1 Year out of Undergrad - Asset Management or IB first? How to break into Asset Management? plz help!

Hi everyone, I graduated one year ago from a top 2 undergrad business program (3.7 GPA), now working as a business analyst (non-finance) for a large FI. I am interested in investing and AM, but don't know if i want to work the hours of IB to get there, for fear of burning out.

Advice?: 1. Bite the bullet and do two years of IB to have more options. 2. Study for the CFA L1 & concurrently try to get a job in Equity Research, then apply for AM. 3. Stay at current FI, try to move internally.

Thank you all

9 Comments
 
Best Response

I dont think the CFA level 1 is a requirement, but I'm sure having that on your resume would help your application since you would be showing that you are serious about that profession. That being said, when I was applying, I didn't have CFA L1 (still dont) and I managed to get several interviews (eventually declined an offer), so dont let not having the L1 keep you from applying. I think the program in general is geared towards people with little to no experience in that space, so they might not be too serious about a CFA requirement. From the requirements they list, they seem to just have a minimum of 3.2 GPA, some technical skills and interest in the space

 

I dont have much more info than whats provided on their job listings, sorry. I'm not internal but I went through their interview process with two different groups and that was really it. Pretty structured recruiting. I applied via their careers site, then had a call with HR, then a team member etc. If you go on their career site and search "JPM Asset Management Analyst" you should get a few hits and theres a brief description about the program itself.

 

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