High Finance Thread

Originally Posted by Unregistered

sorry my bad. do you have experience in asia/SEA or native language skills in vietnamese/thai/bahasa? the funds are now looking for people with such skillset

No, I do not have SEA language skills so that is another challenge.

The way I see it, no working rights + no language skills will make it an uphill battle, even despite my relevant work experience.

I thought perhaps the LBS MBA would open some doors that wouldn't otherwise exist (e.g. alumni network) but I don't know enough about the SG market to know whether this would hold true

Originally Posted by ebitdac

No, I do not have SEA language skills so that is another challenge.

The way I see it, no working rights + no language skills will make it an uphill battle, even despite my relevant work experience.

I thought perhaps the LBS MBA would open some doors that wouldn't otherwise exist (e.g. alumni network) but I don't know enough about the SG market to know whether this would hold true

yes you are right, MBA won't help. the government is now very strict on work permits hence it will be extremely tough for you. best bet is to get a transfer or set up your own company in singapore

Are you a UK national?

PE is becoming increasingly localized even for global funds with regional teams. Language skills aside, from a career standpoint, if you don't have local ties and the ability to relate to local business people, you'd find it hard to progress beyond the excel monkey associate level.

Chiming in as a PE then to VC with CAIA cert (under 5 years of exp) to provide some information who genuinely wants to break in.

A lot of opinions but no solid numbers to back it up. Bear in mind some trolls around.

Let's just put things in perspective. The amount of people high finance hires is so staggering few. Even for a big corporate, their VC team is only a handful. PE houses will be a better choice. If can't break in - try the family office route which will be long-winding to reach your goals.


Salary Landscape 2018/2019 for Buy-Side Sell-Side

s://.flipsnack.com/cobaltNZSG/singapore-salary-report.html

So far quite accurate on the range depending on the size of the fund. The numbers are also consistent with my industry contacts. But outliers exist of course, but the point of this forum is not to talk about Superstars.

An IBD will certainty start at 8k++. I think overseas bank can offer 5 digits. VC pays much lower but better hours. Buy-side works lesser hours for sure. Bigger funds probably work until 8-11pm. It varies. MBA helps but in this Covid19 climate, IPOs activities will be further dented which affects IB directly.



Breaking In

If you want to break into VC try joining a start-up in a hot industry in a role which deals with acquisitions or finance. I broke into VC cause I already have PE experience. Having relevant experience makes life so much easier.

Equity research usually if you have Big4 experience with good skills on modelling and writing - they will hire you. But the pay isn't great (on regional/local banks level) and nobody pays for research these days. I think if you exhibit good writing skills and analytical ability, they will hire you. It's not too difficult. I seen moves from ER to buy-side funds.

I would not recommend back office as these functions probably won't be there in 20-30 years time unless that role requires niche knowledge and personal touch (akin to a Lawyer).

MBA is of course useful but most of the people I've seen ended up in Consulting which isn't that bad besides the travelling.



Age is a Concern

Bare in mind after 30-34, it will be more challenging to transit from a non-relevant career track to investment track unless your previous job scope involves significant investment or portfolio management involvement.

Taking up CAIA or CFA is helpful. These designations are purely marketing for yourself when HR sorts through the resume.

This forum has a particular penchant on making those top few jobs very "mainstream" which creates mismatch in expectations for job-seekers. Your mileage may vary good luck.


- KAYA

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Are you a UK national?

PE is becoming increasingly localized even for global funds with regional teams. Language skills aside, from a career standpoint, if you don't have local ties and the ability to relate to local business people, you'd find it hard to progress beyond the excel monkey associate level.

I am a UK national but of east asian descent. So no local ties, but I will at least 'look' like a local.

Can anyone comment on the trend in the last ~2 years that local employers are not hiring foreigners on employment passes as they're encouraged to hire locals? For example i've heard MBB in Singapore is only hiring locals. I wonder if the same is true for the global and local PE funds in SG

Thanks for the responses so far

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Chiming in as a PE then to VC with CAIA cert (under 5 years of exp) to provide some information who genuinely wants to break in.

...

MBA is of course useful but most of the people I've seen ended up in Consulting which isn't that bad besides the travelling.

- KAYA

Thanks for the salary info, that's useful. And regarding MBA - I won't be using it to get into consulting as I have already worked at a top consulting firm. It would solely be to help me open PE doors in SG but as another poster mentioned it might not be very helpful.

KAYA's post is 95% accurate. good summary.

I am in the midst of studying in hbs. (A Singaporean) Originally working in US in the tech and quant trading industry before entering harvard. I am wondering, how are the jobs situation in like IB and PE HF. in sg , been a while since i left sg. Can i get into big international firms in the industry i listed above without much experience?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am in the midst of studying in hbs. (A Singaporean) Originally working in US in the tech and quant trading industry before entering harvard. I am wondering, how are the jobs situation in like IB and PE HF. in sg , been a while since i left sg. Can i get into big international firms in the industry i listed above without much experience?

fake HBS spotted

Hi im a local singaporean here who is going to start ns
my long term goal is to a partner in pe
just recently found this forum(i used wso to understand high finance)

1) do megafunds in singapore do undergrad recruiting or do i have to be in ib first?
2) is pay in pe comparable with nyc/hk?
3) are there other forums dedicated to high finance in sg such as wso
4) how does gic/tamasek compare with mfs such as kkr (comp,carry,work-life balance)
5) i heard that blackstone only has repe and does not have corperate pe. Is that true?
6) do pe firms in sg require an mba to move up the ladder
7) is pe recruitment in sg done by headhunters?(if so can you give me their names)
8) do you actually pay no taxes on carried interest
9) how is the mm and umm pay in sg when compared to mf(interested in partners comp mainly)
10) do firms in sg really prefer locals who studied overseas and is lse a target for them(for undergrad)

ik its a lot of question and would like to thank you if you answered them