The Path Less Traveled...

I tend to agree. I would recommend Plan B, mostly because it involves saving 40% of an already excellent salary. Cash is king! Maybe the mentoring will help, maybe not. You should know within 6-12 months. If the mentoring doesn't work, you can still learn to trade on your own. It just takes longer. Even if you (er, I mean "your friend") never learns to trade, he could still retire at age 40 on savings alone. How many get that opportunity?
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By $200k I mean 100k GBP. Coupled with inflation, high taxes and less 'bang for the buck', retiring at 40 might be a tad optimistic. Also, the ultimate goal is more akin to a long, fulfilling and challenging career, plus absolute financial freedom rather than a comfortable, early retirement.

SJfan: ...if this manager's methods end up being nothing better than decent luck or good connections...
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Didn't mean to sound defensive, only meant legitimate wrt the above. I don't claim to be a good judge of anything. :D

To my limited knowledge/insight, the friend/fund-manager has a good awareness of fundamentals, technicals and macroeconomics; he's comfortable with complex mathematical models while being a largely discretionary trader; he has had unusual success trading different instruments in different time-frames; he retains humility and rigor in spite of his success. The fund is more of a recent development, but seems to be doing well and steadily growing.
 
Quote from Neoxx:

Really appreciating the responses so far.

Drjmpc - have looked into all the MBA options, from EMBAs, to 1 yr European (i.e. IMD, IE), to 2 year European (IESE) to 2 yr American. Advice for career-changers is almost invariably to go with a full-time 2 year option, and as big VC tends to be based in Silicone Valley or Boston, there's a clear networking edge with US schools.

Ammo - thanks for the advice. I'm actually based in London, and layoffs are very rare in my industry. Also, it's not just about the money. Part of the question was '...most interesting, compelling...'.

Sjfan - manager is legitimate, has a long track record, and I've known him for a while. My real question is which would be more difficult/unlikely - a self-started fund that grows to a respectable size, or making partner in a venture capital/private equity firm - and equally important, which journey would be more interesting, compelling and intellectually stimulating.
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What programmes have you considered at IE? The MBA?

There is a Master in Finance which seems more suitable and relevant - if your aim is to network with professionals in the field and refocus your career towards this particular industry:

http://www.mif.ie.edu/pdf/Brochure.pdf

(I am considering this route as well, btw)
 
Quote from c.chugani:

What programmes have you considered at IE? The MBA?

There is a Master in Finance which seems more suitable and relevant - if your aim is to network with professionals in the field and refocus your career towards this particular industry:

http://www.mif.ie.edu/pdf/Brochure.pdf

(I am considering this route as well, btw)
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The whole purpose of the MBA for career changers is to enable new options.

'... A specialized degree tends to lead you to a specialized set of career options, whereas an MBA gives you a variety of skills that lead you eventually to general management and give you flexibility as to the career paths you can choose... Your career choices will be much more limited than with an MBA.' Everette Fortner, Darden
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'... The Master's in Finance degree is much narrower, much more focused, than the MBA... The MBA is a general management degree; it's a much more flexible qualification, allowing you to explore different career options.' Chris Bristow, London Business School
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Not to mention the cachet of a top-tier MBA.
 
Agree with Ammo and others.

Take the Mentorship.

You'll know within 6-12 months whether a) this guy is the real deal. And b) whether he'll pass on Keys to the Vault. You'll know by how proftiable you are.

If it doesn't work out, you a) still got the 200K job. And b) Can still pursue an MBA.

Nothing lost except a year of over-priced grad school for a shot at the Big Leagues.

Be prepared to spend every off-hour studying charts and price action. 2 days a week, won't cut it.

Work - mentorship - study charts - work - mentorship - study charts.
 
Qualify the mentor ship to the nth degree.

IF this guy is consistent past 12 years take the mentorship.

IF not pass and go to school.
 
Two and a half years ago, I entered this world with big dreams and a pounding heart.

I leapt onto the coattails of a chance acquaintance, paying for the ride. Options were his game, and his battle-scars ran three-decades deep. We played covered calls, with LEAPS and front-month at-the-money. 12% in two months, ground zero by the fourth. The jaunt over, the driver bid adieu.

An insatiable mind pulled me ever deeper into the seedy byways of misdirection, misinformation and opposing opinions. I drowned thousands of hours in charts and lines and jarring bells and whistles, and finally couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Read another best-seller, jumped on the author’s monthly bandwagon, took him out when he came to town. Two Bloody Mary’s and the voice of the market confessed his grand goal, to make enough… to pay the bills.

Crack. The dream lay in pieces on the floor.

Without pause for breath, Real Life intervened, jerking me up the career ladder. Longer hours, added duties and the never-ending cycle of exams and applications, the next rung always just in sight. The pipe dreams were relegated to a distant memory.

Scaled the wall, swam stormy seas, then tossed into a lagoon, dead-calm and sheltered, and the restless disquiet began anew, a yearning for a different path, a new beginning.

A friendly smile with open palms offers to show me the way.
 
Well, pick B of course if you want to trade.

I have a top tier MBA, and it doesn't help a bit with trading. Damn thing cost a lot too!
 
Quote from drjmpc:


International programs to consider:
Warwick Business School
Instituto de Empressa [Commonly referred to I.E.]
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Well, if you want the absolute best international MBA on the planet, go to Thunderbird. Weird name, and based in Arizona of all places, but that is all the school does. One degree, grad school only, students from all over the world. Most importantly, ranked #1 every year. I believe its been ranked #1 in the US eleven years in a row. Ahead of Harvard, etc in international biz. Ranked #1 in the entire world just the last few years.

Formal name is Thunderbird School of International Management.

Yes, I went there. VERY good, but also very expensive.
 
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