PWM=Sales?

I know not too many people on here are concerned with or even really respect PWM, but can anyone give me a definitive answer about the degree to which this is essentially sales versus actual risk management, discovering investment opportunities, etc.? It seems like I've heard some places like GS are much more into active management of portfolios where someplace like Fidelity would diversify amongst mutual funds and leave it at that. Any help is appreciated.

 

You can to an extent work as an investment analyst in Private Banking/Wealth Managment at a larger bulge bracket type firm. However, if you wan't to move up and actually make good money, you have to bring in clients.

In retail brokerage, yes you are doing analysis and interesting work, but the reality is you get paid by bringing in assets.

I think that in asset managment or working for a pension fund or somthing similar is the only place you can really manage money without worrying about sales.

 

trying to find a member of the Forbes 400 to become your client.

Listen, there is a reason why nobody mentions ,nor cares about PWM and for that matter doesn't think it is prestigious.

Basically you are a glorified salesman. Your job does not entail at the lower ranks such as analyst making financial models, doing valuations or creating pitchbooks for merging companies. In the higher ranks such as MD it doesn't incude convincing companies that you are the right bank to represent them. Instead you are doing work for private individuals at the lower ranks and trying to convince wealthy clients that you are the right firm to manage their money at the MD ranks.

You don't bring as much revenue for the firm as you would in M&A.

People in ibanking don't like to bring in PWM guys for a reason. Their skill set is much more qualitative focused and not enough quant.

If you do reach the top of PWM you can pull in around $3-5 million. Those numbers are for the top producers on the street at firms such as Goldman or MS.

Stick to M&A or other areas within investment banking division if you want to roll the BIG money.

 
JambaMan:
trying to find a member of the Forbes 400 to become your client.

Listen, there is a reason why nobody mentions ,nor cares about PWM and for that matter doesn't think it is prestigious.

Basically you are a glorified salesman. Your job does not entail at the lower ranks such as analyst making financial models, doing valuations or creating pitchbooks for merging companies. In the higher ranks such as MD it doesn't incude convincing companies that you are the right bank to represent them. Instead you are doing work for private individuals at the lower ranks and trying to convince wealthy clients that you are the right firm to manage their money at the MD ranks.

You don't bring as much revenue for the firm as you would in M&A.

People in ibanking don't like to bring in PWM guys for a reason. Their skill set is much more qualitative focused and not enough quant.

If you do reach the top of PWM you can pull in around $3-5 million. Those numbers are for the top producers on the street at firms such as Goldman or MS.

Stick to M&A or other areas within investment banking division if you want to roll the BIG money.

So I obviously know M&A and PWM are worlds apart and that parlaying experience from one to the other is some combination of impossible and stupid. I was really just asking to what extent you get to do actual analysis of stocks or structure hedges for clients. I understand there is obviously a sales aspect, and that it is probably a substantial portion of the job, but do most wealth managers just pick stocks from a list given to them by their firm, pick a bunch of mutual funds and rebalance, etc.? How much does it differ from firm to firm?
 
Best Response

it's not impossible, but is it unlikely? Yes

Remember PWM is much more client oriented and depends on soft skills a lot more than technical ones.

Ibanking such as M&A, or Debt Fin. and Equity Fin. buid a lot of technical knowledge at the lower levels as well as softer skills at higher levels such as MD.

Pay is not the same for the reasons I described above.

You are better off getting a MM IBD internship and moving to a BB than you are getting a BB IMD (AM & PWM) and trying to move to a BB IBD.

 

Remember at the MM you are still learning how to do analyst work. Analysts do the same work whether it be at a MM or BB , so you already will have experience doing the work that 95% of the other juniors applying for the same internship as you won't have.

 

M and A? Please, Traders are making sick loads more and have degrees in Advanced mathematics and M and A guys are rugby players with degrees in Tennis. Not to mention you work half the hours of an m and a guy.

 

I can tell you that yes, you will be doing some analysis. You must realize though you won't be doing public and private comparables, working with DCF and creating pitchbooks for merging companies. These job requirements are exactly what people (analysts) in IBD do.

The hours in IBD are a lot more than the hours in PWM. The reason I say you are MUCH better off doing M&A at a Middle Market than doing PWM at a BB such as Goldman is because you will have EXPERIENCE doing exactly what I stated above. You will realize what the job entails exactly in terms of job requirements and secondly you will have experience in dealing with the lifestyle.

Trust me, when your working a 16 hour day and your mind is not functioning at its optimal level, you better know how to continue doing your work and you better know how to do it mistake free if you want to reach a senior post in this industry.

 

PWM is sales. Not too much analytical work - for the most part just doing asset allocation (picking mutual funds and selecting money managers). There are ways to actively manage a clients portfolio but for the most part, it is a sales and consulting job.

On another note, the term Wealth Management is indicative of the position. You are managing a large sum of money but aren't managing their "investments" (picking stocks, etc.) but rather advising on where they should put that money

 
sumanlst08:
PWM is sales. Not too much analytical work - for the most part just doing asset allocation (picking mutual funds and selecting money managers). There are ways to actively manage a clients portfolio but for the most part, it is a sales and consulting job.

On another note, the term Wealth Management is indicative of the position. You are managing a large sum of money but aren't managing their "investments" (picking stocks, etc.) but rather advising on where they should put that money

So what you're saying is that wealth managers never recommend or pick stocks to sell to their clients? i thought being in PWM was largely just being a broker to rich people...

 

PWM is not much of a step up from your local bank branch manager trying to sell people a different mortgage or savings account, just the sums are larger. Ok obviously a massive exageration but I know somebody in PWM at a good bank and he isn't top class material to say the least.

 

Corrupti asperiores recusandae dolorem blanditiis provident fugit harum. Quis fugiat voluptatibus et pariatur. Similique laboriosam illum tenetur est eos commodi accusantium.

Voluptas et eius incidunt dicta sit ex atque. Ut recusandae itaque blanditiis iste iusto architecto amet sunt.

Sit molestias doloremque sed sapiente. Veritatis est magnam id accusantium. Tenetur corrupti omnis odio in nisi eos ipsam. Officiis quae magnam aut nisi animi facere. Hic excepturi aperiam dolore earum. Rerum accusantium voluptas et quia et.

Molestiae doloremque ullam voluptas. Temporibus quas rerum et vitae provident expedita voluptatem nisi. Exercitationem eos quo voluptate sit et. Cum aut et vel fugiat perspiciatis excepturi dolores. Reiciendis repellendus eveniet et aliquam. Autem corrupti qui in et sit rerum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (85) $262
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (65) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (197) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (143) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
5
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”