Economics 5 Year B.A./M.A. vs. Finance Concentration...Best Route?

<p>I'm looking to go into IB and eventually PE, HF, and the likes. Possible majors I'm thinking of are:</p>

<p>Finance Concentration in CBA, and an economics minor at LAC
Primary Concentration of Business Economics in CBA, secondary Concentration in Finance
Economics/Mathematics Major from LAC
5 Year B.A./M.A. From LAC
Economics Major from LAC with minor in Mathematics and/or Political Science </p>

<p>Personally, I am not too interested in courses such as Accounting and Management and therefore am considering options other than the Finance concentration. How well will an economics degree from above prepare me for IB? Also, I would like to eventually go to grad school, thus getting an undergrad business degree I feel may be repetitive. Any thoughts?</p>

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<p>I suggest a different career. Do you need accounting and management to succeed in IB? No. IB is all about selling capital finance services. However, you will be much more successful if you understand what you are selling, and who you are selling to.</p>

<p>I disagree with the poster above. Investment banking is heavily concentrated in accounting and finance. Economics i think is more rigorous and challenging relative to finance and accounting. However it would be wise to take atleast the basic accounting courses. Remember the only people who are selling are the Managing directors and vice presidents. You as an analyst will be modeling and doing due dilligence.</p>

<p>That’s not entirely true, as an analyst you are doing a lot of selling… just not often face-to-face with clients. Pitch books, etc, are certainly methods of selling. And these days, that’s most of what’s going on (though very little catches).</p>

<p>I would say a Economic/Math major from a LAC or university that either has a lot of firms that recruit on campus or a strong alumni network in the industry would be best. Taking accouting or finance classes before the training program is not necessary for getting a position. </p>

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<p>If you stay in IB for more than seven years (getting to the VP level) this may be somewhat true, but at the analyst and associate level selling services isn’t really what you’re focused on.</p>