Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
California, after this bit of nonsense, I'm sure you didn't go to Stanford. Even Cal is a stretch. Perhaps it was University of San Francisco 
Singapore does not compare to NY or Boston (for fund management) as a financial center by any stretch of the imagination. Bigger deals go down there and in finance you compete with the best in the world. As Frankie said about New York, "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere".
Whether you are in IB, CF or a sellside analyst, you can earn many many times in the US what you could possibly earn in Singapore. You also work on more complex deals with much smarter people. It is the experience doing the complex deals that builds your value.
The only truth you have is that because Singapore's tax rate is low, if you earn A LOT of money, you can save at a very high rate. But don't you think the Bulge Bracket IBs have figured this out already an apply "tax equivalence" to their employees across their offices. Low level front office and back office people are paid differently in NY and Singapore. High Level front office people are paid largely on the revenue they bring in and if you are in NY, you will bring in far more revenue as it is a vastly bigger market than the red dot. Top level investment bankers adjust their residence for the best tax treatment, but they all work in NY.
For talented Singaporeans going to top US Universities, the best option is to cut your teeth in New York or London and when you have been promoted to a senior level and have acquired the experience of a top flight investment banker, THEN move to Singapore. That is the fastest way to reach the upper echelons of Singapore investment banking. Understandably, there was a recession and unemployment is high, but investment banking in the U.S. is coming back strong and it would be wise to get in now. |
You know what, I agree with you for the most part. However, for the record I never compared Singapore to NY or Boston for fund management; as I've stated my experiences have been in California in tech, and I'll readily admit you're probably in a better position to comment on the other two cities with regards to finance. I've only said that Singapore is a finance hub (which it is) and not a tech hub (which it's not), which is not the same as saying it's
the finance hub of the world. That said, you're right -- if you wanna go huge in finance, New York is a great place (perhaps the best place) to be. In fact, all the top brass of my company are there, and it's where the big decisions are made.
I also agree that you can probably find more lucrative and complex deals there. I'm not sure if I'll go as far as saying that those doing finance in New York are '
much smarter' than their Singaporean counterparts per-say (moreso if you want to go by pure book-smarts), but for the sake of argument I'll concede this point as well. I will say that in my opinion, they're definitely more aggressive and adventurous by nature in their business dealings, which can be a very good thing if it turns out well in the end. Again, I can't comment from firsthand experience, but from what I hear from friends and family working in NY finance (as well as other publications/sites/articles) the pay for these positions is pretty meager to average for the first few years; and thats if you manage to stick it out. For two people of similar qualifications, the pay in NY may be a bit higher, but I wouldn't agree with '
many many times' the salary, and this isn't even taking into account taxes and the sky-high rent.
I don't have enough personal data to make a stance on the tax-equivalence salaries across different offices, but comparing the entry-mid level pays of my friends and schoolmates across the world, it doesn't affect it much (from what I've seen). If anything, I'd say it's more of an inherent comparison to the local 'market rate' (why would a company want to pay more than is necessary to hire and keep the caliber of talent that they want?) - which of course takes into account tax / etc by nature - rather than a conscious evaluation of payscale by country according to taxes.
I'll once again agree that New York is a great place for finance full of smart and ambitious people. However, you have to also recognize that working there means you're also competing with the best and that you'll always be fighting for your spot / job / whatever. I've seen quite a few high flyers screw up bigtime here and lose their jobs, only to be given comparable or even higher offers immediately by competing firms. I'll admit I'm not qualified to say whether this is the norm or not, but I can definitely see the lack of competition once you get into the higher echelons here.
I completely agree with your last statement (for talented Singaporeans to go to top US universities and grind it out in NY / London, establish yourself and build a name then return to really reap the benefits). It's not too far off from what I advised, for those who have the chance; and if you think you can cut it, go for it by all means! But I have to warn that some Singaporeans may not be able to adapt to the ambitious in-your-face atmosphere and culture inherent to these cities and the people that they'll be up against.