Hate my Hedge Fund job - Move to PE?
I'm currently an analyst at a pretty decent sized and well known hedge fund after spending a few years doing BB IBD. It's only been a month or so, but I honestly can't see myself enjoying staying here any longer. I originally wanted to do PE, but got this offer early and the process and ended up taking it and am regretting my decision.
At this point what would y'all recommend I do? I see my options as 1) Gritting through the next two years and trying to make the shift post-MBA, 2) attempting to lateral after a year or so and 3) attempting to lateral now. Obviously there are issues with all of these. In case 1, there's more of a chance that I get pigeon-holed, I have to stick around in a job I don't like (impacting performance), and it'll be harder to get into a H/S b school vs from PE. Case 2 seems ideal, but once again I'll be spending more time here than I want to and, if I spend 2 years in PE before going to b school my GMAT will have expired and I'll have to retake it. Case 3 will basically let me follow the traditional PE path but I'll have a lot of explaining to do both while recruiting and down the line.
Anyone else have experience with something like this?
Why is the job so bad? Working for a hedge fund for a year or two could be really beneficial if you try and lateral after a while. In my opinion, if you stick around for a year or so then you can market your hedge fund and IBD experience for a really sweet job
I'm closing in on a year at my HF, and don't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did PE. Cutting my losses and heading back to where I'm happier.
Not experiencing directly but am currently in PE (formerly in IB). Would go with #3 if i were you and don't think it'd be a difficult task to do but really focus on the whys. Prefer PE since on the private side and no so much market-based, create value, etc.
In fact, I'd love to hear your thoughts as to why you hate your HF job so much? As someone that have their potential sights in the HF world, want to get your PoV before digging myself into a hole.
F Ro Jo - that goes for you as well if you don't mind sharing.
Also interested
PE is "what do I think about the company," whereas HF is "what do I think about the way the street is thinking about the company" or even "what do I think about the way long only investors are thinking about the way the street is thinking about the company."
That's the long way of saying I care more about the asset at hand than the circus that goes along with it.
Or maybe I'm just a simple man who's only capable of first-order thinking.
Just remember that in PE you do care a lot about how other investors view the company, you have to win an auction against them.
Unless you're willing to take lower returns than they are, you need to have a view on why the company will perform better than the other guy thinks it will.
The practical reality though is that you think what can I do with this asset, and come to a price based on what you think you can do with it. You win you take it, you lose then on to the next one. Your returns are based more on what you can do with the asset than your understanding of what the other guys think they can do with it.
Addendum: I also like the value creation, meaning helping a company do well, rather than just investing in a company that is doing well.
PE: How can I tweak my model so I can justify paying more for this company than anybody else?
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