<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>I’m a A&F major at the London School of Economics. In two years I’ll graduate and then I want to go directly into VC or HF. Which would be in your eyes the top notch companies to focus on?</p>
<p>Going directly into VC or HF? They want people with at least a few years of finance experience, and even then it’s tough. Those are exit opps, not something recent graduates really get into. The career services center at your school probably can’t help you much with VC and HF, but if you’re willing to do your own research, you can check out Battery Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Piper Jaffray. I think there are also VC departments in some i-banks. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. The only HF I know is Citadel. For VC, you might also want to check out smaller, local firms as well. Note that a lot of established VC firms will be on the West Coast actually, not NY. </p>
<p>But I don’t think you should be looking at these industries yet. Go into another finance field and then do some networking to break into VC/HF or other exit opps.</p>
<p>There a whole bunch of HFs that recruit undergrads. Talk to your career services people and see if they recruit. If they don’t find a directory of HFs in Mayfair and start contacting people. </p>
<p>Here is a directory: <a href=“The page you requested does not exist”>http://www.eurekahedge.com/</a>
Get yourself the free trial and take down numbers. LSE definitely has alumni in the industry so you should try that route first.</p>
<p>anyone else?</p>
<p>i know what HF is, but what’s VC?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>forgiven, this a quick definition off of wikipedia:</p>
<p>“Venture capital is a term to describe the financing of startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in “turn around” situations. Venture capital investments generally are higher risk investments but offer the potential for above-average returns. A venture capitalist (VC) is a person who makes such investments.”</p>
<p>Basically it’s an individual or organization that is willing to dump considerable amounts of money into a start-up or turn-around company. The high risk may be over weighed by the potential returns for a successful company. Venture Capitalists are very rich to begin with, and may be impossible without much money. They act as the initial capital, so the company doesnt have to seek a bank or issue equity. </p>
<p>This may be off topic; however I was offered an internship with a Hedge Fund. To put simply, this opportunity runs into my original goal of transferring out. Without going into much detail, I must make a choice whether to accept or not.</p>
<p>What are the exit opportunities as a Hedge Fund analyst? I would say the fund is fairly medium in size, with 1.3 billion in control, so it is not a ‘small’ or ‘boutique’ hedge fund by definition. Will this internship help me in my goal of banking? I understand that many bankers want to break into Hedge Funds, but I find myself with the opposite situation. What paths do individuals who break into HF/VC after UG follow? Do they become a portfolio manager themselves? </p>
<p>Any insight or input would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Exit opps for a HF guy? You see exit opps exist for bankers because no one wants to be on the sell side/middle man. Hedge funds are the buy side themselves…why would you get out of that? </p>
<p>Bankers die and kill themselves to move to the buy side and you are doing the opposite because…? Its like Donald Trump becoming a real estate agent (actually its very, very similar). You go from being the guys with the money to being the guys who peddle around trying to get a cut as a commission by matching up OTHER people who have money.</p>
<p>Twisty, I think the most important factor would be if your internship can lead to a full-time offer before graduation and that sort of thing.</p>
<p>Aside from that yeah, once you make it to an HF there is no real need for an ‘exit op’. As Mahras said, an HF IS an exit op. You work for the buyside and if you can build up a good track record you can start your own fund or work for others.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies guys. </p>
<p>Yes, it does seem weird as to why I would want to do the contrary. In fact, they have told me that they are looking for interns to come on board full time. So yes, in essence if I perform well I will have a possible full-time offer upon graduation.</p>
<p>So in essence, HF is the end of the path? I really want to go into banking, and work on the street. It seems weird, but it has been my goal for a long time now. Do you think these banks would see the HF experience as valuable, as say a summer analyst stint? Would this experience enhance my chances for grad school down the road? Could I ever become an associate after grad school? (i.e. MBA?) Does the size of a hedge fund equal how much the experience is valued, or size is regardless?</p>
<p>Does the fact that HF are viewed as the goal for bankers, that a HF analyst stint has some weight with the top tier banks?</p>
<p>I understand these are a lot of questions. Again, I appreciate all your inputs.</p>
<p>Okay let me explain something: </p>
<p>A successful candidate at a solid HF who performs well will be promoted and be making great contacts. No one just leaves to go to the sell side or to grad school. I have yet to hear of anyone leaving the buyside and going into banking UNLESS the buyside firm had blown themselves up. </p>
<p>I seriously can’t understand what issue you have. You are essentially by bypassing 5+ years on the sell side and 2 years MBA to go directly to the buy side. What does the banking world have that you want?</p>
<p>Yours is a respectable size (1+ billion).</p>
<p>I don’t understand people on CC at all.</p>
<p>life on the sell-side according to a Lehman intern:</p>
<p>“On my floor, there were two interns,” he said. “So the V.P. proposed a hot-dog-eating contest. So the challenge was to eat 15 dirty-water dogs in 20 minutes and to hold it down for an hour. There were lots of bets placed and taken. We stood to make about $200 each if we succeeded. After about 10 hot dogs, the other intern started looking sick and ran off to the bathroom. I managed to finish and regretted it for the rest of the day. So disgusting. But at least I got the cash.”</p>
<p>mahras2, </p>
<p>I am sorry if I aggravate you. I understand that my views are very skewed, and different. Even to myself, I know the extent to which I am contemplating a very easy decision by any means. I just feel that if I ‘skip’ the experiences, I am left out of something. It is extremely hard to describe this feeling. Deviating to many, I like to work long hours. I like to be told what to do, and I love the corporate structure. I wish I could be glued to a phone, and work through the night. When I was at AIG, during the end of the year for financial statements, there was about 2 straight months of 80-90 hour weeks. True, it does not constitute in any way for an analyst during his 2 year cycle, but it gave me great satisfaction to work in those conditions. </p>
<p>What I’m saying is my goal, regardless of what others may think, is becoming a Banker. And, I would like to know how close this experience may get me towards that goal. </p>
<p>Mahras2, I understand your frustration and opinion. But perhaps not everyone considers Hedge Funds as the epitome of finance, and some may find absolute happiness in a less ‘considered’ job. I would honestly at this point be more than content with a Banking job in NYC, than being filthy rich as a Hedge Fund Manager in Connecticut. That is just who I am, whether it is skewed or not.</p>
<p>dcfca,</p>
<p>That is a very interesting tidbit. There have been many stories that involve grotesque and unnatural behaviors within a Bank. But on the contrary, I have read many wonderful and fulfilling stories within a Bank. Perhaps it is just the luck of the draw, as it will always be in life. I certainly understand the risks, but I believe the end result is far more rewarding.</p>
<p>To the original poster:</p>
<p>I must apologize for allowing this thread to enter on a tangent. This surely was not my main intent. I hope that our discussion is helping you in some way, and if not please let me know and I will start a separate topic. Again, I am sorry for going off topic.</p>
<p>You are in a group with a population of 1. Good luck. I still don’t know what in the world you will be missing but sure whatever floats your boat. I am not the type that says “How high?” when a dbag MD tells me to jump. I also don’t like corporate structure. Thats just me I guess and I have pretty much structured by entire life to not have to deal with that.</p>
<p>mahras2,</p>
<p>Thank you for the laugh! I guess I am in a group of 1, but at least I can be president here. I respect your opinion, and that corporate structure is not for everyone. Being a corporate zombie isn’t really something kindergarteners particularly note when asked what they want to be.</p>
<p>Mahras2, perhaps you can answer my question more specifically. Would this experience have any weight towards my goals? Do you think it can possibly lead me into the ‘right’ direction? (By my definition of ‘right’ that is…)</p>
<p>Your input is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>EDIT: I forgot to mention that I am very interested in foreign exchange. My being half Japanese naturally pulls me towards international boundaries. This is another option I am currently exploring. Thoughts on this would be appreciated. Please when you have a chance, check on my thread here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=230085[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=230085</a></p>
<p>Okay now:</p>
<p>As you are interested in FX, why do you want to be a banker? Even FX trading at an ibank is a commodity business (the market making side) with almost all spot trades going through computers. You might want to be on the derivatives side of FX where you are a market maker there.
FX is traded by bank’s prop desks but those are very difficult to get into (they are essentially hedge funds trading with the firm’s capital…btw the biggest profit center at most banks now. Also prop desks don’t have their guys working for 90 hours either).</p>
<p>If you really want to trade FX you should be at a hedge fund. They are the buyside (for the upteenth time) and thats where you speculate/trade FX. </p>
<p>So now you have two choices:</p>
<p>A) You become a banker because you apparently like to follow, have bosses who order you around a lot, work 90+ hours and be on the phone and act all corporate-y.</p>
<p>B) You become an independent minded trader (remember 95% of traders fail so you can’t be a follower) where you are paid by your bottom line performance (minimal politics), where number of hours you work doesn’t mean jack if you don’t earn the cash. </p>
<p>Take your pick.</p>
<p>mahras, are you an incoming freshman to wharton?</p>
<p>No. I am applying this fall.</p>