Bangkok Private Equity / Hedge Fund / Investment Management

[brit1984]

Please could someone advise on what is the best way for me to find an investment management job in Bangkok?

Which are the biggest Private Equity firms / Hedge Funds / Investment Management firms in Bangkok?

How much can I expect to earn in Bangkok for a job requiring 5-7 years experience?

I am British and have a degree from Oxford University. I have several years of work experience, having worked in Investment Banking and in Investment Management (both in London).

My Wife is Thai and we are trying to relocate permanently to Thailand.

Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated

[wasabi]

I think there are very few focused on just Thailand though they must exist. There are many more in Singapore though Singapore is certainly not as fun as Thailand. I have the same experience in the same industry as you and once spent some time looking for work in Thailand without success, hopefully you will have more success.

[badge]

I dont know of any hedge funds. Perhaps you would be best off leaving your CV on bloomberg.

May I also ask; Your a Brit, born in 1984?

[aridion]

Seems a bit young to have that much experience in that field.

[hoppla]

I am working in a similar field (more on the quant side than IB) and have been browsing the Thai job boards for years (admittedly only sporadically). My fiance and I are not thinking about relocating for another couple years, but it never hurts to be a bit informed in that department. Based on historical data, you'd see the odd opportunity come up like once every half year (as IB is a bit broader it might be better). For me it'd thus either be Singapore or HK when relocating to SEA with the former being the first choice. Other choice would be to start up a prop shop myself at some stage.

Edit: the only boutique type IB I've come across is http://www.thequantgroup.com/index.php. Not sure why they'd be calling themselves that as I dont see any quanty type stuff in their services rendered.

Edited January 15, 2011 by hoppla

[wordchild]

you dont mention whether you have any relevant Asian/ Emerging Market experience in your employment history. From what you say it sounds not, in which case you may find it quite difficult to find the sort of position you seem to want. Possibly your best bet maybe to put Thailand on hold for a bit and seek a job in London as say, an assistant on an Asian equity team ,and then look to transfer in the future if something comes up. I know quite a few US/ European nationals who are fund managers/brokers/bankers based in this region (mainly in HK and Sing) and, off the top of my head, i cannot think of a single one who was recruited (for their first job) locally in Asia . For a variety of reasons its just not how its done.

Also ,as others have said, Bangkok has quite a limited range of farang employing fund management/IB businesses, though there are some, Singapore say, has a much broader range and would probably be a better location to target.(its not very far away)

Edited January 15, 2011 by wordchild

[Misty]

Hi Brit, suggest you try contacting this organization:

http://www.membersocieties.org/thailand/Pages/default.aspx

Cheers

[samran]

There are a few farang equity analysts floating about at the major IB's (Thai and foreign). Their names escape me but from memory they have all come via Singapore and HK. Never met any private equity/hedge fund types based in BKK, most are offshore.

Many of the IB'ers I've met have been around since the 90's, so are basically part of the furniture. All good at what they do, and just decided that Thailand is where they like to park themselves.

As for the quant group, they are trying to build themselves up as a local investment advisor. K.Pakpoom is a very smart bloke from what I've seen of him (once or twice) and is slowly building up his clientel amongst Thailand's top listed firms. Still a long way to go thought before they become competitive and I think at the moment they are struggling to be all things to all people...at least that is what one of their clients has told me.

I dare say making the move over to Thailand is possible, especially if you have experience in energy especially, but anything in the top 10 or 20 of the SET + a CFA qualification, which seems to be all the rage amongst Thai analysts.

Salary, well local - based on what a mate told me the other day, runs about 70-100K per month for someone with your experience with the average expectation of 2 years bonus if it is a reasonable year.

[ExpatJ]

Unfortunately for you, there are quite a few Thai's with ivy league, oxbridge, MBA educations graduating every year- and its they who will get the locally recruited jobs in finance company/PEquity firm/hedge fund (they will also have the family networks in the business to help).

The other option is to get sent here by a finance company/PE firm/hedge fund which has offices in Thailand- but they will normally want to send someone more established and with more experience to represent them here- you would also normally need to put in a few years working with them back in the home country before they consider you sending you abroad.

The other alternative- if you can get pledges of several million USD from private investors, you could come over and meet with hedge fund start ups and they may be willing to allow you to partner with them (if you can bring those funds with you).

Edited January 17, 2011 by ExpatJ

[brit1984]

Thanks for all the really useful comments and suggestions.

I have done my own research which supports the views expressed that there is not an abundance of investment jobs in Bangkok, and that the salary for someone like me would be maximum 100K THB per month.

I also applied for a few jobs last week and had one telephone interview so far (and have one lined up with a different firm next week). I will see how these go.

I think we could probably survive on 100K THB per month but I doubt it would be enough to save for the future so I would be relying on bonuses to save. Is there much of a bonus culture in Thai financial services?

Based on your comments so far, and my own research, I am starting to lean towards my Plan B which is to open a language school in Isaan... I will start a separate thread on this topic

[hoppla]

The other alternative- if you can get pledges of several million USD from private investors, you could come over and meet with hedge fund start ups and they may be willing to allow you to partner with them (if you can bring those funds with you).

Would you happen to know any Thailand based Hedge Funds (start ups)? If you google "Thailand Hedge Fund" then this thread comes up in the top results which says a lot IMHO . I havent heard of any really. I could imagine that there are a handful of prop shops around that use Thailand as a base. If so, I'd be curious to know about them.

@brit1984: language schools generally are not a bad business to be in. As to whether Isaan is a good location, I am not sure. I guess you gotta ask yourself also if this is something you'd be wanting to do especially when coming from a fairly fast paced job background. I couldnt do it before my mid 40s at which stage I'd probably appreciate a bit more peace in my life. In terms of your IB career, you'd certainly be better advised to consider Sing or HK. Good money to be made, but long work hours on the downside. You'd still find time though to hit Bangers on your weekends. That's how I'd play it really.

Can't tell you much about the bonus structure, but 100k as you say is not very much. If you are still as young as your nick suggests then I'd go for it for 2-3 years to have a little break and a good time whilst at the same time doing something useful for your CV/ career. Just remember that in 2-3 years in Sing or HK you'd probably make substantially more and have more growth opportunity than TH for sure.

Anyway, whatever you decide...good luck.

[PCA]

Thanks for all the really useful comments and suggestions.

I have done my own research which supports the views expressed that there is not an abundance of investment jobs in Bangkok, and that the salary for someone like me would be maximum 100K THB per month.

I also applied for a few jobs last week and had one telephone interview so far (and have one lined up with a different firm next week). I will see how these go.

I think we could probably survive on 100K THB per month but I doubt it would be enough to save for the future so I would be relying on bonuses to save. Is there much of a bonus culture in Thai financial services?

Based on your comments so far, and my own research, I am starting to lean towards my Plan B which is to open a language school in Isaan... I will start a separate thread on this topic

There are no hedge funds in Thailand, not even one. What are your skills about? Experience 5 or 7 years (not sure?) and in what particularly?

Apparently you are not really convinced of your abilities when setting up a second plan like B?

Don't take my reply harsh but if you want to apply for financial jobs consider- as mentioned previously - Singapore or Hong Kong unless you are able to set up your own thing.