Asset Management vs Sales and Trading
Hi, I am seeing lots of mixed reviews on these two careers and have a few questions.
- Roughly how many hours a week do these two careers work?
- Which path provides better starting and long term career earnings potential?
- What are the main differences that really differenciate these two career paths?
Thanks for reading.
When comparing Asset Management (AM) and Sales and Trading (S&T), here’s what you need to know based on the most helpful WSO content:
1. Hours per Week
2. Earnings Potential
3. Key Differences
Final Thoughts
If you value stability, work-life balance, and long-term investing, Asset Management might be the better fit. On the other hand, if you thrive in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment and enjoy the thrill of markets, Sales and Trading could be your calling. Ultimately, the decision should align with your personality, interests, and career goals.
Sources: Q&A: 25 years Sales / Trading Experience, Q&A: 25 years Sales / Trading Experience, Why Work in Asset Management?, Asset Management vs Investment Banking 101
Hours are probably similar, but the kinds of hours worked are very different. AM is more sit at your desk, research a few firms, due diligence. Trading is much faster paced. Sales has changed a lot in recent years with the pandemic, so you can find a lot of variance there.
Trading provides the highest boom or bust in terms of earnings. But from an expected value perspective, AM probably has it beat. You'll probably never be fired from a stable AM firm once you're in. Trading, people got fired cyclically pretty often.
They're completely different in terms of skillset and temperament. In AM, you get rewarded for being really really right a small number of times. Trading, you have to be okay being wrong very often, and you're rewarded for being right slightly more often than not, but most of the time you're making more decisions under uncertain conditions. Think of it like drafting vs coaching in the NFL. As a draft scout, you have all year to do full DD on candidates, look over everything, and finally make the call. A few good draft picks can make a good career. Meanwhile, coaching is a constant battle to have the right plays based on uncertainty over what the opposing team will do under a short time constraint. I can't speak too much to sales because it's so entirely different to traditional stuff.
Thanks for the response, this is very helpful. Also another thing I forgot to add in the forum was which is generally harder to break into.
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