Technically true although for the reasons I discussed earlier, I think the glory days of prop trading are over. More importantly, I want to do work I find interesting and would actually enjoy. I simply don't enjoy trading and badly want to make the transition into investment management.
I think private equity is more stable than hedge funds, generally speaking, but buyside PE is very hard to get into. Also, there's a long term secular decline in mutual funds and rise of unmanaged ETFs, so the investment management climate may not be as lucrative in the future. If you're talking about the financial advisor investment management, that's something that's far easier to get in, but essentially a sales job.
Generally speaking, this is true, although I'm not looking to get into PE. There is no doubt that PE is very tough to get into. I also agree that active investing in general is in decline as the shift towards index funds and "smart" beta intensifies. Nonetheless, I still very much want to work in the industry because I find it genuinely interesting. My ideal post-MBA job would be something along the lines of product management at PIMCO, dimensional fund advisors, AQR, asset allocation at wellington, etc. I've tried very hard in the last several years to get the job I want without an MBA but have been unable to do so. Hence, I arrived at the conclusion that a top MBA is really the only way because it would get me access to the firms I want to work at. I'm pretty confident of my raw intelligence and abilities and believe that I could get some great offers if just given the chance. In addition, because I did not study finance/econ/math or anything technical in college, it's been tough to get past the initial resume screen for a lot of these jobs. An MBA from an elite school will thus allow me to rebrand and gain credibility in the eyes of recruiters.
I'd avoid bond management firms. Interest rates have very long term 20 - 30 year trends. Constantly increasing rates and lower bond prices would cause a long-term stampede out of bond funds. One layoff after another is in the cards for PIMCO in the future. PIMCO had riden the bond bull market to great heights. Now comes the reversion to the mean.
i know a guy just changed from equity research to product/account management at pimco, he said it is fking dull.
What does he not like about it? The culture there is rough, but the people I know who work there seem to like it a lot. Living in Newport Beach is SWEET!!!
I agree with the OP. Prop trading is an awful industry to be in, and if you're interested in macro research, asset allocation, portfolio construction, etc., you really need to get an MBA from a top school with a strong finance curriculum (Wharton, booth, mit, Columbia) and rebrand yourself and then get the job you want coming out. It will be nearly impossible to transition from trading to what you want, without an MBA.