DrSatisfaction wrote:
I see what you're saying here, but personally my experience has been in FX, interest rates, commodities, and some credit derivatives. So as you can probably tell, I am really not interested in doing a financial analysis of an individual company. I would be a pretty bad candidate for pure IB or PE since I have no interest in it.
That being said, I have set my expectations realistically and I'm not saying I have to work for a HF. I'll aim for that but really I'll be okay working on the sell side for a few years before trying to switch over (or even *gasp* try to start my own HF). I think I have some edge in my experiences across all these macro related products. Of course since I also have experience as an Investment Advisor for high net worth private clients in China, I think can offer a lot to any HF that's seeking to sell to China. That's the angle I'm planning on selling myself to HF's anyways...we'll see how far it gets me. The economy's so bad right now I'm not sure how it will be by the time I'm done in 2011 or 2012. However, I'm okay to fall back to a S&T desk (probably sales, given my background and linguistic advantages, although I'd prefer trading), and I think all my experiences will still be applicable there.
Overall though, given the connections I've made in China while working there, the clients I've met, and the skills I've developed there, I think I'd be able to bring in quite a bit of money to HF's. I also think that if I can partner up with a few experienced traders then I'd be fine to set up my own fund with money from Chinese investors, so that's always a (riskier but higher reward) option.
I'd like to hear everyone else's thoughts on my plans. Criticism is definitely welcome and I'd like to get feedback from all you guys who have already been through (or are currently going through) the recruiting process. Thanks!
I think I have a similar interests to you going forward. my background is in sovereign DCM so I do have that advantage. However, Im not sure how much Oxford is going to help you though - would have thought LBS would be te best option. Ps - with regards to approaching the funds, is it better to intern there over the summer or do you intern at a bank and join the fund straight after ?
Plus i also heard from a colleague that it makes sense to have some experience in flow trading before moving over to the HF/IM side if you hve no trading experience at all - ie do a few years first on sellside and then move to the buyiside. Is that really critical or can u just move there directly ?