Hi all,
I just have a dilemma that is cracking the hell out of me.
I am a CFA Chartholder. I work as M&A officer at a private equity frim.
Currently I have two opportunities:
1- Pursuing MSc degree in Financial economics in Said business school, Oxford.
2- Pursuing an MBA degree from Wharton.
I am really confused. MFE will enhance my skill in deal making, market microstructure, mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring. In the same time MBA is a must degree in career advancing and in pursuing executive vacancies. Never-the-less, the number of MBA holders (even from the top 5 bschools) are increasing at a cosmic rate! It's normal for me now when I am interviewing (yes I do interview candidates!) a candidate to tell me " I am bla bla bla, and bla bla bla . Also I have got my MBA degree"
In the same time the MFE holders are few, and really skillful however by nature you will lack the sense of "strategic management". However, this drawback is diluted in my case because I supervise our portfolio companies and ofcourse, I have got alot of business management expertise from doing my day to day job.
Also having an MFE give you higher odds in Hedge funds. But MBA is more widely recognized. You see, am going back and forth!
My skills:
1- Modelling : Yeah ofcourse i do modelling, if i don't do modelling, i will sit at my garage the next day!
2- Corporate restructuring : Ofcourse, all people at PE should have this talent, because we crush companies and make them more fit and lean and sell them afterwards. I even Create Balanced score card models.
3- Trading and portfolio management : If after i have not had this experience after being a chartholder, then there is no use to complete any career, and I'd rather convert myself into a farmer!
My future plan:
Getting out of PE and going to HFs. I am tired of illiquid assets. I am more into hit and run investment strategies.
Your advice is highly appreciated. If you can't give me and advice. Please send me a bullet and a gun to shoot myself!
Actual life experience advisory will be highly appreciated!
so why go back to school ? Just leverage your contacts to get into a HF - you don't need an MBA to get into one. If at all you feel that you HAVE to go back to school, and that you HAVE to get into an HF, and if MBA and the MFE at Said are the only two options you have, then pick the MFE. If I were in your position and if I was unsure as to what I needed to do, I would have picked Wharton over Said just because of the doors it can potentially open
Well I agree with you that I could leverage my contact and jump into HFs but I believe that in the current Global economic volatility and corporate climate, the competition has became fierce and you should hedge yourself with more scinece, more degrees and ofcourse above it all..STRONG CONTACTS...however I love the science for the science and one more year in my life may be a cheap cost for holding another degree. Yup, Wharton my open for you some doors, but not for the that extent....the market is becoming loaded and I mean LOADED with MBA holders. This is my concern. In all cases thanks for the advice.
Honestly, sounds like you can't go wrong with either... I am still in uGrad so take my comments with a grain of salt but I thought if your already a CFA Level III the benefits of a MFE are fairly limited and may look somewhat odd that you did CFA -> MFE instead of MFE -> CFA
Well if you want the logic steps...It is CFA -> then MFE not vice versa. Alot of MFE basics and moderate courses are within the CFA body of knowledge, However MFE take you to the higher level...For example market microstructure is not fully explained in CFA level III...
It's not weird at all. MFE and CFA are completely different.
Not to that extent....Said business school is one of the founding members of CFA institute or something like that. Actually when you study there for the MFE, you can have access to the CFA body of knowledge.
"I love the science for the science"
This tells me you should go for the MFE.
Where are you currently working - U.S. or U.K.? Where do you plan on working in the future? I would assume you would develop strong contacts at both but you could argue that while they are both global in nature, most of the contacts you make would be area specific. Just something to think about...
I work at US, but currently we are launching our Emerging market VC fund to invest in Tech firms in there. So I am going around their to catch up some opps. If you are talking about contact and networking, Top 5 tier MBAs will always win..
I would seriously suggest Wharton MBA over Said MFE. I study in the UK and have become good friends with quite a lot of students from the MFE program, I can honestly tell you that the NETWORK and CONTACTS you will find there will not compete with Wharton.
The MFE program is not really designed for someone with your level of experiences while the Wharton MBA offers a great network for you in the future if you wish to raise your own fund.
I know lots of Said MFEs, and those guys are smart and hard working and all, but its still mainly guys straight out of undergrad, so in terms of network Wharton crushes the MFE. Plus wharton is a feeder for loads of big name hf in the US.
I don't think this is even close.
I can agree with you on that.....
Fair enough......
Said places extremely well into the City of London, buyside-within-banks and the buyside overall. It's cheaper (1 year) and suits your profile.
Wharton places really well globally but the cost is higher and it's still more of an IB/MC place than a pure buyside place.
I also agree that this shouldn't take a lot of decision making time. A Wharton MBA can provide greater benefits and opportunities regarding breadth of career choices, recruiters, alumni in places you may want to go to, etc.
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