If you’re new here, please click here to get my FREE 57-web-page investment bank recruiting guide – plus, get every week updates to enable you to break into investment bank. What’s the easiest way to tell apart an American investment banker from a European one? The Western banker speaks 4-5 dialects; the American one knows only 5-10 and British words of Spanish. The European banker is having nightmares about assessment centers and logical tests still, while the American one continues to be concerned about a slightly-too-low GPA from a non-target university. The European banker is panicked within the possible breakup of the EU, as the American one is more concerned with a psychopath in the White House.
But something easier also pieces them aside: The American banker is a lot more obsessed with exit opportunities. Investment Banking Exit Opportunities… What? Many articles, videos, and discussion board posts jump into a comparison of different “exit opps” without defining what an exit opportunity is. So let’s start with the fundamentals: “Investment banking leave opportunities” are other areas that you go into after getting started in investment banking and working there for a few years.
Often – though not necessarily – this field entails investing in companies instead of advising companies, or acquiring companies rather than advising on those acquisitions. Private equity and growth equity. Hedge money and asset management. Corporate finance and corporate and business development. Bankers are motivated to move into these other fields because the work is more intellectually interesting, the pay is higher, and the hours are slightly better.
They Have Unadvertised Downsides: For instance, at many PE companies you have to do a great deal of “sourcing” where you cold-call companies and pitch your company as a source of capital. 99% of the offers you look at. Then there’s the cultural aspect – you’re more of a “lone wolf” in many of these roles since you have to create investment ideas and drive offers processes by yourself.
There’s less office politics, but less teamwork also. Those disadvantages exist still; nothing about the work itself has changed almost. Investment Banking Exit Opportunities: What Has Changed? First, you will need to start much earlier to even get into investment banking since the recruiting timeline has moved up and now starts more than a year in advance of internships. You just about have to be set on IB from your first 12 months in university or college and then complete a sequence of internships in your first and second years to have a good chance. These changes imply that you ought not to think of investment banking exit opportunities as the be-all-and-end-all.
Even the word “exit” is problematic because it implies that you’ll only move around in one path: from investment banking to something else. But if you read some of the reader account on this site, you’ll see that reality is not quite so rigid. What Do YOU WILL NEED to discover the best Investment Banking Exit Opportunities?
- Fear (Reached in mid-May of 2007 to mid/past due February 2008, ~9 weeks)
- 289 Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ:CTSH) -53.8% 15.68 33.94
- CIMA – Certified Investment Management Analyst
- Stock Market/Derivatives
- How much do I need to spend of pocket on a weekly basis because of this investment property
- Know what you want
A Bulge-Bracket or Elite-Boutique Bank or investment company – You have the best chance of earning mega-fund offers if you’re at one of the. The specific bank or investment company matters significantly less than the kind of bank or investment company you’re at. So if you have a selection between two bulge mounting brackets, don’t choose based on which one is “more prestigious”: Pick based on the team and culture you prefer.
If you’re at a middle-market or smaller company, you can still earn exits, but you’ll have to do a complete lot more work on your own and aim for smaller companies. The Right Geography – A couple of more exit opportunities in NY far, London, and Hong Kong than in other cities in North America, Europe, and Asia. And it’s tough to make an East Coast to West Coast move, or vice versa, if you’re in the U.S.
A Top Undergraduate Institution and GPA – Yes, these still matter, since recruiting begins so ridiculously early especially. THE PROPER Industry Background – It’s tough to move from something specialized, such as FIG investment banking, into a far more general team, like healthcare or consumer/retail-focused private equity fund. Solid Deal Flow – Particularly for private equity interviews, you won’t have much to talk about if you haven’t done offers yet.
You could probably get away with the “But it’s so early!” excuse, but you’re at a drawback still. The Right Preparation – Amazingly, many candidates, ones from Ivy League schools at the very top banks even, head into buy-side interviews without a stock pitch or investment recommendation and without knowing their deals inside and out. Relevant Pre-Banking Experience – Ideally, you’ll have previous internships that are related to the exit opportunity, such as PE or VC internships if you’re aiming for collateral development jobs.
