Salary Progression / Exit Ops for Large Asset Manager?

Hello everyone. I just started working in Corporate Finance straight out of college at a large asset manager (Fidelity/State Street/Vanguard) in a M/LCOL city. Base is 70k and yearly bonus stretches my tc to 80k/yr for the first 2 years. 

My job is very middle of the road middle office. A little bit of exposure on the buyside to front office roles but otherwise textbook MO CF. 

When I was in College the paths I was focused on were more front office banking roles that had more clearly designed paths for salary progression. However, besides the standard 2 years as an Analyst to the next rank, there are no guarantees for progression beyond that in my position. 

Because I don't see a lot of feedback from people in similar positions at Asset Managers, if anyone could help weigh in on these questions:

  1. Is experience in CF at a large AM more or less desirable to future employers in comparison to CF at a BB Bank or a F500 company?

  2. What sort of compensation paths could one expect starting at a role like this? (Obviously more variable since one could get lucky, but maybe just an idea for someone who plans on moving around every 2-3 years)

  3. Does it open up any future opportunities for front office roles at a different firm? 


Any feedback is very much appreciated. While perhaps in College I was a lot more heavily focused on front office roles, I still feel otherwise grateful to have a very solid paying job straight out of college. I'm asking these questions to help set new long term goals for myself and get an idea of how much I could be making at major benchmarks. In full transparency I would like to make a lot of money, even if that means more hours in the future. 

 

Middle office pays meh. The only lucrative roles in these asset managers are portfolio managers and their research analysts. You need to be either on quantitative track ( stem master/PhD ) or on fundamental track ( ibanking experience ). CF doesn’t lead directly to front office roles

But if you wanna a career in middle office role, this is a very good start.

 

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