What would it take for you to leave?

Mod Note (Andy): Make sure to check out the comment inside by DingDong

A common thing I've heard across multiple sectors is "I'll leave when the time is right". It seems people are either waiting for the next best thing or some kind of sign - perhaps being passed for promotion or a day in which they fucking hate their work. I know some people reach a point where they're too afraid to leave.

I had a colleague that used to carry his pre-filled retirement forms in his pocket.

I'm curious to know what would it take for you to leave it all right now? What would you do next?

 

The reason people never leave, even after reaching their "this is what I need to leave" goal, is because once you get to a certain point, the money is just too good. Once you hit the MD point where you would have enough money to retire early, the prospect of earnings another few million for working "just one more year" is just too good to pass up.

 

Do you think in a way that's sort of betraying yourself? Is whether to leave then simply a weighing of economic opportunity costs? You had a target number in mind and once you reached it you would leave, but now money is too good so you'll keep pushing your original aspirations back - unless banking was your dream.

I'm sure everybody has a target number, or does that number become obsolete? What would it take for you to leave right now? Doesn't have to be a specific number.

 
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The reason people never leave, even after reaching their "this is what I need to leave" goal, is because once you get to a certain point, the money is just too good. Once you hit the MD point where you would have enough money to retire early, the prospect of earnings another few million for working "just one more year" is just too good to pass up.

This and if you make it to the point that you're able to retire very early and not really worry about money, you're almost certainly good at what you do and you like it. And unless you've always had a dream of doing something specific (from going the non-profit route and saving the world to opening a bar or a bait shop, whatever) you have a lot of years left in your life without much to do. 40 may seem old to a 22 year old, but when you hit 40 you realize, or at least hope, that you have 30-50 years left. When I was younger I thought that $X at 40 or so and I would retire then I realized that I have no idea what I'd do for that many years. If you're someone who's made it to the upper levels of finance by that age you're most likely someone who's really motivated and used to working long and hard. Unless you make hundreds of millions (which just doesn't happen unless you sell a company or maybe if you're the outlier HF guy) and have fuck you money where you could sail the world or fly in your G5 to your multiple houses around the world, that's a long time for retirement. I have a good friend who did exactly that-HF guy, made that type of money and retired in his late 30's. It stuck for a little while but after a few years he's getting back into working because he just got bored.

 
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The reason people never leave, even after reaching their "this is what I need to leave" goal, is because once you get to a certain point, the money is just too good. Once you hit the MD point where you would have enough money to retire early, the prospect of earnings another few million for working "just one more year" is just too good to pass up.

This and if you make it to the point that you're able to retire very early and not really worry about money, you're almost certainly good at what you do and you like it. And unless you've always had a dream of doing something specific (from going the non-profit route and saving the world to opening a bar or a bait shop, whatever) you have a lot of years left in your life without much to do. 40 may seem old to a 22 year old, but when you hit 40 you realize, or at least hope, that you have 30-50 years left. When I was younger I thought that $X at 40 or so and I would retire then I realized that I have no idea what I'd do for that many years. If you're someone who's made it to the upper levels of finance by that age you're most likely someone who's really motivated and used to working long and hard. Unless you make hundreds of millions (which just doesn't happen unless you sell a company or maybe if you're the outlier HF guy) and have fuck you money where you could sail the world or fly in your G5 to your multiple houses around the world, that's a long time for retirement. I have a good friend who did exactly that-HF guy, made that type of money and retired in his late 30's. It stuck for a little while but after a few years he's getting back into working because he just got bored.

+SB, great post and thanks for the insight.

you said when you were younger you thought at $X at 40 you would retire. over the years has the changed from being $X to something else - say instead of $X, a sense of accomplishment, promotions, or responsibilities.

instead of leaving when you have $X, maybe leaving when you've made XXX impact.

 

I don't think I'll ever retire; my grandpa has always said that was his worst mistake, but he doesn't have many hobbies. Investment research could be a part-time hobby for me that I'd consider a job (after all, it makes [or loses] you money).

I already hate investment banking; I'm just waiting to either have enough money to start something better on my own (nothing, in my opinion, beats the feeling of being a successful entrepreneur) or to find a smaller-office asset manager ($100-500mm AUM) with a similar investing style. Research is fun, in my opinion, and the smaller offices have very relaxed atmospheres.

 

What do you hate about investment banking? What if your firm offered you more? what are some strategies you use to make sure you're not tempted to stay?

 

You know, I probably wouldn't hate it if the annoying parts were outsourced. For instance, I'm taking a quick break to respond here, but I'll go back to due diligence in a second - not the good kind of due diligence, but the due diligence of making sure we have all of the company's formation docs, financials, legal, etc., stuff on file. There is more than this, obviously.

As Sil said, you have to be passionate about it. I think I could be passionate about other things. For example, my friend's dad has run a pool company for 30+ years; he's wealthy and I think he has enjoyed it all. I don't fully agree with the comment of making good money makes up for things being shitty because there is a line where you have so much money that you don't feel having more would make you even happier.

 
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I don't think I'll ever retire; my grandpa has always said that was his worst mistake, but he doesn't have many hobbies. Investment research could be a part-time hobby for me that I'd consider a job (after all, it makes [or loses] you money).

I already hate investment banking; I'm just waiting to either have enough money to start something better on my own (nothing, in my opinion, beats the feeling of being a successful entrepreneur) or to find a smaller-office asset manager ($100-500mm AUM) with a similar investing style. Research is fun, in my opinion, and the smaller offices have very relaxed atmospheres.

Dude I'm in the exact same boat. The investment office I interned at a couple years ago was awesome, just not a place I would've wanted to start as my first FT career in case I wanted to switch or something.
 

If nothing else filters from WSO into the outer realms of the interwebz, this needs to. Any job that can be applied for on the internet and won by a 22 year old, will suck (excluding the sons of kings and billionaires here).

Life's is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
 

Couple points that may have been covered, but havent had time to read everything above

1) most grads are largely entitled, they think they are above doing repetitive and sometimes mundane work. They think because they made it to XYZ HF that they are the cream of the crop and should be treated as such. Wrong, they still dont know anything and need to learn from experienced people, while they do the stuff noone else wants to do in the meantime. For recent grads, unhappiness with the job is often times attributable to a break between their expectations of what they can do and what they can actually do. A lot of over inflated ego's come out of top universities.

2) Most people dont leave even after they have hit some sort of pre detemrined number simply because their fixed costs scale up with their promotions. Its very hard to get raises and bonuses and not let your lifestyle rise with the tide. I know guys that have gone through mutliple bull markets at great shops and they cant retire because they have 4 kids in private schools etc etc. The best thing you can do as a young guy is keep your fixed costs and lifestyle in check, only then will you truly be able to leave when you want. The saddest thing is when you see a guy that should be able to do whatever he wants, but because he scaled up his lifestyle along the way he is stuck, and needs the great yearly carry that finance provides. In my opinion, when you are 30, you should be able to view the yearly bonus/pay as a great carry that you can collect as long as you are happy to stay with what oyu are doing, but if you see a great opportunity that you want to pursue you have the backing you need to do so. When you get into the territory where you need to make 200k per year just to keep the lights on in your life then you have fcked up.

3) A lot of people dont leave because once you get to a senior level, its very easy for your title to becme your identity. Being and MD defines you, after all the path to where you are took up a lot of your life and you had to sacrifice a lot along the wya. Its not easy to give up when it becomes a part of who you are. As humans we love to identify with something, and its not easy to leave when it becomes a part of who you are. Its the handcuffs not many people talk about, but they are VERY real.

 

all great points.

i've left WS twice. The first time I resigned from Goldman it took me more than five years to think i through and a few months to leave even after I resigned. the firm showed me around to lots of different jobs and it's hard to leave.

when i left carlyle it was much easier as I knew exactly what I was leaving to do.

in my book i go through the top ten reasons most people will never leave:

i've seen many bankers try to leave but fail, what I call getting stuck at the door. I've seen even more get stuck by the allure of the money, even though objectively they can see they won't make it or it won't set them free. i refer to this as $20 and done which is the illusion that many people on Wall Street have—when they make their $20mil they will ride off into the sunset...it never comes because keep raising the number or they just get too old....

some of them get stuck because of identity. others by being risk averse. but most of the people who stay in jobs that don't inspire them do it because they haven't figured out what does.

the trick to this topic is to focus less on leaving and more on what you are leaving to do. that's the problem with retirement. and it's the problem with leaving.

to do this right you want to begin with the vision for your career and life that is so compelling to you that you just keep moving towards it.

Former banker and investor, advisor to senior Wall Street pros. Learn more at geoffblades.com
 

When I was President of the PE Club at my BSchool, I told all of the people joining that "The Finance Game is like the Drug Game. You gotta have a number in your head, get it and get out. No waffling" Whenever I get to that number, I will quit, start a beach bar in Hawaii and travel the world while I figure out what to do. No matter what, I will always have a beachbar in Hawaii to go back to. Most people that don't have a ready made jump point are afraid of the uncertainty instead of trusting that they will figure something out.

 

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