PIMCO Internal Sales Account Associate
Some background:
I am currently a first year analyst at Citi in the Markets and Securities Services program. So far, the only thing keeping me here is the pay. My first-year rotation is on a securities services desk, and I find the work/business to be extremely boring and monotonous. Other than building some great excel skills thanks to my senior, I don't feel like I am learning much on desk that will be applicable for my future career (I don't want to stay in S&T more than 3 years max). Further, I have a pretty terrible relationship with my MD, which makes the job extremely stressful and unpleasant.
I have been applying to jobs since I am almost at the 1 year mark at Citi. Not too many opportunities are available at the moment due to Covid-19/WFH, but I have been applying to whatever I see that looks interesting.
This morning I received my first recruiter contact from someone at PIMCO offering me a phone call to discuss the internal sales Account Associate position. The position is in Austin, Texas. I am currently based out of NYC, but I am not too keen on staying here because I grew up in the NYC suburbs, and am kind of sick of the city/find it overrated. Does anyone know anything about this position? Would it be a mistake to leave my current role? Yes, I am unhappy with my current team, but I am due to rotate in Jan 2021, so should I just stick it out?
Appreciate any advice that anyone might be able to give me.
Citi's internal mobility is pretty great, why not start networking with people in your bank and apply for jobs at your bank??
PIMCO INternal Sales will be a pretty boring role. Imagine making PowerPoints and charts trying to justify why someone should invest with PIMCO? Even if you work your butt off, you'll never be able to move from an internal sales role into an investing role at PIMCO. Why? Because they only hire people with experience in IB/Investing related.
Update on the in case anyone cares: I had a phone call with a woman from HR and I think you're right. This role seems like a glorified Account Executive role. Seems like little room for upward growth. She mentioned that participants in this program were able to move to other parts of the firm, and when I asked which ones, she replied "compliance, external sales, marketing, and operations." Seems like a pretty dead end job to me...
Yeah if you call being an external, working 40 hours a week and making $300-800k, a dead end. Might not be IB but certainly not a bad job.
I interviewed for this role a few months ago. Made it all the way to the final round but did not get the offer because my "tone was too casual" and "maybe needed more experience". I am currently an Internal Wholesaler at a mid sized AM firm that has been around for almost 100 years. The role you are talking about is for an Internal Wholesaler role. I was qualified but they did not like my personality. PIMCO has a reputation for being a bunch of hardos and they definitely seemed like the no fun crowd in my interview. Fixed Income guys can be like that...agonizing over 1 bp and duration all day long.
This is a great job and I highly recommend you continue in the process at the very least. Focus on getting the offer then decide if you want it or not. At the very least it will be good practice for other interviews.
The role entails raising money for their mutual funds, ETFs, and any other investment products they might have from financial advisors and their clients. As an "internal" you are partnered with an "external" who is out in the field and meeting with advisors everyday. The external meets with advisors everyday and is constantly pitching their products as well as wining and dining advisors (fat expense accounts). Externals at my firm make between $300k-$800k (base+commission+discretionary bonus). Internals sit in the home office all day and support their externals by following up on meetings their externals have, pitching over the phone, running competitive analysis reports (Morningstar), as well as driving sales campaigns. Internals usually make between $75k-$150k, working 9-5 pretty much. The goal for most people is to stick it out as an internal for 3-5 years at most and eventually become an external; when you start making real money and have your own book of clients (advisors). It is an awesome career path and imo one of the best kept secrets of the industry.
Make sure you educate yourself on everything fixed income and be prepared to get grilled. Where do you opportunities in FI? Where are the risks in the market?
They will also grill you on how you work with others and other intangibles.
Make sure you know a decent amount about the firm. I would read about Bill Gross and PIMCO Income (their current flagship fund). If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.