MFE or MBA

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adalfu

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Pros/cons?
I’m more quant oriented and was considering the master of financial engineering degree over the MBA. Do any of guys have much knowledge between the two besides the obvious?
I don’t want to be the traditional domestic equity analyst (buy side or sell side, doesn’t matter). But I do want to get into
1) anything macro (consulting is okay); macro hedge funds
2) or if not, go into something more mathematical-based; i.e. black-box quants (AQR, DFA, Renaissance, etc) or arbitrage-style hedge funds
3) prop trader
I believe the MFE will help out w/ #2 and #3 above, but the MBA is more superior for #1. Ideas/suggestions?
Thanks
 
HF bubble is popping. Prop Trading is done for now. Look outside of finance.
I’d go for Phd Electrical Engineering or Computer Science.
 
Yeah by some estimates 50% of hedge funds could be closed in the months ahead. It’s unclear when the industry will come back, if ever. Keep your options open with a diversified skill set.
 
Deleveraging will be bad for hedge funds. But not all hedge funds are highly levered.
As plan sponsors have losses and need to rebalance their allocations to hedge funds, even good HFs will have redemptions. But for a good fund, maybe one could do a HF-LIBOR swap instead of a redemption… if you trust your counterparty, of course.
There are many different hedge fund styles, and they aren’t all equally affected. Global Macro funds (if they’re any good) may actually have had a decent year. Hedge funds that do shorting-only may have performed well too.
As for MFE vs MBA, the MBA is a general management degree which should open up opportunities in many sectors. MFE is more quant-y and finance-y, of course.
 
adalfu Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Pros/cons?
>
> I’m more quant oriented and was considering the
> master of financial engineering degree over the
> MBA. Do any of guys have much knowledge between
> the two besides the obvious?
>
> I don’t want to be the traditional domestic equity
> analyst (buy side or sell side, doesn’t matter).
> But I do want to get into
> 1) anything macro (consulting is okay); macro
> hedge funds
> 2) or if not, go into something more
> mathematical-based; i.e. black-box quants (AQR,
> DFA, Renaissance, etc) or arbitrage-style hedge
> funds
> 3) prop trader
>
> I believe the MFE will help out w/ #2 and #3
> above, but the MBA is more superior for #1.
> Ideas/suggestions?
>
> Thanks
I am going for an MFE this spring. Already made up my mind.
Either I am a jackass or … well … a bigger jackass.
 
Fsa-sucker,
Why you think you are jackass by going for MFE program?
 
well, i don’t plan to start either program until 2-3 years out. by that time, it’ll be a totally different story. I do feel that there is still long-term growth in the hedge fund space, so I’m not too concern about the “timing” here.
Thanks for the inputs. I would definitely prefer a joint degree (but I do know that berkeley’s and ucla’s programs dont offer the MFE + MBA joint degree – not too sure about columbia’s nor chicago’s). They might offer that in the future.
 
adalfu Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Pros/cons?
>
> I’m more quant oriented and was considering the
> master of financial engineering degree over the
> MBA. Do any of guys have much knowledge between
> the two besides the obvious?
>
> I don’t want to be the traditional domestic equity
> analyst (buy side or sell side, doesn’t matter).
> But I do want to get into
> 1) anything macro (consulting is okay); macro
> hedge funds
> 2) or if not, go into something more
> mathematical-based; i.e. black-box quants (AQR,
> DFA, Renaissance, etc) or arbitrage-style hedge
> funds
> 3) prop trader
>
> I believe the MFE will help out w/ #2 and #3
> above, but the MBA is more superior for #1.
> Ideas/suggestions?
>
> Thanks
I deal with FX markets. Very Macro. Some of the option mathematics are pretty interesting too.
 
you might want to check in with MBAFinance. I think he has two MFE’s and is working on a third MBA.
 
I just want to get my feet wet and prepare for something hedge-fund-related in the future. I don’t like the consulting work; doesn’t feel that challenging.
@fxguy1234: do you mind telling me how you got started? what should I be doing now to plan for a path in the FX space. your position does sound very interesting to me since i’m very mathematical based (i’m a pure math and stats major) and i enjoy the macro-picture as well. does your position involve lots of programming? (i’m fairly strong at that too, did couple years of actuarial programming for a consulting firm) or financial/option modeling?
@numi, thanks, I’ll try to flag him down somehow.
 
sorry adalfu, i wasn’t serious about that. but, you can always find him and hear his opinions anyway, for whatever they’re worth…
 
adalfu Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I just want to get my feet wet and prepare for
> something hedge-fund-related in the future. I
> don’t like the consulting work; doesn’t feel that
> challenging.
>
> @fxguy1234: do you mind telling me how you got
> started? what should I be doing now to plan for a
> path in the FX space. your position does sound
> very interesting to me since i’m very mathematical
> based (i’m a pure math and stats major) and i
> enjoy the macro-picture as well. does your
> position involve lots of programming? (i’m fairly
> strong at that too, did couple years of actuarial
> programming for a consulting firm) or
> financial/option modeling?
>
> @numi, thanks, I’ll try to flag him down somehow.
There’s a good book on FX by Tim Withers, definitley check that out. Start following Central bank policies and know what effects they have on currencies. Brush off that Macro econ book.
I do not program anything, but we do buy options as a part of our hedging strategy.
 
theKing Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Fsa-sucker, which school are you going
berkeley
 
MFE22 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Fsa-sucker,
>
> Why you think you are jackass by going for MFE
> program?
geez…you take things too literally.
If I thought I was being a jackass by going for MFE, why would I do it ?
 
fsa-sucker Wrote:
——————————————————-
> theKing Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > Fsa-sucker, which school are you going
>
> berkeley
Nice one, this is where I wish to go as well.
 
fsa-sucker, can you kind of shine through your apps? Im in the process of applying too and i heard gmat is avg 750…
 
well thats according to my brother who attended B’s mfe. he said i need at least 730 to be standing out.
 
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