Every job has its risks

Equity research - from more-baller-than-M&A in the 90s being the Moses to companies in the sea of capital markets, to getting slammed HARD by regulations and just being a corporate access manager putting together NDRs

M&A / capital markets - dealflow / primary financing market volatility, but arguably one of the few finance roles where your skill has ACTUAL fundamental demand outside of finance

Private equity - personal career risk: good luck finding your seat at the table if you didn’t tag on the best deals all the way. Multiples contraction hitting returns after riding on 30 years of multiples expansion on leverage. Political / regulatory risk once enough hate for PE accumulates.

SWFs / state pension - pay/returns optics and political risk (change of political overlords)

Hedge funds - personal career risk = payouts as big as 8 figs, longevity as short as 3 months

VC - you are either part of the 3-4 unicorns in this region, or you are not. Good luck if you are not. Your management fees won’t save you.

HF / MM shops - still minting right now, but regulation / politics is probably the biggest risk. There’s only a limit to how much you can say “we provide liquidity” pls. Career risk - not sure what else you are valuable for if your only raison d’etre is to game exchange microstructures.

Crypto - lmao don’t get me started.