Data scientist in AM start up vs quant equity research in IB

[J.Souvrard]

I must pick one of the two options. My core competence is machine learning (ML) for finance. I'm interested in ML-based quant trading/investment.

Asset management: I would join in day 1. Managers very experienced from IB who will bring investors. I used to work with one of the future managers in the past. I would be asked to use machine learning to refine investment strategies and to produce research for a potential underlying fund or clients. Strongly preferred location.

Investment bank: I would join a new quant equity research team lead by a very experienced person. I would be in the research division producing research mainly for hardcore quant clients.

What would you recommend?

 

[ADT]

Get in asset management. In bank research, you will spend 30% of your time generating weekly research reports/racking your brains to find sometime timely/fashionable to write. The other 70% of your time is spent doing sales - sales meaning (a) responding to ad-hoc client requests for data or analysis, and (b) getting on the phone/going in person to meet with buy-side clients.

Any buy-side shop worth their salt would not be relying on bank research teams for analysis. Data maybe, but analysis no. What you are more likely to get, are small shops without the budget for data or internal brainpower that would rely on bank research to fill those gaps.

The risk of joining a start-up AM (even with an experienced portfolio manager) is whether the fund will survive in such a competitive landscape. If I were you, I would join the AM team, and ask for some carry in the fund as compensation for the risk you take.