Interview Help
Got a second round interview with an asset management firm, recruiter told me it will be with an associate and more about their philosophy and tech q’s rather than qualitative. How do I prepare to answer questions about their philosophy? Look at their website and just glaze them in the interview?
Great question! Preparing for an interview with an asset management firm can be a bit of a balancing act, but I've got a few tips that might help you out:
Understand the Basics: Make sure you have a solid understanding of what asset management is. In general terms, an asset manager is a fund that offers a wide variety of assets to investors. The standard form of asset management is a long-only strategy designed to offer investors various levels of equity exposure in certain industries, company sizes, and so on.
Research the Firm: Look at their website, yes, but go beyond that. Try to understand their investment philosophy and strategy. Are they value investors? Do they focus on certain industries or company sizes? The more you know about their approach, the better you can tailor your answers to align with their philosophy.
Practice Your Technical Skills: If they're going to ask technical questions, make sure you're ready. Brush up on your ability to break down and evaluate businesses, know your way around financial statements, and be prepared to discuss how you would handle the pressure of putting large sums of money behind your ideas.
Show Long-Term Commitment: The interviewer should not have a doubt that you want to be in investment management for the long haul. You should come across as mature, steadfast in your decision and appear as though you have thoroughly researched all your options and come to the decision that IM is for you.
Prepare Your Own Portfolio: Start investing with a personal account. If you don't want to use real money, paper trading is a perfectly acceptable alternative. You should keep track of your portfolio and back up all of your investing ideas with sound due diligence. This will provide a great opportunity to show off/discuss your investing chops in the interview.
Remember, the goal is to show them that you're not only a good fit for the firm, but that you're also someone who can add value to their team. Good luck!
Sources: The Asymmetric Risk Profile: Preparing for the Hedge Fund Interview, Asset Management vs Investment Banking 101, Why Work in Asset Management?, Life as a Top Asset Manager
If they want to discuss their investment philosophy you should go to their website and read everything they have to offer. Usually, they'll have a "strategies and vehicles" section on their website which is a great place to start. This will give you a basic understanding of how they operate as a fund, then go and see if they've been in the news lately. Fund managers might show up on CNBC, Bloomberg, etc talking about how their company is looking at the markets.
For technicals, have a general understanding of the markets and whats driving the economy. Where are rates at? What is the fed doing? Do you agree or disagree with that? Where do you see the market going. Usually this is where it comes back to their philosophy and if you can mimick their views of the markets that always helps. If they're focused on fixed-income then understand the basics around bonds, bond pricing and math, duration, convection and what drives the prices of them. If equities have one or two stock pitches of companies that aren't mega-cap blue chips (no Telsa, Apple, Microsoft). I have a FI background so can't talk more on equities but try not to pick a company that's in their portfolio or else they will grill you hard.
Preciate it
Hi, I’m currently a second year economics student looking to go into fixed income asset management. I was wondering if you could elaborate on your advice for those seeking fixed income interviews and also if there is anything you can do while at university to increase your chances of getting a fixed income graduate role? Many thanks
Everything you need to know about bonds
Monetary Policy Report
I listed two links above to get you started. The first will give you a basic overview of bonds, from there if you have any questions go to Investopedia or Google to clarify. Understanding those concepts is pivotal for beginning in FI. The second will give you an overview of monetary policy from the Federal Reserve Board (albeit more than necessary), you can even look at the beige book on the FRB website if you want a more detailed look at current conditions. At this point, you really just need to understand how bonds work in the capital markets and their relations to interest rates while having a pretty good understanding of the current macro environment and monetary policy.
What helped me stand out for interviews was that I already had exposure to fixed income through an internship through an insurance company's investments group. Look around at any local boutique AM's or insurance companies sometimes they'll have internship opportunties even for sophomores. Having a good GPA, some relevantish experience, and really networking/putting yourself out there should be enough.
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