How to Prepare for PWM Internship?

Hey guys,
I'm a freshman at a CA target school, and will be interning at UBS this summer in PWM division in SF. What can I do from here onwards?

I have begun Excel practice in hopes of becoming a non-mouse user. Is this obsolete because they will eventually give me the necessary tools/Excel tips? Or does it look good to hit the ground running with proficiency?

Anything else to prepare for it?

P.S. This is my first WSO post so I'm a giddy little boy right now.

 

I as well am doing a PWM internship. Curious to see what type of legit response you get. I have thrown a line out there, and typically people respond by shitting on PWM. As a veteran, I am doing this internship after Junior yr and want to do everything I can to prep in hopes of receiving a FT offer into GTP.

 
Best Response
sklee26:
PWM => Endless Cold Calling

Unless you are dealing with retail wealth management, this is without a doubt the biggest misperception there is on this website. You don't cold call until you are at least 25 or 26 if you are at a BB dealing with HNW/UHNW clients. Who the fuck would want an intern calling up someone worth $50MM trying to get a meeting?

To answer your question though, Excel stuff is nice, but the biggest advice I could give you would just be to read anything and everything concerning the markets. Know what is going on in the current global macroeconomic environment. If you have a brokerage account, keep trading. If you don't, maybe start a paper portfolio and track your gains/losses. Don't day trade though, because that is not what PWM/PB is really about. Put together a portfolio that you think would be a good longer term investment portfolio, and track it to see how it does. That would be great practice, and when you are in your internship you will have a better understanding of what longer term investment trends have the best opportunity in this market environment.

I would agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong.
 

To both the kids looking for advice; if you're dealing with a HNW/UHNW group you won't be doing any cold calling, so don't worry about that (at least from my experience and the poster aboves experience). I would recommend: 1) Knowing about portfolio construction, asset allocation. 2) Keeping up to date with all market conditions (global equities, muni bonds, etc.) 3) You're excel skills won't be crucial, BUT will give you a leg up and certainly impress the group you're in if you can come up with some nifty spreadsheets that track performance, allocation, etc. 4) Read up on some stocks, maybe create a pitch or two on some stocks that you think would be a good addition (don't get carried away here and make sure you take the right metrics into account and sound semi-knowledgeable, they will be sure to appreciate your desire). Also, maybe wait to do this after you've been there for a few weeks. 5) LOOK PROFESSIONAL, wear a suit, they don't want some greasy looking college kid around when they are bringing clients or potential clients in. 6) Don't be shy, make sure you ask questions and actually take something away from the experience.

 

As someone in the field and who has interns in the past I can give some info. A big factor depends who you work for, what type of business they do, who their client base is etc.

You should have an understanding of the markets. Reading the wsj and bloomberg daily will be suffecient. Have an opinion on the markets and don't be afraid to back it up and give suggestions. Excel won't be a major factor, you probably won't use it much but the times you do you could impress some people. Be outgoing and easy to get a long with and work hard. There will probably be a lot of downtime so you can use that as a time to research, network etc. Wear a suit everyday, it may not be required, just do it.

Some things you will be doing: --Cold Calling - You probably will cold call, the better you are the more you will do. I know brokers always like to see young guys cold calling, kind of seeing what they are made of --Admin work - This will most likely take up most days. You will be doing a lot of "bitch" work that noone really wants to deal with. It can be a basic task of cleaning up the teams files. Can be asked to put together a prospect lists or send out information to current clients --Asset Allocation/Market Knowledge -- Will be researching securities and portfolios, running performance reports and doing some analysis.

 

Many of these responses have been pretty accurate. Excel is nice looking towards the future if you are using this as a stepping stone (which as a freshman I assume you want IB/S&T). I did a similar internship this past summer and had a good experience. Did not cold call once.

Always have a good attitude. Yeah, PWM isn't probably what you want, and things are slow in the summer, but make it seem that you are gracious to be there even if its unpaid. You never know who is watching, or wants to help you out for next summer.

Set up a Marketwatch portfolio day one and actually spend time researching before you buy. This is a BB firm, and has a ton of resources (bloomberg terminals, Morningstar, equity research reports, etc etc), read as much as possible and be able to spin it for next summer.

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." -F. Scott Fitzgerald
 

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