Mckinsey BA vs Fidelity Equity Research Associate
Hi guys,
First I want to say thank you for all the help that you guys have given me.
Which one of the two positions would be best in terms of future career trajectory? Which one offers better exit opps? Both are located in Boston and I'm equally interested in the work that they do. Obviously if I had a clear preference for either buyside ER or strategy consulting then this is an easy decision, but I'm a confused senior in college.
Thanks a lot!
you have offers for both of these, right
Yes, I'm really lucky. No name consulting firms sometimes didn't even give me first round interviews. Got a couple of BB IBD superdays but couldn't land anything there. But I can be thankful for pretty good grades and a lot of networking with alums.
Mckinsey Mckinsey Mckinsey...Bigger, better name, I think...If you have no bias towards either position.
Not even a question, McK for sure.
interesting... well first off congrats! do you prefer working independently or in teams?
I can swing both ways.
So, is it really that obvious? My ideal exit would be some sort of HF or PE role.
McKinsey
Why is everyone sayign McK?
I'd definitely say Fidelity. Perhaps the best possible platform to launch a buyside career. ER analysts at Fidelity typically stay for 2 years. Then they have a couple of options: go to B-school, go to the PM track, or continue on ER track.
Either way, you will have great exit opps to long/short HF's. Not sure about PE, although Fidelity will help you land a top-MBA which will lead to PE.
I like Fidelity too (very difficult to get in at the start of one's career) but I think most people are saying McK because it's more broad. ER --> PE is less common (though to some HFs, could definitely be doable). Fidelity is more 'rare' than a top-tier consultant, so it would help with a top MBA. But PE (esp. megafunds and top MM shops) for post-MBAers is difficult without prior pre-MBA PE experience, or banking (and possibly consulting, for more "consulting-friendly" PE shops). There are more precedent examples of McK going to: PE, banking, MBA, corporate development / industry, something random.
The skill sets you build are very different - so the OP should ask him/herself what he/she wants to do in 2-3 yrs time. If you don't know exactly what you want to do yet or not 100% sold on ER, maybe want to do PE later, then McK might be better because it keeps a wider variety of doors open. You could go to ER from McK/Bain/BCG (I've seen someone do this - though this was some time ago). But if you do choose Fidelity and realize consulting is more your speed - I think you can switch (because research and company analysis is valued here) provided the job market and there are slots. Worse case scenario, you go for your MBA and get a fresh start.
ER --> PE will be almost impossible. If you want to do PE, hands down McKinsey. Being at McKinsey will also help much more if you choose to go to bschool than Fidelity.
Also i completely disagree with Kanon that you'll be able to do ER and then switch to McK/Bain/BCG. A lot of things would have to fall into place for a lateral hire like that to happen and the odds are so low, I wouldn't bank on it.
If you want to do hedge funds, then Fidelity could be the better option since it is a common exit path for ER, but plenty of people in consulting go to hedge funds as well so again, I wouldn't necessarily say Fidelity has a large advantage here.
No disrespect to Fidelity, but McK exit options are probably much more in line with what you're looking for and the optionality you will want.
^ I didn't say it's common (ER ---> top tier consulting), I just said it's possible and I've seen it - but the data point is a bit dated, as I've mentioned. But the skills you gain in ER could be quite attractive for consulting, particularly if you gain significant industry knowledge. I've also seen the reverse (someone from second-tier consulting ---> ER, though not as nice as buyside Fidelity).
Take McKinsey. As much as I hate the company, it's a much stronger overall brand than Fidelity and the McK network is INSANE
McKinsey, hands down. As prestigious as it gets in consulting. You'll have plenty of opportunities to move elsewhere from here.
To all any poster who said Fidelity, are you guys out of touch with reality? There is literally no job that you cant get coming out of Mckinsey...HFs and PEs will hire you solely on the basis that you have them on your resume...furthermore, everything thats done in an ER department is done by a BA at McKinsey.
Still not convinced? There are two bibles to equity valuation: 1) Dark Side of Valuation and 2) McKinsey
Do you want to work with people or research? At McKinsey, despite all the analysis and PPT, it is fundamentally a client / people oriented profession.
As a research associate, well, it's pretty straightforward. You do research. You publish reports. You answer to a PM.
ER is a very narrow career path, so you basically stay along the research path with maybe a deviation or two to the side.
McK is broader option, basically its a doorway to any particular route.
Keep in mind McK is also a short term commitment, 2-3 years as a BA, and they sponsor Bschool. Not sure what Fidelity's commitment is.
Fido is three years I believe, and landing the promotion to direct to analyst is just as hard as getting a 3rd year BA spot at McK. I think HF are very different from PE. If you want to be at a HF and eventually make PM, fidelity is great. You will be influencing PMs often, get to know a sector well and probably be completely responsible for a sub-sector. Could probably land a long/short job on that alone, especially if your picks perform. And you can pick up a CFA, which will probably become necessary at some point. with PE, McK exits are doable, but competitive, although being in Boston might help since there are a couple MM and one mega-fund located there that are known to hire McK consultants. You can do some due diligence studies to get the needed exposure, and then its up to you to crush interviews, which you should get if you are good. Your value to a PE firm out of Fido is very different. Part of it will be sector knowledge (i.e. cover specialty chemicals, go to a shop that does deals in that space) and while it will probably be easier to get a PE job, it will be harder to get into a megafund.
I'm going to say McK, simply because nothing in your original post implies the passion for investing that would make you take the specialized fidelity option over the safer, more broadly useful McK option. 2 years from now you could find that what you actually want to do is Strategy for CPG, at which point you would be stuck at Fidelity but set with McK. Fidelity is probably slightly better for BSchool because HBS receives 100 applications from McK BAs every year, and can only take a fraction of that, while Fidelity is the top brand in the long-only AM space and has
Hmmm can someone share their thoughts in terms of work life balance at these two firms? My guess is fil will be better off 60-70 hours vs McK 65-80?
Hey OP would you mind shedding some light on the Fidelity interview process? Just a little curious.
If you actually have no preference easy choice on McKinsey. If you actually knew what these jobs entailed though you'd definitely have a preference...
65 - 80 is about right for McK hours
You might want to watch out for the personally identifiable information there buddy...
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