Need advice .

Question

Hi there ,

Hope you are having a good day . I have a few concerns as far as my profile goes and would like to know how to deal with it . Below is my profile.
10th std - 72%
12th std - 75% (was kicked out of school during my 11th as I dint really want to study much as I dint see the point of studying most of the subjects)
College from a local university - 6.25 CGPA (Indian Nationality)

I worked in my family business for my first 2 years as I didnt see the point of pursing a CA/CWA etc... as the subjects dint interest me and hence even if i wanted i wouldnt be able to study for it. Business was the closest to what I wanted to do with my life as I was good in it .
- increased turnover by 3%p.a , was able to attract 3 new clients with whom we were able to bring in a business of over 200k rupees per client per order .

After that I was bed ridden for over 8months due to a back injury . This was the time I realized I wanted to be an investor and deal with the stock markets/bonds etc ..
- while bed ridden I was handling my family portfolio and had a very good ROI .

After that I took up , my CFA and CAIA . Cleared both the exams in my 1st attempts . My CFA charter is pending and will be awarded next year And I already have been awarded the CAIA charter.
- While pursuing my CFA and CAIA , I've worked as a Financial Analyst for 2 years and a Portfolio constructor for 1 year in medium sized firms . My job was relating to constructing portfolio , analyzing investment avenues and also providing research reports regarding the market and companies . Clients generally have a capital of 1M-50M Rupees. (Higher clients go directly to the director level and I only provide research reports to the Directors).

Extra cur:
- Been associated with a local NGO for over 2 years which deals with people who are paralytic or people who donot have hands and limbs . (this was the result of my back injury as I was unable to walk and travel myself for 8months , which put me in a very troubled situation . I hope I can help them ease that pain)
- I also am a part of a National wide NGO which deals with orphans and I volunteer there for conducting events and Also visit children of different localities and tell them about my work and what it deals with . Its basically a program to help them realize their dreams and provide them a pathway .(People from various professions come and explain to the kids what they do and how things are done , so they have a better insight on what is reality and they can get in touch with what they want to do in the future).
- I am also a regular blood donor at another nation wide NGO .

Basically this is how my profile looks . It's more of a story and alot of ups and down . I'm hopeing my essay and statement of purpose would/should be my strength . As the after the back injury everything has been upwards.

I havent yet taken my GMAT and wanted your advice regarding the following before I jump into a conclusion to do an MBA .
1. I'm aiming at the top Bschools in the US and UK ( US is giving more preference as I want to be a hedge fund manager in NY).
So 1st question would be is my profile good enough to compete at the elite Bschools ? like Wharton,LBS,Booth etc... (keeping in mind the essay and other things) as It is not really the typical profile which would apply to a top bschool . I think I'm kinda stretching my luck a bit too much for these bschools , but i dont want to do the mistake of being "average" like i have done in the past.

2ndly how much should I aim for my GMAT ?
3rdly the concept of hedge funds is "relatively" Alien in India , but would my profile as a financial analyst and Portfolio constructor be a added plus or rather a pre-requisite to hedge fund job while placements ?
4thly As I do not really have prior knowledge of the American markets (have dealt only with Indian) , would be a negative during placements in the Bschool ? or Would I be treated the same as someone who has had exp. as a financial analyst in an american market ?

I hope you get the time to read this Loooooong post .

Awaiting for your reply ,

Fudge

Admissionado · Answer

Hey Fudge! I AM having a good day. And thanks for asking. Nice name BTW.

So the first thing is to figure out what your family business is all about and how strong it is. How big are you guys? How many employees? What exactly is your role? What industry? How big are you relativve to others int he same industry? How fast have you grown each year both in terms of staff and turnover? Also if you have any quick stats about your industry and your potential for growth it can help me (and eventually the Adcom) really understand your family business a lot better. Answer me these and we can get kicked off.

Fudge · Answer

Good to know your day is going well !

-Basically our business is pretty small . As we trade in the iron and steel market .Sales Turnover is about 23M indian rupees . In the years I worked we were able to add in some extra clients . We have an Accountant to take care of the accounting work and an auditor to take care of the tax work . (Which surprisingly he didint for about 4 years and my first job was to make sure that the tax returns were filed for 4 years !) .
- As such we only have an accountant and an auditor as full time working for us . Our business revolves under buying at lower rate and supplying at high and the only additional people we need are people who would transport the materials and lift the materials for loading it into the vehicle . Hence , when we need to load , we ask the transport agency to send a few extra people to help load it and pay them upfront .
- My role basically was to stabilize the accounts and business and make it grow . My father though in the business form quite sometime doesnt know anything about accounts and hence they were a complete mess . (he hasnt done his college/bachelors).
- I made excels to take care of the working capital so we can have sufficient money with us at the end of the month and so we can use the money more effectively .
-Simultaneously we also have another agency which has been passed on to us (50% of it ) ,in which in that year we were able to bring in 3 new clients with whom we have done some good business with . This is a commission based business .
- We also have a small portfolio in the stock market which I had no control off , until I was bed ridden . Although the complete control is still not with me . But I've had over 120%ROI in the year and my sharpe ratio also is pretty good as There was no leverage used .

Hope this brief profile gives you a good picture of the business and my role in the business .

Regards,

Fudge

Admissionado · Answer

Hey Fudge,
Thanks for the additional detail. Allright, so let's be honest, Top 10 schools are out… Now don't l think that this is me telling you to give up, not at all. But you need to forge a different path.

The Top 10, even Top 15 schools have way too many IIT grads with 85% and GMATs of 750 with managerial work to take on a candidate with poor grades from a non-IIT and a small family business. It's not a bad thing, it's just how they see the world. I think for other schools your grade story is overcomable. I mean you have good reasons and as long as you can show some success/improvement (mostly by kicking butt on the GMAT) schools outside the Top 10/15 will be willing to be forgiving on that count.

Soooooo the going the classic route of Top MBA school to Hedge Fund is gonna be a tough one for you. Which means maybe there's another route. I don't know exactly how, but for example if you could get a hedge fund or similar job in the US and THEN apply, that might bear heavier fruit. It's the chicken and egg problem of course!

Otherwise with a 710+ schools ranked 15-40 should be open to you.

If you have any further Qs don't hesitate, dude.
Best,
Jon

Fudge · Answer

Hi Jon ,

Dam it ! wharton was my dream school . But Anyways , I guess I need to work with what I have and make the best out of it . From your reply , Which gave me a good view of reality , I have some doubts . 
1. Would Stern , Tuck (in usa) and oxford/cambridge (in uk) be in reach ?
2. Well if i could land a job in hedge funds in USA , i wouldnt even do an MBA :D . It's just to get into a hedge fund you need a really good network , which I donot have in USA , UK maybe I might have , but then again in the UK there is VISA issues so ..... Apart form this , given that I havent taken GMAT yet , and by the time i would apply it would be like a year , is there anything I can do to improve my profile ? like anything . would organizing events for NGO help ? And keeping in mind I would have a year to go so , high chances I might get promoted .
3. Wouldnt my CFA , CAIA kinda cover the IIT guys ? i mean , dont top bschools looks for variety ? and also CFA,CAIA both being world renown charters and NON "IT" .
4. Would a Msc.Finance or MSc.Quantitative finace or Msc. Financial Economics from one of the top Bschools (listed by FT) ex: LBS, LSE , St.Gallen or HEC Paris help me out regarding my profile ?

I would also like to add , I am currently 27 now , and willing to wait till 28 for USA Bschool and if I have to apply to a UK school , I can wait till 29-30 . Would waiting for sometime and gaining more exp add weight to my profile ?

Awaiting your valuable reply ,

Fudge

Admissionado · Answer

Well you could always give Wharton a shot. I mean, one more application. But it's greta that you are open to being realistic

1. With the right GMAT I think all three are possible. 2. Like I said, chicken and egg.

I guess a hedge fund job out in the US is also out, but what about in India? Or at least something one or three steps closer to hedge fund work than what you are currently doing? 3. Of course it counts. And when you go up against other Indian IT guys, it's gonna help a lot. But don't forget that there are gonna be applicants with experience in hedge funds already. So it's a great help, but it doesn't automatically get you in. 4. Probably. And this is a good question. MF or MBA? OOOOOOR plan for an MF and THEN an MBA ( a bit looong and maybe expensive, but makes more sense when you think about one year MBAs). A lot of options are open to you and I wouldn't necessarily strike any of them out. You know, you can also decide that you want to apply to a mix of MBA and MF programs and go to whichever one is the most appealing to you. It's a bit of a non-traiditonal strategy but totally feasible. Finally I don't think you need to wait anymore. You are at a perfect age for an MBA, Best, JF

Fudge · Answer

Hey Jon ,

Thanks for answering the questions as it has given more clarity to me . Althoguh still need to decide to do the MSF+ one year MBA or directly a 2year MBA . But I guess now I need to prepare for my GMAT and aim for 710+ mark .

Thank you for your assistance and expertise .

Regard ,

Fudge

Admissionado · Answer

Awesome dude. Good luck! And come back for a chat once you are done. Let's see what developed,

Jon

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