Should I make the move to an LO asset manager?

I graduated from college 4 years ago and have been an equity research analyst in a fairly large and well-known asset manager in my region for about 2 years. We are multi-manager and run several long-only or long-biased strategies. I like the investment process, the relative stability of the firm (much better than many small funds or large pod shops), the freedom I have in terms of research. I work as a generalist and I can be very flexible in what to look at.

Most importantly, the firm is keen to promote analysts to PMs or at least co-PMs who have a small book to run. I am told 2 years down the road I may be able to become a co-PM. Chance is not bad from my observation. Last year we promoted an analyst to co-PM, but he left and moved to another country. This year we just promoted an analyst to be a PM and he is just a couple of years senior than me.

The bad thing here is that analysts are not paid that well. I would say the pay is acceptable, much better than many small funds (especially after adjusting for the career stability) but still lag behind the global asset managers operating here. And I just got an offer from a fairly large global LO manager, and the pay is considerably better.

My ultimate goal is to become a PM, running the same kind of long-term fundamental strategy. Should I just endure 2-3 years to see whether I can make it to PM, or I just jump straight to the LO? Obviously it would take much longer to become a PM in the LO.

1 Comments
 

Ut vel ut error et accusantium ut. Laborum ipsa aliquid qui assumenda rerum aut. Aut tempore illum eius molestias vel.

Nemo aspernatur vitae est dolores natus. Exercitationem modi eum harum iusto sint voluptas.

Delectus magni ducimus alias enim. Quis sit consequatur delectus qui veritatis libero ipsam laborum. Magnam aspernatur est rerum. Ex aliquid dolor consequuntur voluptatem.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Millennium Partners 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $192
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (28) $146
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”