Move from back office to middle office to front office

Hi everyone,

I would love to get some input from the more experienced users around here.

So first, my background: 23 years old with a Bachelor's degree from a non-target university in a small Eastern European country, have a year-long internship in the Financial Advisory department of a big 4, and I recently accepted an offer from a top 3 global BB in a different Eastern European country in the BO doing valuation control/mark review of structured credit derivatives (bespoke tranches and CDS index options) within the S&T inventory. I have very good theoretical knowledge of my products, I am taking the December CFA level 1 exam, and have been networking with the corporate credit risk department of the BB in this country.

My long term goal is to end up in a FO role (investment banking, asset/investment management). The problem is, I can't network with the FO guys as they are sitting in hubs like London and Frankfurt, so there are no opportunities for me to chat to them face to face and try to network my way into a FO position.

My question is, which of the following moves should I take in order to maximize my chances of transferring either internally or externally to a FO role:

1.) Move to corporate credit risk after a year in this role (they take a lot of people from my department and focus more on internal hires than external), continue with the CFA and try to move internally/externally to a FO Investment banking role after another year or two in this role.

2.) Try to get a consulting position in an MBB consulting firm in any country I can and continue with the CFA and afterwards apply for an IB analyst position.

3.) Stay in this role for a year and do the CFA and try to get into a target MSc Finance program (specially those that accept CFA instead of GMAT like London Business School or IE University).

4.) Anything else?

I know a top MBA is a great way to rebrand myself and get a FO role but the thing is it requires at least 5 years of experience and I don't want to wait so long and not do anything to increase my chances before that. I would prefer busting my ass doing whatever is best for the next 2 or so years and get my foot in the door, and afterwards get an MBA with experience in the FO.

Looking forward to your advice, thank you in advance.

 
Most Helpful

The corporate credit risk role could position you well for a FO Corporate Banking career, but not necessarily an IB role. Many banks have a well-trodden path between the corporate credit underwriter/analyst role and the relationship manager role. Other banks have a bit more division between client-facing analysts/associates and the middle-office underwriting function.

As you network with the credit risk department, try to get a sense of where the underwriters move on to. Is it common to relocate to a different office with the bank to take on a client-facing role? Or do they generally stay within a risk discipline? Even if it's the latter, as long as you're getting underwriting experience analyzing loan structures and credit worthiness of corporate borrowers, those skills are very marketable for other front office corporate/commercial banking roles, or for a lateral move to direct lender or CLO.

 

I think you should stay at the Big 4. Moving from a Big 4 accounting role, which gives a lot of career flexibility and is considered the creme de la creme of back offices roles, to a back office role at a BB sets you back. You're now going to have to hope that you get the opportunity to move internally at the BB you're at. If you're at Goldman Sachs, I'm sorry to say but your chances to go from back to front are slim as the firm is not supportive of such moves.

I think what you have going for you is that you're in a niche group, rarely anyone studies structured credit derivatives in school outside of French institutions, so if you show a strong understanding of the products, are likeable, I think you may be able to eventually break into the trading floor (S&T). You'll have to become good at vba, and python because of how complex these products are, and you'll have to network with the traders and be likeable. Additionally, definitely buy Hull's Option book and know it inside and out.

You may potentially have a shot at CLO origination groups at your BB as structured credit and CLO's are usually under the same umbrella, but it might not be as easy for you to network with them as product control tends to work more closer with the S&T desk.

Like I said earlier, I think your best bet is to accept the Big 4 offer, get some experience, and then try to move into a front office role. Big 4 accounting roles are the front office of back office, and give you an opportunity to get a really high paying job at a company after 3 years, with work life balance. The back-office role at a BB won't give you those ops.

 

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