Help for career decision: stay in corporate banking or switch to ER?
Hi,
I have received a job offer to start in renewable energy equity research as an associate and am debating whether I should take it or not. The position is with a boutique investment bank.
Context: I currently work as a mid-level credit analyst in corporate banking. I participate in client meetings together with the relationship managers, write and present credit cases (including all related credit analysis), and have portfolio management duties (annual reviews etc.). About half of my deals are project finance, the rest are various types of corporate credits (term loans, revolvers, guarantees). Industry is renewables and infrastructure. I work for one of the largest banks in my part of Europe but you probably have not heard about it if you're not from here. I've been in this position for about a year and it's my first job in finance/banking.
Dilemma: I like my current work and enjoy credit analysis overall but a large part of the job is administrative which is boring. The equity research role would be more focused on original research which appeals to me. Base salary is about the same but ER has substantially higher bonus potential.
My problem is that I think I may prefer credit over equity. In terms of career, before this job offer, I was planning to stay a little longer in credit analysis / project finance and later on explore related areas like structured credit, leveraged finance, private credit / direct lending, and credit research (high-yield, leveraged loans, but also the more macro side). I like that credit is more structured, it feels more 'real' in a way because all I care about is actual cash flows. I also like that the work has a significant macro perspective in terms of interest and exchange rates, bank funding costs, etc., that have to be considered in our underwriting. I don't know how much that would apply in equity research in renewables.
Does anyone have any input that could help me make this decision? Would I for example be able to go back to the credit side from equity research if I find out that it isn't for me?
Thanks for any help.
Edit: I realize it might be difficult to answer some of my questions without knowing which market, so let's assume the context here is the London job market as I would be considering moving there at least for a couple years.
Stay. Based on your interest, ER is not going to get you to where you want to be.
Thanks. To be entirely honest, I'm not entirely sure where I want to be / end up. I went into banking because I was interested in renewables, infrastructure, and generally real assets investing. What I mentioned about my career plans (structured credit, credit research, etc.) was kind of the logical way forward once I have been in my current role enough but I'm not necessarily married to that. I do like the structured and cash flow-focused nature of credit but maybe there is a stronger focus on that in asset-heavy industries like renewables?
And what would you think would be good reasons to switch to ER? As I said, I do miss deep-dive research (which is what I did before my current job though with a different focus - I've explained it in an earlier post of mine). It also seemed like a more dynamic job with a higher tempo, which would be nice too.
Natus ad similique rerum dolorum ut laudantium est. Perferendis consequatur suscipit quasi vel qui. Culpa exercitationem voluptates et ducimus. Vel quos quam consectetur omnis ipsum.
Itaque sint libero voluptate error et. Laboriosam est magnam aut similique facere et. Quasi alias ea eos explicabo et tempore. Aut accusantium possimus voluptates. Ratione et unde dolores minima aut sequi esse. Omnis itaque non rerum dolores a qui voluptatum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...