Basically as title says. I'm beginning my third year in the sovereign team of a ratings agency, covering emerging market issuers. I'm keen to evaluate what my exit ops are, beyond economist type roles/sovereign debt specific buyside.
I'm interested in deal focused roles like DCM and lev fin - are these a realistic area to target?
I finished the CFA program last year, if that helps.
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Getting into Leveraged Finance is just as difficult as trying to get into a coverage group somewhere- typically its right from undergrad like the rest of IBD unless you have previous IBD experience at a MM or boutique.
I think you would have to get an MBA to make the move- only because you are in your third year and going into an analyst spot wouldnt really make sense so it would most likely be associate for which the only avenue I know of is an MBA career switch.
Mind you this is only the typical answer- maybe someone else has more information on this move.
Yeah I get what you mean, I'm considering an MBA down the road but I'd like a couple more years experience somewhere else first.
It's funny because the skillsets are far closer than people seem to think judging by what people write on here about CRAs.
i agree that skillsets from rating agencies can be transferred well to banking but unfortunately bankers dont really understand that unless they also had a RA background
i’m was atva RA prior to jumping to banking so im biased. its not an easy move but network hard and it’ll pay off
I assume you were in a SF team before moving over to banking? If so, what do you think the outlook would be for someone in sovereign?
yeah i was in structured finance ratings before jumping over to SF banking
theres a lot you can leverage from credit perspective. imagine you can try to get into SSA DCM? getting up to speed on market activity will be the learning curve for you
You sound just like me. I have had some interviews at the Associate level in SSA coverage before the whole lockdown and I don't hold an MBA. It is not necessary, depending on the Bank, but you certainly need to demonstrate how you can leverage your CRA experience to close more deals. Very few people understand financing/capital structures of EM sovereigns, so there is value there.
That's encouraging - reading this site, you get the impression that everyone at a bank thinks that CRA work is super cushy. Mind if I PM you?
Please do ;)
What kind of background do you need to get into EM sovereign ratings? I'm very interested in this space.
Don’t see any skills from rating analysts covering sovereign as applicable to levfin. Zero.
Your exit is maybe econ research. Or MBA and rebrand yourself.
Not sure why so many people here suggested MBA bc RA -> LevFin is a very common root, so definitely doable and LF bankers do know that the skillsets are similar. Not sure specifically about your sovereign background, but would definitely give it a shot.
I have levfin experience. If he was a ratings analyst on the corporate side, maybe can have a shot. He’d know agency methodology which can be a plus, and know something about covenants, etc. And overall know what he’s talking about (more or less).
Doing sovereign is completely different. Agency methodology is different, metrics you analyze are related to balance of payments and macro trends, fiscal policy, etc. Covenants are totally different too, etc. Don’t see any skillset transferable. Would have to learn everything from scratch.
Can confirm ratings to Levfin possible. Source: my VP did it.
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