From Goldman Sachs to private equity to hedge funds to start-ups

efinancialcareers.com:

Alexis Augier has done it all. Sincegraduating from Spanish business school in Esade in 2016, he's been an analyst at Goldman Sachs' investment bank, a private equity associate at KKR, an 'investment professional' at hedge fund Elliott Asset Management, and founded a successful start-up. 

If you're at the very start of your finance career, Augier, therefore, has a perspective on how to proceed. Unsurprisingly, maybe, he implies that his approach is a good one.

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Starting out in banking when you leave university is wise because it sets you up, says Augier: “Banking gives you solid technical foundations that are transferable to most roles in finance. It is unlikely you really know what you want to do when you come out of university, so building a foundational skillset should be the priority.”

But don't stay too long. Augier himself had only been at Goldman Sachs for a few months when KKR came knocking. «I had a great experience at Goldman Sachs but when you are approached by KKR you at least take the interview,» he says. «I was lucky enough to get hired and I spent four years there investing across a range of asset classes, from private equity to structured and distressed credit.”

Going from banking to private equity makes sense, because it's only when you work in private equity that you really learn how to become a „fundamental investor,“ says Augier. Private equity is about, „business fundamentals and evaluating the upside potential“ he adds. For this reason, the first few years in private equity after banking can be „very intense.“ In banking, you may learn, „the foundations of financial modelling, presentations, and transaction execution, but you have never been in an