Small RIA Analyst to Private Bank Analyst/Associate

I have been at a small RIA as an investment analyst for 6 years and currently going for my MBA at a non target/not m7 school. I'd like to work for one of the bigger private banks: JPM, GS, UBS, US Trust etc.

Two questions: 1) is it difficult to land a job at one of the private banks noted above without a world recognized finance firm on your resume after you are beyond entry level? 2) how long is "too long" at being at a first job with a small firm where it becomes much more difficult to work at a BB--being unmarketable to a large bank?

Thanks

 
  1. Nope, I did it. Bust your ass in terms of building relationships with people in the business, even if they aren't in private banking. It's a small world. Someone at a commercial bank may know someone at a private bank. Scour LinkedIn for people who work at one of those said banks and send them an email. Can't hurt.

  2. Don't let anything or anyone tell you that you are a ticking time bomb at a small firm if you spend "x amount of years" there. There's no time period. You may be told "no" a lot, but just keep working at it and show them how much you want it, rather than tell them.

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Thanks a lot, shakey. That's very reassuring to hear as I've been analyzing my professional career a lot more recently.

Given you had worked at an RIA and now a private bank, is the work/clients pretty similar?

I work at a small firm, and thus wear many hats. I think at this point of my career I'd like to start specializing a little more and finding my nice rather than being such a generalist.

 

DBB, of course man. I know exactly how you feel as I was over analyzing my career as well, hell I was even questioning it. On the client side, no way. The clients I work with now are almost 20x bigger and much more complex.

Haha, I hated the term "I wear many hats" but when I was interviewing around that was my tagline. In private banking, everyone is still a generalist just in different roles, you should be well versed in portfolio management, real estate, tax planning, etc. Don't be fooled by thinking a big PB is the key to being a specialist, unless you truly want to work on a prop strategy within the bank. You will still wear many hats but you have to find a way to stand out. To be honest, big, successful RIAs may be an easier way to stand out and specialize in something as there is much less red tape.

Hope that helps.

Sent from my iPhone
 
Best Response

I work a lot with RIA investment analysts at small firms. I honestly find them to be some of smarter ones out there when it comes to the markets since they wear many hats like you said and see so many different types of investments.

Unless your role is different, I imagine networking with other AM firms isn't too difficult since you're probably doing a lot of due diligence on investments from asset managers that your RIA makes. I agree with ShakeyGraves that the AM world is small, particularly since big guys like JPM, GS, etc.. are often doing business with smaller companies like maybe your RIA.

I may be simplifying things, but after 6 years I assume you'd have built up quite a rolodex of contacts especially if you're in a due diligence type role or on an investment committee. Create a game plan on how you might want to reach out to your contacts at some of these bigger shops.

Have you been reached out to before to switch positions on LinkedIn or even verbally?

 

I do have a laundry list of contacts from all of the AM firms--particularly the wholesalers who reach out to me often (too often). I think that's a good start.

On the LinkedIn note, I've had some recruiters/staffing, but not AM HR directly. I hadn't really pursued it as I had a lot of mixed feelings. But I'm now at a pivotal point, so I plan on starting my journey.

I'm also going to take the CFA L1 in June to potentially boost my resume.

 

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