Career Advice

Water Cooler Careers
#1

I’m looking for some advice/information. I’m currently interviewing with a small firm that does third-party valuations for things like litigation, bankruptcy, estate tax planning, stock options, etc. Mostly, its CPAs that work there, but most of the partners have their CFA Charter. Occasionally, they’ll give a second opinion on acquisitions and LBOs for PE/VC funds, but it doesn’t seem to be their main business. They conduct industry research and build models, but they don’t take any positions or look for catalysts.

This is a new type of company to me that operates in a very niche market, so I’m wondering what opportunities it could afford me afterwords? Is this a good place to spend a few years working there and then head to a VC or private equity firm? After all, they mostly deal with private firms. Any guidance would be helpful. It’s not the typical route CFA charter holders go that I’m aware of.

#2

This is similar to what duff and phelps do, not the best but I do see people moving to IB after a few years of stint there so that’s always an option. If you can’t get buy-side or IB gigs valuation practice is not bad.

#3

Thanks for the response. I’ve never heard of duff and phelps until now. That’s super helpful. I’m 24 years old and live in a city with very few opportunities in finance. Would you say its a good start for a level 3 candidate with little analyst experience?

#4

It’s a pretty good alternative to IB, you can learn some good technical skills that are transferrable to IB, just don’t stick around too long.