30 Comments
 

FI PM, especially if it is in-house money. I had a XOM PM (since retired) who used to call me and spend two hours talking about estate planning (IDGRATs etc.) from work in the middle of weekdays, back when I used to do planning.

He had to make trades at the open and at the close, so 9:30 to 4, with the time in between free.

Good luck getting the job though.

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.
 

You guys talk a lot about being PMs and shit, but as far as attainable jobs, I think being in risk management is cush af. My bro-in-law is head of risk at a market making firm and he works market hours and doesn't seem to be stressed at all. Never asked comp but they have a bigass custom home, a bunch of investment properties, and travel constantly. Don't need to be a genius or lucky to get that job one day. And he's like 38.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

Lmao that's a big if. I used to work in PWM for a couple of highly sucessful Financial Advisors (they were clearing at least 500k after tax) and the youngest one started at 18k draw (salary you have to pay back lol) with no rolodex. PWM is a grueling and unforgiving grind unless you already have a bunch of rich people that want to give you their money or you inherit someone's book.

Array
 

being a FA without a book seems like a brutal job. I heard similar numbers (slightly higher, but that may be because of inflation) when I was considering going that route in 2007. I also got to see gross compensation numbers for many of the FAs at a major wirehouse about five years ago, and I can tell you, a retail FA with a good book can flirt with a million a year pretty easily late in their career.

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.
 

I hope nobody assumed that after landing an offer it would immediately be nothing but 20-hour work weeks. There will be years spent developing relationships in order for clients to trust you with their millions.

 

This. I know some guys who are in their late 30s in PWM who make bank and spend most of their time golfing and basically get to just chill. You need to grind to build your book when you first start out, but once you have the AUM, it's practically easy sailing. 

 
Best Response

Pretty much any role at a quant-focused investment fund (e.g. DE Shaw, Two Sigma)

One of my college roommates is an algorithmic trader who designs and implements low latency strategies for STIR (short-term interest rate) products. His all-in comp is approaching seven figures and he leaves the office everyday at 5pm. Zero work on weekends

 

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