Hey Everyone,
I am new to the site and this is my first post so I apologize if this post should be in another forum. Anyways, I just graduated college and will be starting my job as an analyst in the Investments division of a PWM firm. I interned there last summer for one of the portfolio management teams so I have some clue as to what to expect. However, they are placing me in a rotational program for the next 18 months. It will be 3 different groups, 6 months with each group, all within the investments division. I was just wondering if anyone had any extra tips for me as I get closer to my start date. I've read a couple forums on here suggesting some books but if anyone has any suggestions on books/material/etc I would greatly appreciate it. Please feel free to share whatever you think I may find beneficial!
Thank you!
Do you have a particular asset class / investing approach that you're interested in? IE bottoms up top down alternative FI equities ?
In addition to shorttheworld's line of thinking (I'm assuming he is preparing to suggest an asset class specific book if he can) If you don't already read the news, pick a few financial publications and stay as up to date as possible. WSJ or FT is a must for office talk and I'd suggest picking one weekly that you enjoy (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fortune, Economist, etc - all have very different styles - I'm partial to Bloomberg, Fortune is more fun reading for me).
I'm not an analyst, I'm FO, but I assume that you research nerds talk about the markets as much as we do :)
I'd also start researching the CFA if you haven't already, if you stay on the analyst path you'll appreciate having started sooner rather than later. It's more broad and won't tell you how to value a specific asset but being on the track means a lot in AM roles, it will help you if you need to recruit elsewhere, and the curriculum is pretty interesting. It's a massive undertaking though so give yourself a chance to get settled and if your firm reimburses I wouldn't enroll until you're eligible. it will definitely take away from some of your evening hours so you might want to see how busy you are in your rotational before you commit.
All in all, sounds like an awesome opportunity, congrats!
@shorttheworld- I would say that equities are the asset class I'm most interested in and as of now the one I have the most experience in dealing with as most of my research last summer revolved around equities. (Obviously not a tremendous amount of experience at this point but still more than the other asset classes). As for investing approach I mostly have used a bottoms up approach but I would like to learn more about both bottoms up and top down. From what my firm has sent me so far it seems I will be learning more about/using both approaches depending on the group I'm with at the time. Sorry if I left all of that too broad but quite honestly I am trying to be a sponge at this point and trying to continue to learn as much as I can about all of it.
@BreakingOutOfPWM- Thank you for the feedback! I am already reading the WSJ regularly, and I try to grab a Barron's whenever possible. I will definitely look into some of those weekly periodicals you mentioned. I believe on of my boss's last summer was partial to The Economist himself but I will definitely give them all a look! As for the CFA I am definitely interested in pursuing that and I learned last summer my firm will indeed reimburse me so that's an added bonus. Thank you again for the advice, and I'm sure i'll be seeing your name around the forums in the future!
Any Wealth Management Books or Primers? PWM (Originally Posted: 02/25/2016)
Anyone have any good books or primers on private wealth management?
Specifically - about building and running a book of business?
Interested in learning more about the client relationship side of the business.
Thanks,
WW
A book of that kind would put loads of people out of a job! haha
Starting in PWM (Originally Posted: 08/04/2013)
Hi Guys,
I am about to start my senior year and am beginning to look into PWM. I like the combination of sales, investment management and social skills that PWM seem to require. I don’t think I would be going into PWM for the purpose of breaking into another area (PE, HF, IBD etc.). I recognize that by going into PWM as an undergrad I would be stuck with cold calling, answering phone for PWA etc. but I think I would be willing to do this IF it set me up for future opportunities.
Is it possible to start in PWM and work my way up to be a PWA? Is this common? It seems that a lot of people suggest starting in a different area and then transferring over.
If my long-term goal is to become a PWA, what is the best entry point? Are the exit ops/career opportunities for retail and BB PWM very different? Are there areas/companies to avoid?
I know a guy who started at ML, went through their training of cold-calling for a few years, and then snagged an opp with an established private wealth group within the firm. He said it was a painful few years, but it worked out for him.
It is possible to start in PWM at the analyst level and work your way to the PWA level over the years. I know at GS the post MBAs come in at the PWA level. If you're truly interested in PWM/PB you should look into GS, JPM, and CS. These are the major players who all have a team structure. MS, UBS, and ML are all advisor roles where you spend a lot of your time prospecting and bringing in new clients. Everything is paid on commission, though you get a base salary during the training, and there are steep expectations for number of dollars you are supposed to bring in during your three year "training" program. These programs generally have high turnover since most people can't get through certain barriers like making hundreds of phone calls, or being a "salesman", or having to spend countless hours prospecting/marketing and trying to grow your book. If you're looking for that kind of a position right out of undergrad, then these firms are for you. I personally have taken the opportunity to learn in the team structure how the business works and how HNWIs and UHNWIs think and feel regarding their money. To each their own.
Street Smart, what's your opinion on starting out of undergrad at a boutique PWM firm? I just graduated and am about to begin an "internship" at a small, 6-7 person PWM firm (MD is the advisor) that will turn into an actual position after this trial period. There isn't much sales that goes on and no cold calling as far as I know; the clients are all entrepreneur UHNWI (but under the radar, more humble people and families), and new clients are usually acquired through word of mouth. They are looking to expand to have more locations within the next year as well, which was a definite good sign for me. I'd be interning predominantly in portfolio management/ client services, but since it's a small shop everyone wears a lot of hats, which I think will be interesting.
Any ideas on how far a position at a smaller boutique firm goes in terms of career progression? Would I typically have to work for a while, establish a firm grounding in the business, do an MBA and transfer to a BB? Do people that work at boutiques have much of a career progression if they stay? Would I be possibly looking at heading a division in a separate office at some point? Any insights would be very helpful, thanks.
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