Making the jump from Analyst to PM/RM
To those in the field of Asset Management/Wealth Management. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on how they made the jump from analyst to PM/RM in the wealth management field. I'm a fairly recent college grad, and currently an analyst at a boutique wealth management firm and I'm planning for my future with regards to how I should direct my efforts to make the jump from analyst to PM. I have heard a lot of differing opinions, i.e., go back to b-school and get your MBA, get your CFA®, CFP, seek sponsorships for Series 7/66/ etc, or just bypass additional education for now and put all your focus into networking hard and effectively. Any opinions are more than welcome, if you were in my shoes planning to get ahead how would you go about it? Thanks
"PM" in the wealth management field basically means being a salesperson, so no you don't need to get a MBA. You should probably build experience at your current firm and see where that takes you. Eventually, your current firm may allow you to handle more of the relationship management side of things, or even take on some accounts on your own. If they don't, you could always move to another firm with such opportunities down the road.
In terms of credentials, you should do your best to earn the CFP designation. At some point you'll probably need some of the series licensing which your firm should sponsor.
Thanks! That all makes a lot of sense. I'm definitely going to build up my experience here for a few years, I might try to find my own potential clients and introduce them to my firm to get my foot in the door on the relationship side. My firm currently won't sponsor for the series exams, but do you think that's a good thing to propose they offer to me?
Once you have a few years of experience it's a good idea to begin raising the subject. I wouldn't do it if you have 1 year experience.
The point I'm making here is that long term almost all of the value in the wealth management business is captured by the relationship managers. Pretty much everyone else (i.e. back office, "analysts" at wealth management firms, etc.) are viewed as cost centers and are compensated accordingly. If you want to stay in wealth management, you need to move into a relationship role long term. If you want to focus on research / financial analysis, you need to move to an investment manager.
You move up by having more AUM and more clients. You should look into joining a team if you can, alot of olde guys are transitioning out and they have to give their book to someone.
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