Pre-MBA Dilemma
Hi everyone,
I encountered a major dilemma in my pursuit of happiness that I would like to share with you. Any advice is welcome. I'll try to be concise - in two months time I'll begin my MBA studies at NYU Stern. Basically, I'm trying to decide between going for IB or Asset Management.
A little background - I've been interested in Value Investing since I was thirteen (27 now). I read everything, researched everything, held a small portfolio and all that. I went to a great university in Israel for my undergrad and majored in Economics. When I graduated (magna cum laude, not that it matters much), I tried looking for an entry position in the financial industry but couldn't find anything. The financial industry in Israel was simply too small to offer anything. Then I decided to do a quick detour and I started out as an analyst in a startup that dealt with online marketing. The startup was really successful (grew to a $500mil valuation over the two years that I was there) but apart from doing market research and competitor analysis, it simply had nothing to do with investing. I used the time, applied to business school and got into NYU. 6 months ago I left the startup to join the biggest and most profitable PE firm in Israel. There I dealt in turnaround analysis and equity research (finally some relevant experience).
As I enter the MBA, I know that Asset Management / HFs is the only thing I truly want to do. However, I know that the industry is crazy competitive for anyone, especially for someone like me who doesn't have years of (official) equity research experience. Given that the MBA is a $200k bet, I'm struggling between three options:
1. Go all in on AM/HF, participate in stock pitch competitions, work on my PA, etc. Benefits: going after what I love. Cons: NYU isn't the strongest in AM/HF, most summer internships don't get you a full time position, chance of staying without a job and a $200k debt at the end of the degree.
2. Go into IB with the hope of moving into HF 2-3 years afterwards. Benefits: NYU is great for IB, internship usually brings an offer, great salary after the MBA. Cons: might be significantly harder to move to HF from an IB associate position, not exactly my cup of tea, I'll be 32 before I start out.
3. Try and do IB and AM at the same time. Benefits: best of both worlds. Cons: I won't be able to give my maximum to both.
I'd love to get some advice from you guys. Thanks upfront!
Did you start working at the top PE shop after you applied to business school?
Hi Dvi, I will start off the conversation with a big pitch for Stern and New York. Maybe it was because I was there last week meeting for several days with their entire admissions team, being hosted and sold to by students and administration alike, I came away impressed. Here are the highlights: 1. Stern is a far more interesting school than I thought. Even if you want to go into finance and learn from financial greats (and yes, they have quite a few notable financial stars, such as Aswath Damodaran http://poetsandquants.com/2012/10/22/worlds-best-b-school-professors-as…) you want to be around people from all disciplines and ways of thinking. Stern is more diverse that way than it looks from Google Maps. 2. New York. This is the biggest best financial playground on the planet. New York is all about opportunity. Stern offers a zillion ways to get involved with the city's financial infrastructure.
3. Choices-- I think you can make the ROI worth it especially if you stay in the US for a few years afterwards -- which most int'l MBA students want to do. It's really up to how much you invest in yourself. I don't see your 3 choices as mutually exclusive. You may change your mind. You will have transformational experiences. You will experiment and take some risks. That's great and you will find that all those ways of exploiting the opportunity will position you better for your long-term goals 4. The market: both securities market and job market. Things change and are a function of forces beyond your control. Stay somewhat flexible, keep an entrepreneurial mindset, and stay curious about everything. That will make your 2 year and alumni experience more robust
Do I sound too much like, some vapid cheerleader? I hope not -- I just know that Stern's currency here on this forum is discounted because everyone is starry eyed because of Columbia. But get over that. Stern is at the heart of New York and you will love it
But reading over your post, I see I didn't answer your question: asset management or investment banking? Why limit yourself at this stage? See how recruiting goes. I know you have to hit the ground running at Stern more than most programs, but that doesn't mean you cannot meet with recruiters from both disciplines and see what offers the most opportunity. Or am I missing something?
Betsy
Thanks for that write-up, @"Betsy Massar" . Really interesting. How were the facilities there?
NYU is not about the facilities. But the Kaufman Center is in better shape than Uris Hall up at CBS. NYU is one building on W.4th street. It's fine. Nothing to write home about. The idea is that you are in lower Manhattan, which is even cooler than I remember from my bad old days on Wall Street. Last week I stayed in the East Village, and was taken with the vibrancy of that part of NY, especially after being kind of an Upper West sider when I lived there in my Goldman days. The thing that struck me really, was how much NYU reflects the city rather than just the financial world -- which, face it, is in decline -- at least according to traditional paradigms. They are also big in digital media/info tech, which I personally think offers a lot of opportunities and food for thought, esp about the money biz.
@corpfinanceguy, I graduated from ugrad in 2009. when I was there, the MBA buildings were old and cramped, and there were constant undergrad classes being held there.
By the way -- if anyone wants to have their mind exploded about NYU Stern --take a look at their new dean of students Conor Grennan. I met him, and he is so cool (yes, I have a crush)
http://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/news-events/grennan-dean-of-s…
and then Google him and you will be amazed
Thanks for the detailed answer!
I should note that I already decided to go to NYU. It's a great school and I don't feel at a disadvantage just due to the proximity to CBS. I think each has its benefits and cons (like anything and everything in life).
The question is more about career focus. Is it possible to chase two recruiting paths at the same time? Is it smart to divide my time between the two? I know that I can simply start and see what happens but I like to prepare in advance. I already started devoting a bigger part of my time to researching stocks (and less to reading Ayn Rand) in preparation to the stock pitch competitions.
Then again, maybe there's no right answer.
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