fixed income career
Hi everyone, you all have helped me before and I would like some advice now. I am currently working in trading right now in New York, but I have come to realize that trading is not for me. I want to be more on the investment side. I have been offered a position with a fixed income investment firm as an analyst, and I think I am going to take it. I think fixed income is very interesting and I am excited about the opportunity. My question is what would the career path look like? Obviously I could stay here and move up to portfolio manager. I might be able to make the jump to a hedge fund. I also plan on getting an MBA from a top tier school. Would I be able to make the jump to private equity, VC, or distressed debt investing? Just curious, thanks for the help.
Bump. A little help??
I'm in the same boat as you- looking to make the leap from quant research to IM. How did you go about it? And what firm are you starting with?
I actually found it on LinkedIn. One of the head guys has a similar background to mine so he and I hit it off. I think .LinkedIn is one of the best resources to find a job. Also call to follow up, out of 1000 that applied I was one of very few that called.
Getting your MBA would be a good way to open a few doors for yourself. If you like the firm, you could always stay, go to school part-time and get promoted after you get your degree. It would probably take about 10 years to get to a true PM role if you are starting out from scratch. You might be able to do some PM support work after (PM, but following manager's advice and investment strategy) about 5 years, maybe less since you have trading experience. These are all estimates and it varies. Once you have an MBA (if you go part-time), you can always change shops to do something different or to get a promotion. If you are applying for a full-time program, then you can move into PE or whatever other buyside role you want but it will be, as expected, difficult. Although I would argue that it will be easier compared to have zero experience as an analyst.
PM is great, but involves a lot of administrative work.. not sure why so many people are so gung-ho to be a PM. Except for the published salary statistics they read, of course.
Thanks very much for your input
Thank you very much for shearing.
How prestigious is it to work in fixed income? (Originally Posted: 11/20/2017)
How prestigious is it to work in FI at a BB? What factors does it depend on? Serious answers only please -- would not know whoelse to ask this question.
Hey youngblood90, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I am sad to say, but this thread is lonely, so thought I'd post in here to try and help out. Some potential topics that might help:
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
What the hell? You can't reduce an entire asset class down to prestige! Depends on the part within, your function, the bank's performance in that part, etc.
What do you mean prestige?
Do you mean will people think you are smart? wealthy? This is a very strange question.
Bill Gross is obviously a know-nothing POS. Nobody would ever look up to him. It's not like he became a billionaire or anything, or vaulted PIMCO into the top tier of AM. Please, some people even think that there was a time where PTTRX was the largest fund on the face of planet earth.
/s -I'm in Equities.
about as prestigious as ops at Nomura
Get a life. People like you disgust me.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean when you speak to working FI at a BB. Do you mean a desk? Working in Asset Management? It's an extremely robust and broad asset class
With respect to prestige, I don't think there's an appropriate answer to give here. All groups are quite reputable and well respected, and will each case give you unique experiences and skillsets. The degree to which you want to work in FI depends heavily on what you are looking to get out of it and the type of work you would like to do in the future.
Do you have an affinity to reading about fixed income valuation? do you take a liking to things such as bond convexity/duration, among others? It might be a good area for you in this case.
In my view, you never should base a decision of working off prestige, as it rarely works out well. OTOH, going to a reputable shop, being in a decent group, and producing superior work product will help get you to where you need to be so you can decide the next steps of your career later on :)
Can some provide an insight into the work of a fixed income analyst/ portfolio manager? (Originally Posted: 07/18/2013)
Hi, I'm quite interested in Asset Management (regular AM, not private equity or hedge funds). if you go on WSO or similar websites, you will find tons of threads like "a day in the life of an M&A banker" or "a day in the life of a trader". for some reason, however, I havent found a thread where someone explains what it is like to be a fixed income analyst or PM at a large mutual fund (e.g. AGI, BlackRock, Fidelity).
Is someone here working in thsi field? and if so, can you provide some insight on 1. daily responsibilities (and please explain the technicals a bit as well, id really appreciate that), 2. career paths (like how to break into AM, typical paths, career prospects, opportunities, a bit compensation (though money is not the reason why im interested in AM. if so, i would probably post this thread in IBD and replace fixed income analyst/ PM with lev fin or M&A analyst), 3. work atmosphere, culture, 4. future of AM and 5. any general advice on how to break into AM
thanks a lot for any replies, insights, etc.!!
You've checked M&I? I'm pretty sure there were a few topics concerning what you're looking for on there.
I'm sure you've already seen this, but BlackHat made a really good topic posting in the Asset Management sub-forum.
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/life-at-a-top-asset-manager
It goes over what to expect on the job and how recruitment is. I haven't been able to find a more comprehensive resource than that, so I'm interested in this as well.
thank you!
Career change to Fixed Income Analyst (Originally Posted: 01/02/2016)
Hi,
I am interested in becoming a Fixed Income Analyst, and was hoping to get some of your advice. My background: designated Accountant for 4 years and Corporate Financial Analyst (FP&A) for 3 years; working on CFA Level 2. My career experience includes P&L Analysis and some Treasury, and I’m sure that I can do the work in Fixed Income.
The problem is getting recognized. Based on LinkedIn profiles I read online, these Fixed Income Analysts got hired as a junior analyst at a bank and worked their way up. Education-wise, I don’t think I am behind. So a question for you is how would I utilize my experience to get in to a junior position and work my way up?
One way of making this happen is a move within your current company. Can you get to know the head of the FI group and check to see if there is an opening in near future. This likely would be your best bet.
Thanks for the suggestion, but my company is not a financial institution. I would have to change companies. I am ok with starting at the bottom, but the problem is getting the interview. All I can think of is attending CFA events. Even then, once people see my background has been mostly in accounting, it would be tough to break into fixed income.
I'm open to any thoughts/suggestions.
Career Advice - FI Analyst (Originally Posted: 08/10/2015)
Hi guys,
So I will start working as an investment analyst for a fund focusing on sub-investment grade fixed income products in mid-September and I am struggling to figure out what I should be learning while I work there. Since it is a small fund, I was wondering what kind of experience I should get out of my first full-time job. I have never worked in credit research and it will clearly be my first priority to understand the market better. With that being said, I know that we don’t trade a lot and we tend to sit on positions for 1+ years in many cases. I would like to get some feedback on what you guys think I should learn, i.e. what would be some bullet points that I should be able to add to my resume at the end of this year/at the end of my first or second year there.
THANK YOU!
How about you work your job for a year first and then figure out what to put on your resume instead of asking people who don't have your job to do that for you...
You have never worked in this field... Ergo, you should learn whatever you are able to. Attempting to "fine-tune your learning" at this early stage are rather counterproductive, IMHO.
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