i think there are a lot of people who think that the buy side is some type of paradise...yes, there is more upside on the buy-side than the sell-side if you're in the right role, such as managing capital. however, there are plenty of slacker firms out there where the fundamental analysts do a pretty shoddy job of modeling and stockpicking. i'd attribute some of this ineptitude to lack of proper training.
in addition, what i've noticed also is that sometimes people in junior buy-side roles (like those hired out of undergrad or out of mba without prior finance experience) is that they seem to believe they have much better analytical skills than they actually do. i know this because i have the occasional misfortune of talking to or meeting with these folks who think they know a lot but really don't. but i guess it's understandable as i do understand that comp tends to be less on the buy-side for junior roles if they're don't play a critical role in the asset management process.
so to answer your question...you do see some people move from buy-side to the sell-side on occasion, but i think usually it's because they lacked the proper analytical training on the buy-side and wanted to refine their skill set. they tend to be pretty junior people, too. however the transition from buy-side to sell-side is far less frequent if the candidate is further along in their career path on the buy-side because at VP and up, they could be making as much money on the buy side (or even more) while working considerably fewer hours.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, July 13, 2007 at 01:01AM by numi.