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July 31, 2026
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PWM and stock brokerage can be very rewarding if you are good but there isn't a steady salary like IB but has very high potential salaries, plus it probably wont look good for future jobs
What are some top firms that do this?
Is it more or less competetive to get into than BB IBD?
Thanks.
The reason sometimes i banks might look down on pwm is that you generally need to be more entrepreneurial to work in pwm environment and as such do not have employee mentality to want to work 100 hr weeks. Anyone with half a brain can work in i bank and they know this but you have to be more then just intelligent to work in pwm in order to succeed. I have hired ex i bankers that have failed miserably in pwm usually the best people are those that have run their own business and like to delegate the donkey work to their assistance similar to what vp and md does to it's associates/analyst in a bank.
If you are smart and entrepreneurial I suggest don't work for an investment bank your talent will be wasted!
@Expatasia80 : Thank you Sir for your opinions. I am fresh out of college and wanted to know what kind of potential earnings can be made in pwm... are they comparable to institutional sales etc? Also, what is the real difference between sales and pwm?
Thank you
IT is less competitive to get into Private wealth management/private client services and does not offer similar bonuses that IBD/ST/HF/PE offer, the salary is good compared to other non-finance jobs, but the bonus is not there.
That makes sense. So it is not true that the bonus can be very high, if you are good?
I'm no expert but I would think public accoutning, pref. big4, would be worth looking into, and it's pretty competitive compared to most entry level jobs, not IB though.
Having worked in banking myself and now in PWM I never understood why people think i banking is so great, it's only good if you are vp or md if on the other hand you are an analyst or associate you are just a glorified admin person and no more. You prepare pitch books (cut and past power point presentation) and maybe some financial modelling but a bright 16 year old could do this plus alot of photocopying and coffee runs working 100 hour weeks. Yet you have people with master degrees and mba's doing this crap. Not just about money but think about your self respect.
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