GSAM Fixed Income Product Management

I have an interview with GS for Product management Analyst position and have no clue what this position is about.The interview is telephonic .This is the JD the HR lady sent me :

The Global Fixed Income Product Management Team is focused on the strategic development, growth and positioning of our Fixed Income product offerings. The Product Management function is integrated with the portfolio management team and is focused on enabling distribution channels to win and retain Fixed Income clients through regular communications, strategy updates, and marketing initiatives. The Product Management team works closely with Portfolio Management to communicate product offerings, portfolio positioning, and current market environment to each distribution channel.

Principal Responsibilities:
• Develop Product Knowledge – gain understanding of Fixed Income investment products including: Money Markets, Municipals, High Yield, Emerging Market Debt, Commodities, Currency, and Hedge Funds
• Portfolio Analysis – current positioning, performance attribution, market trends, and investment themes
• Client Reporting – take responsibility for the quality and timely delivery of client portfolio reviews and reports; communicate investment strategy and portfolio positioning on a regular basis to internal and external clients
• Business Development – participate in the construction and maintenance of marketing materials; assist with ad hoc sales & marketing inquiries, completion of Requests For Proposals and internal training of sales force
• Project Management – work on various team-related projects (e.g., product development, campaign initiatives, IT systems)

Does anyone have any idea what kind of questions i might get and how technical the interview is? Position is in Bangalore,India.
Thanks!!

 

Thank you Yankees87!!

I have my 2nd round tomorrow!!..How different is this from the first round ( where i was mainly asked very basic questions)

I am a trader at my current firm.The one question where i faced some hurdles was : Why was i leaving my current job and moving towards a Product management role. Since i was not entirely aware of the primary responsibilities of this role, i could not answer the question satisfactorily.Help me out here please.

Apart from this any other advice for the 2nd round

Thanks!!

 

"because you want the broader experience that having exposure to the sales and active management side will give you. Say that the cross functionality of the role appeals to you and you didnt want to get pigeon holed into a trading role but rather start your career at GS from a broader base of knowledge."

This all sounds pretty vague to me.

 

Yes, I do. The true answer is it depends on your situation and the job in question. At my shop, product managers cover a specific product range even at the entry level. Looking at the job description (which is not much to go off of) this appears not to be the case.

I have always been biased toward the intellectual curiosity approach. Maybe your dream job would be to spend all day thinking, reading, and talking about what it is that makes a business succeed or fail. That's why you want to cover HY.

Actually, Yankees87 pretty much nailed it at first with the exception of some rough vocabulary choices which can be easily forgiven at an entry level interview. Then he blew it at the end by admitting that this was just a stepping stone to portfolio management. That's just shooting yourself in the foot.

 

@buybuybuy

Can one break into Portfolio management through this role.I am more interested in Fixed income research. Does this role involve any of the research aspects of fixed income or is it mainly a sales role.Also what are the pros and cons of such a position within GSAM.

P.S : My final interview round is on Monday.Would be great if you could provide some info on the interview.

Thanks!!

 
Oxy-Gen:
@buybuybuy

Can one break into Portfolio management through this role.

There is no "path" from product management to portfolio management or research if that is what you're asking.
I am more interested in Fixed income research. Does this role involve any of the research aspects of fixed income or is it mainly a sales role.
You have to understand the research and the strategy to be a product manager. You may also have to do your own "research" (if you can even call it that) in order to write thematic papers or do similar work. I put that in quotes because in the context on investment management, "research" specifically refers to analyzing investments for the purpose of making a buy or sell recommendation. Let me be clear, you will not be doing any of this in product management. That is the realm of research analysts. Nor will you be making buy or sell decisions as a portfolio manager because you won't be one. Similarly, product managers interact with sales, but they are generally not part of sales.

Based on the questions you are asking, it seems like you don't understand what exactly the different roles are here between product management, sales, research, and portfolio management. As such, I would recommend you get a firm understanding of each of these roles before making a decision about which one you "want."

Also what are the pros and cons of such a position within GSAM.

P.S : My final interview round is on Monday.Would be great if you could provide some info on the interview.

Thanks!!

Can't help you here.
 
Best Response

This is not a front office job. It is very much internal; you basically conduct a lot of competitive analysis on the industry. You try to find the gaps in your product arsenal, as well as see which products aren't worth pursuing (based on your firm's capabilities).

I currently got a similar job (Product Strategy, Development, and Management), A lot of it is knowing everything about the products that you already have, but a lot of work also centers around projects, specifically, product launching. You get to interface with a lot of internal parties (portfolio management teams, marketing, legal, operations, upper management, etc.) And yes, it is an avenue into product specialist/client PM roles, but you would need further certification/an MBA. The people that I replaced went on to become fixed income specialists and private debt researchers in the same firm.

 

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