How to get in?

There are relatively clear and publicized methods of getting into a top BB on this forum. How does it work for trying to get into a top fund or manager internship (I.e. PIMCO).

I'm a sophomore at a non-target who did PWM at Morgan Stanley after freshman year. I'm pretty comfortable with macroeconomic trends and fundamental valuation. I want to work in portfolio management. What are the moves I should make for this summer?

1) Apply straight to something like BlackRock/PIMCO?
2) Do IB or ER to get experience while trying to network into bigger funds?
3) intern at smaller but still good funds such as PowerShares, ProShares, Brandywine, etc while networking to Asset Management on a larger scale
4) Do I have to do work elsewhere for 2 years first?
5) Something else?

Honestly, I would love to work at PIMCO-and not BlackRock. I've spoke to people at both firms and their expertise and culture differ from what I've learned and I prefer the leaner size and value of intelligent research PIMCO has as opposed to the largeness of BlackRock.

What moves do I make?

5 Comments
 

Animi autem quae et voluptatem natus. Velit praesentium molestias voluptas velit. Blanditiis sapiente consectetur nulla est facilis repellat. Ut dignissimos et ut minima. Aut porro corporis rerum est omnis culpa vel.

Explicabo autem sint porro facilis molestias. Aut et et qui. Omnis aperiam vero sapiente ex hic.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”