Hello,
I have an interview soon for an associate portfolio manager at a large asset manager. What kind of interview questions should I expect? Also, what would a "day in the life" look like?
Thanks!
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Besides the standard resume and personal questions they will most likely ask questions related to the strategies they run. Research the company and the team you'll be working on. Day in the life is similar to the PM role get in before the markets open, assist the PMs and then leave after all the trades have been allocated to appropriate accounts. It will different for different companies and asset classes.
Ok, so kind of "what's your favorite investment and why" kind of questions?
Associate PM jobs are usually assistant-type roles, so I don't think your investment philosophy will be all that important. As TSK said, understanding the fund's philosophy IS important.
You should definitely clarify what the role entails in the interview. Most associate PMs are responsible for making sure trades are set up and executed properly, managing marketing materials, setting up calls and trips, and sometimes doing research work. It's a "swing" position where your responsibilities can vary dramatically firm to firm.
I would be careful, as some of these "Associate" PM jobs are simply a trap (or more like a lofty title).
BlackRock and Alliance, in particular, have APM roles which are essentially middle/backoffice jobs disguised under fancy titles. Several of my colleagues (myself included) with F.O. experience have went in to interview, only to find out that the job was essentially reconciling accounts.
Nevertheless, its not a terrible gig if you are looking for your first job or looking to get your foot in the door. The interview wont be very hard, and will probably have very little to do the with the market.
Ok. This is for a decently large firm but not near the size of BlackRock. They say it'll involve portfolio analytics and return attribution, asking with research, security screening, and client communication. I know that they're also hiring separately for some MO trading and cash management type rules, so I wonder if that's a sign that this role won't involved as much of that.
I agree- definitely a good sign if they have communicated that to you.
I cant speak to the analytics role, but it sounds much more interesting than the role I was describing. I would just brush up on some performance and risk management metrics. I would also probably have a generic top down thesis just in case (i.e. rates are going up, etc.)
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