IBD exit ops for introverts?
I’m currently an ECM analyst at one of the large US investment banks. I never particularly wanted to do ECM, I wanted to do M&A or LevFin, but ECM was the only graduate offer I got, and now I’ve been doing it 3 years and I’ve been told I’m making associate in my next review.
Truth is I’m not interested in it.. I’ve decided I’m an introvert and from my experience I find ECM basically a combination of investor relations and sales (with long hours). Which is not for me as I don’t like constantly being on the phone or having to be a ‘salesman’.
I also don’t find the work itself interesting i.e as a junior constantly collating investor feedback, putting together target investors and roadshow schedules and ECM bookbuilding which isn’t as fun as it sounds it’s just stressful, and then there’s also all the boring regulatory admin and documentation stuff.
I also hate the idea of pitching for transactions as a senior and then going on a roadshow pitching the company’s story to potential investor during a live fundraise. It’s essentially becoming a salesman.
I’ve decided I want out, but I’m not sure what careers to consider without taking a pay cut.
I think PE/HF sounds interesting but without the M&A background it’s not possible? the only roles I get headhunted for is IR at PE funds.
I also find corporate development interesting but it’s a massive pay cut which I’m not comfortable with.
What about leveraged finance, would this basically be the exact same as a senior to an ecm banker as having to constantly pitch and be a salesman? Or is the role more interesting corporate finance work and suitable for an introvert?
Does anyone have any career suggestions I could consider without taking a pay cut, for an introvert that hates the idea of being a salesman? Any other IBD analysts out there that are introverts? What are your plans?
do levfin>hf
Thank you for the reply but judging by your title as intern, i assume you don’t actually have any experience in LevFin to know what it’s like and whether it’s suitable for an introvert especially at the senior level?
Im telling you to transfer from ECM to levfin and then recruit for HF...coverage or M&A also work
ECM work is so specific not sure how much of that is transferable.
The only moves I’ve seen was the ECM banker who took a company public was hired as its CFO post IPO. quite specific and the guy was quite senior
levfin why not but you’ll need to be able to demonstrate that you can model and understand how you can look at debt structures
maybe start by meeting the entire levfin team at your bank and get ready to do another year as analyst at best. also, beware because a lot of levfin teams haven’t had a proper downsizing in years and we’re in a massive crisis so last in first out is always a concern
Just my 2cts but most finance jobs are about selling something. If you’re in IBD you’re selling transaction execution to clients, if you’re in PE/HFs you’re selling diversification for your LPs. At the junior level in HFs you’re selling your idea to the PM.
And you’re not willing to take a pay cut to go to corporates where no or less selling needs to be done. In CorpDev you’re selling your M&A idea to the board (although its internal).
My point is that at the senior level, being a salesman is an essential part of business regardless of what you do.
Now what you should ask yourself is could you either 1) learn to sell/change as an individual, or 2) be on a team with a sales guy and you being the numbers guy. A close friend of mine is an introvert, he’s an MD and this is how he goes about it. There is a Senior MD that does the BS selling - he knows the number cold, he’s your execution guy, the pair works wonders as the former knows shit about finance but has connections/knows how to sell, and he doesn’t do the selling but knows the numbers.
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