Wealth Management Investing vs Client Side

Hi jhsjkfshjfs,

I'm currently in a WM investor-side role at a BB PB based in Asia. Across Asia, PBs operate very similarly:
- Client side (i.e. Relationship Managers / Bankers): basically "hunters" who bring in money
- Investor side (i.e. Investment Counsellors / Advisors): "farmers" who recommend investment products / portfolio allocation to grow that port of money

So there is definitely a huge distinction here and the roles are separate. Do note that there will be more granular roles in Private Banking / Wealth Management, where you have Product Specialists that focus on Investment Mandates. The key difference here is that the Investor side is Advisory (you cannot implement any trades w/o consent of the client) while Investment Mandates are Discretionary (you have free reign to invest in anything under the guidance of an Investment Committee, and according to the guidelines set by the client (i.e. "I would like to target 6% p.a. and my asset allocation should be balanced 50/50 EQ/FI")). Mandates are usually viewed as a product offering to the client, with Investors viewed as an investment service.

Hence, an Investor role is still very much sell-side in which you are marketing products. An Investment Mandate role is closer to the buy-side where the manager can invest according to certain set rules, just like a traditional AM PM.