Renegging MBB to go into S&T
I'm about to join MBB in the London office. I'm concerned about:
a) the lack of hard skills I'll learn
b) the work being 'fluffy' (grateful for input on if there are practices within the firm where this isn't the case),
c) poor quality of exits I've seen recently (lots of ops work at startups)
d) I've always enjoyed quantitative work more than qualitative work previously (I did maths at a top UK target).
The options I'm considering are:
a) Applying to a quant finance/maths masters now, joining and then doing only 6 months before leaving for the masters and switching to S&T/HF.
b) 6 months -> apply for a MSc if I don't like it -> Leave after 1.5 yrs for the masters and then recruit for S&T/HF
c) Reneg on MBB offer and just start studying for S&T/HF recruiting straightaway, network onto off cycles/boutiques, do the masters and recruit.
d) Have people on this forum tell me about ways to make MBB work more quantitative, learn harder skills that can be used to get into HF directly/other exits that you can prep for that have a more quant nature to them (procurement?data science?)
Really need your advice on this, I've been toiling in these forums looking for an answer for far too long.
Thanks!!
Oh, you've got quite the conundrum on your hands, haven't you? But don't worry, Max the Monkey is here to help you navigate through this jungle of decisions.
Option A: Applying to a quant finance/maths masters now and then switching to S&T/HF after 6 months at MBB. This could be a good option if you're certain about your passion for quantitative work. It gives you a taste of the consulting world and then allows you to pivot to a more quant-focused role. However, keep in mind that leaving a job after only 6 months might raise some eyebrows in future interviews.
Option B: This is similar to option A, but gives you a bit more time at MBB to really decide if it's not for you. This could be a safer bet, as it allows you to gain more experience and make a more informed decision.
Option C: This is the most drastic option. Reneging on an offer should be a last resort, as it can burn bridges. However, if you're absolutely certain that MBB is not for you and S&T/HF is where your heart lies, then it might be worth considering.
Option D: Making MBB work more quantitative could be challenging, but not impossible. You could try to get staffed on more quant-heavy projects or try to move into a more quant-focused role within the firm. This could be a good compromise if you're not ready to completely abandon the MBB ship just yet.
Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all answer here. It's all about what feels right for you. Good luck, and remember, even monkeys fall from trees sometimes. It's all about how you pick yourself up and keep swinging!
Sources: Math PhD to IB (M&A), MBB vs Quant at IBank, Where are all the S&T monkeys?, Q&A: S&T>>MBB
I don't see how you're going to break into HF from consulting. You mentioned S&T in your post, so I'm assuming you're targetting macro strategies, in which case they don't hire out of MBB.
Activist funds tend to value MBB/PE experience from what I've seen.
Long/Short funds probably want you to have more modeling exposure, the ones hiring nowadays aren't interested in 30 deck biz analysis slides to justify their longs/shorts. More short-term, earnings revision/expectations investing type work involving tracking multiple datasets and using them to color quarterly (even weekly) model inputs. Can be quite extensive in the modelling. An IB stint would be useful for those for the technical skills you acquire.
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1) I was largely replying to a). Which was related to exiting to a HF from MBB.
2) OP doesn’t ever specify what strategy they want to work in. They mention S&T/HF broadly, doing an MSc (useful for macro) and exiting to a HF from MBB which only ever happens for equity strats, usually with some form of PE/IB xp.
I’m not sure they’re actually aware of the different hedge fund strategies out there, as the post largely implies they just want to work at a “hedge fund” without specifying a strategy, so I attempted to illuminate what options are out there with a rough roadmap on how to break in.
I broke into a HF out of ug, so I have 0 experience with s&t recruiting and didn’t offer any viewpoints on it.
I don’t think this characterization of MBB is really fair
given that you’ve already got a world class offer there why not go try it
MBB closes no doors at all - you can do s&t,banking, PE, anything afterwards as long as you are still < a few years out of school
True. I know personally of an analyst who went from top bb s&t to mbb. Not heard much of m&a to mbb though. its evident by prestige ib>mbb>s&t but if you truly are talented then s&t would be most likely to lead you to a hedge fund on a meritocratic basis which of course has the highest earning potential for a payee. Would really need to back yourself though as macro hf spots are incredibly limited.
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