entrepreneurial thing going on and was also kind of lost.
Long story short, I became passionate about public markets during 3rd Year/Masters and I came to realize that the US is where it's at.
That's why I decided to focus on my career with the goal of becoming a PM at a top Wall Street institution, however, I find myself a bit late.
I do have things going for me:
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My English is very good,
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I come up with my own trade ideas in my free time (being more of a creative person), and tend to be obsessed with performance.
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I also have the capacity to focus deeply on things that interest me, making it easy for me.
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I love variance, i think there's something beautiful about it.
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I spend all my time reading, listening to podcasts and developing core skills such as coding, accounting and emotional control.
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I trade my own money.
Overall, I am confident that passion will lead me to thrive in the Asset Management/HF industry long term.
How
I am currently interning at a well-known asset manager in France thanks to heavy networking. The role is a long term internship which will lead me to have plenty of responsibilities.
Nonetheless, I am pretty sure I won't end up landing an FT role from this as the system in France is very strict on having an insane number of degrees/qualifications/internships for entry level jobs. Furthermore, I read that I will need an MBA to become a PM in the US anyways. Therefore, I want to put myself in the best spot for a top 5 US MBA by gaining experience at an American/UK institution anywhere but in France.
My profile
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Top UK uni undergrad & masters (Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial, UCL) in Economics
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Decent Grades (2:1 ~ 3.5 GPA)
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720 GMAT (can probably do 740-750).
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One internship previously stated (ending in February)
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Very good at Python & R, pretty advanced knowledge of maths/stats.
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Not diversity
My Questions:
What kind of roles do you thing are attainable, and if so which ones should be preferred for an MBA ?
Should I apply for off-cycle, summer or FT ?
Can I apply directly to the US ?
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Investment Banking Equity Research ?
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Asset Management Graduate programs ?
Should I pass the CFA?
Please let me know, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
We have had people from various roles go for an MBA, most traditional management or banking roles should be fine. Research the admission results and publications in detail for the school you want to go for.
Moving to the US through employment would be easier. You will have a hard time securing a visa without any local education.
1) You are young, so one way is to go for a grad course in the US, get the degree, get OPT, then H1b, then the green card (in theory, it is more complicated than that. This route may take 10+ years to be LPR/citizen).
2) xxx deleted
3) Date/marry a USC - K visa is one approach. If the relationship is bona fide, it would allow you to live and work in the US eventually. This is most likely the fastest way into the country and also one the least complicated. Also, embassies have been working on this visa type again since the sponsor would be a US citizen, it is a visa with a higher priority. This route might take 18-24 months and may need additional time due to the covid backlog.
4) Make an investment and get the E1/E2 visa (non-immigrant). Or a larger investment for the investor green card. You are not allowed to work for another company on this.
5) Work for a EU firm that is willing to transfer you on L or H1b after the minimum wait period. Most likely the second easiest after the marriage route.
6) Some EU firms have programs (can be professional programs, apprenticeship schemes, intern or FLDP, etc) that involve time in the USA. This is unique to a certain employment market, a certain industry or certain states you live in even. This is a much easier route into another country, if you look for these. This, however, will not work for the industry you want in.
7) Consider alternatives - depending on which North American qualities you like in your life, Canada might be an option. Very accessible, safe, organized country that is easier to migrate to. Since you are already a grad and very young, you might be able to go through the EE route much easier than other people. Europeans frequently get the ITA from Canada in order to "level the playing field" of immigrants (there is a lack of applicants from some EU countries towards Canada). bonus points if you speak French.
I don't think there are many other realistic options, although as a EU passport holder there are many visas available if you either invest in your education, invest money, or get sponsored somehow. I hate to state the obvious, but many of the routes into the US are very difficult, time consuming, expensive or simply impossible to achieve.
Many Thanks for your detailed response. I really appreciate it.
Seems to me that I have to start by applying to every UK firm. Once I find something, I will enquire about 5). The bigger the better I suppose.
Then I, think the most logical step will be to gamble on an MBA (hopefully sponsored somehow), where I will have to work on 1) and 3)
Worst case scenario, I'll come back to Europe with an expensive, but good degree.
The US degree gives you CPT, OPT, potentially H1b and a GC down the road. So the gamble is, arguably, worth it. That is pretty much the only way into the country unless you make one of the other routes a reality.
If you attend a top tier US college it might work out. And intl. tuition is the most expensive anyway, even for crappy schools. So you might as well attend a good school with options afterwards (I looked at ASU tuition fees and they were high a few years back, so no point in attending even mediocre schools).
If a guy is attractive, unmarried and wants to start a family in a bona fide marriage - I don't see an issue with the fiance visa. It is the quickest way into the country and you can combine business and pleasure and happiness at the same time. This is pretty hard if the guy has no game though.
The 2nd easiest way would be an internal transfer if you work for a UK or EU firm. that is a reasonable ask after a few years of work and experience.
"The US is where it's at".
You have a huge asset management industry in London, including pretty much every major HF. Seems to me you are hurting your chances of entering the industry by starting off with the wrong premise.
Appreciate your response.
I am aware that London is on par with New York in terms of high-finance. In fact, I'm focusing on recruiting in London and planning to work there at least 3-4 years after having read cyberpunk's response.
I would just love to move to the US after, simply out of curiosity for the American culture & the city of New York. The reason for me saying " The US is where it's at", is because most of the podcasts I read, trader/investors I follow and books I read are American.
I'm aware that this might not be optimal, or even feasible.
However, after reflexion, it seems to me all the roles that will help me become a competitive HF analyst will also set me up for an MBA pretty well. So i'll give my best try at breaking in the London HF industry, and depending on how well that goes, I'll see if it is reasonable for me to gamble on the US MBA plan.
Applying straight to the US, even from Oxbridge, is a huge risk. Over there recruiting primarily works off of on-campus-recruiting and networking to get referrals/resume pushes and so you sorta need to be over there to recruit. Its not exactly impossible but its certainly an n=lol occurrence... its more standard to recruit for London and then lateral internally to the US. Alternatively, a US MBA would be good too.
Wouldn't imagine you need an MBA to become a PM but I could be very wrong. I don't think you need to do the CFA if you already have an UG in econ and a master's in it.
FYI when you say you have good things going for you, try to list hard skills/qualifications rather than introspective statements, they don't really help us give you advice. It seems like your best bet is to break into London in any of the fields you listed and either lateral, or MBA in the US.
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