Buyside Research Associate?

Is there a difference in a Buyside research associate and an investment analyst at a HF?

Got offered a job at a HF, but it for a research associate. I want to be in an investing role eventually. Will I be able to graduate into an investing seat? Or stuck doing Buyside ER?

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As soon as you leave sell side, titles get a lot less uniform.

E.g. at BlackRock, entry-level is called analyst, just like banking. Then associate, VP, etc.

But at T Rowe Price, Capital Group etc., you'll be a research associate at entry level which is, as I understand it, technically someone without a book but that contributes to research and ideas. That doesn't mean the analyst at BlackRock does any different, it's just a different title.

I know these are all LOs but it's the same principle for HFs.

They're all investing seats, ignore the title. You just need to figure out exactly what level of autonomy you've been given and what your role is. I'm surprised you're at the offer stage and don't know this.

 

Research associate, on the sell-side, just means someone without coverage. I.e. you don't have sole responsibility for any stock. That's not necessarily true always on the buyside but it's probably around about right. Doesnt really mean you're not in an investing seat but you might not be solely responsible for investment ideas yet.

It can also mean you don't have a sleeve or pool of money to allocate on your own. In that case investing seat can mean you're not"directly" investing money yourself.

 

RA at mid-tier mutual fund here. I do pretty much everything an analyst who is directly responsible for P/L does, I just don't have final say on any investment decisions. Can be pretty frustrating sometimes. 

 

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