Benefits (401k Match)

Don't quite know where to put this. Do finance internships in asset management and IB get benefits like 401k match? 

Edit: thanks for all of the helpful answers. Really appreciate it. My confusion stemmed from the fact that my internship this summer with the government claimed to have put money in my TSP. Was wondering if private firms did that with their 401ks.

9 Comments
 

At the BB I'm at you are not offered 401k match until you've been an employee with the firm for 1 year, so not something you'd get as an intern. If you came back as full-time, though, your time as an intern might count toward the 1-year tally.

 

Generally no is my understanding. This is something that's generally restricted to FT staff only, PT in some select cases/industries.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

I could be wrong but I do not think a typical internship would qualify as eligible for the 401K based on ERISA guidelines, unless it was like the longest internship ever.  Part time employees can be eligible but you would still have meet certain requirements, which I doubt you would meet.  There was a rule change recently that helps part time employees but I still do not you would be eligible. You would need to compare the specific details about the hours and duration of an internship, etc,  and then compare it to the minimum guidelines under ERISA.     If you were to qualify under ERISA, your company would have to include you in the 401K.  With that said,  there is no ERISA requirement for a match, meaning companies do not have to provide a match.   

 

I feel like while you would be "theoretically" eligible the typical 3-5 year vesting requirement would sink any sort of match unless you end up with a career there.  Eligibility requirements could make this even worse.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

The eligibility would depend mostly on hours and duration of employment (age is also a factor)   The rule had been 1,000 hours with one year of service.   The recent change makes it easier for part time employees to eligible.  You could be eligible with 500 hours in each of the past three years.  I doubt that an internship would last 3 years.  The vesting is another issue..Most likely, the person would never be fully vested, unless vesting is over a short period of time. 

 
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The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.

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