Joined a boutique HF straight out of college, next career steps?
I joined a sub 150mn AUM HF straight out of college as a junior analyst. I like my work a lot- I work directly under my CIO and I get to pitch my own ideas as well. However, the difference in the experience set of my team members compared to me (all 10+ yrs of experience) is significant, and while I am given the space to look at investment ideas on my own, get plenty of 1-on-1 face time with management teams, and I have some voice in our research meetings, I am unsure of what my career trajectory at the firm is. I am also not sure what the market rate of my job is, base comp matches industry average for a jr, analyst, but I make little to no bonus. And because my firm is small, I am unsure of how I should gauge my performance relative to my team in order to discuss my compensation and next steps with my CIO. Pls offer me some advice on how I should navigate this.
did u go to a target ug? can help with transition by connecting with alums and peers. What was your rationale for choosing the fund out of college? having a coherent story will be important
Non-target UG (I went to a liberal arts college), I interned there as a summer analyst, and then was offered a full-time position. My rationale for agreeing to join the firm- I missed out majorly on IB recruitment timeline (in retrospect, I would've done it since it would formalize my training as an entry-level analyst), I like the team a lot and I learn a lot from them (still like my team), the trajectory seemed very attractive where I would be on partner track by yr 4/5, and they were willing to sponsor my visa (I was an international student).
2 years in, I struggle to see what my value additive to the firm is, I am still too junior compared to other people at the firm who are potentially on the partner track, and I quickly learned that I need to expose myself to people more my age and experience level to create my network for people to take me seriously, so B-school seems to be the only option.
Point #2 makes no sense. You are likely to learn much more from guys senior to you than from guys of your same level. By the way, no one cares about your network unless you are in an IR/fundraising role. So you know a lot of juniors on the buyside. No one cares, seriously.
I can understand where he is coming from. Some strategies or processes cannot just be learned by observing your senior analyst (which gives the senior analyst a great moat tbh). Perhaps it is a sourcing advantage where the senior guys have buddies all over at big shops that clue them in to ideas. Might be something else. Point is, this guy is 2 years in and figuring out that there is some kind of barrier to him ramping up. Unless you are really incompetent, 2 years seems plenty of time to figure out whether you have made incremental progress, and is a good milestone to reevaluate your course, imo
There's a 95% chance the situation is the following: at $150mm, your fund is small. If there are 3 senior people above you, none of them are getting paid what they believe they deserve. The pyramid is clealry inverted for a fund of this size. The partners are presumably laser-focused on raising new money, and in posting returns that attract fresh money. If they succeed in that, everyone will be happy and perhaps there is a path for this junior analyst to make partner down the road.
But until there is visibility to raising the level of AUM, the CIO is in no position to make promises about partnership, or frankly to spend much time thinking about the career path for a 23yr old.
I joined a boutique HF out of school as well. Agree with @MMPM that your point on needing to know more juniors to be taken seriously makes no sense...what that really means is that seniors can spot that you still have a lot to learn whereas your junior peers wouldn't catch it. If anything, you want to have more senior peers and be known to them as an up and coming junior...
What strategy does your firm follow? After 2 years in, you should be sufficiently up the learning curve to notice your own performance really start to take off with completing due diligence / running processes / idea generation. If this isn't happen, which it sort of sounds like is the case, then there is either a problem with the mentorship / learning opportunity at the firm or to be quite frank you just might not be as good as you think you are. When you present ideas to investment committee or your PM, is there a conversation over what is wrong with your work or what is right, where you could firm up, why you should be thinking about an aspect differently or what questions to be asking? You are not in a good seat as a junior if all you do is present work with little feedback.
I also think it is concerning that you were pitched a route to partner within 4/5 years while there were other, more experienced analysts at the firm who weren't partner yet. Did these folks come on after you or were they already there? I think it would have been a more fair pitch for your PM to offer you an opportunity to come on for 2/3 years to get your foot in the door / learn and then reassess the opportunity whether it be staying on in a more permanent capacity, going to b school, or another fund.
Before thinking that b school is the only option for you, I think you need to have a candid review session with your PM and get feedback on your performance as well as how the firm is thinking about you longer term. Keep in mind that depending on your performance YTD things have likely changed in terms of the firm's own growth trajectory so you should be prepared for that.
Aut quia odit rerum. Aut et quia nemo inventore possimus molestiae. Assumenda quidem non veniam et adipisci minus. Unde quo ea repudiandae eum optio voluptates consequatur inventore. Odio ea perferendis enim voluptatem reiciendis autem.
Et ut blanditiis esse pariatur ut repellat reiciendis. Non laudantium cupiditate quod quae iure. Quia rem qui voluptate explicabo ut. Illum non libero accusamus odit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...