Casual Meeting w/ PWM Founder/Partner Advice

Hey WSO,

First time poster.

Background: Non-target incoming sophomore (state school; think Ohio State, Mizzou, Flo State)
3.7/3.8 GPA

Through a close contact I was able to setup a meeting with the founder/partner of a local, well respected wealth management firm. Specifically Retirement/Estate Planning

I'm not sure whether or not I'm interested in this particular area of wealth management, but being the contact is a close friend of a close friend, I figured it couldn't hurt to ask for a casual meeting just to talk and establish some sort of relationship. (Whether it be business or casual.) I'm not exactly going into the meeting with the mindset of setting up a path towards an internship over the next summer, although I would like to learn more about their particular firm more than I have by simply reading what is available online. (obviously) I'm slightly worried about the meeting being overly casual, as well as coming off as desperate. What types of questions would be appropriate/useful to ask? Also, besides asking about their particular firm and the industry as a whole, what are some good ways to show my interest in finance and wealth management in general? Trying to give off the impression that I am quite interested in market, economics, monetary policy, etc.(which I am), without talking to much about myself. Also, should I ask for any other contacts that may be able to talk with me sometime?

P.s. we both have an interest in automobiles, which this person has quite a collection of

Apologies if this is a networking 101 question, still new to the game.

Thanks in advance

 

Make him speak and like you (this is general advice). How did he get into his gig? What was his path/how did he end up here? What other choices did he have/or think about? Some people answer this in a minute or two and some go on forever (the latter usually better). If you both like cars, talk about that. This way you are building a personal relationship/rapport, rather than a business transaction one and you become a cool kid or a nice kid or someone he likes rather than it being a business thing.

He will probably ask you how you know the friend, what you are doing in college, what you like and don't etc. He may then ask what you are doing for the summer or your spare time or what you have thought about. That's when you can talk about markets, econ etc, stuff that you are interested in and that you are trying to learn more and someone figure out a way to get some practical experience. This is his cue to be like "hey why don't you keep in touch and talk closer to time?" or "you ever think about coming by our shop" or whatever variation. Even if he doesn't best to keep it light and nice and relaxing for him (and you) because then its a positive interaction and you can build from that.

You don't have to be too knowledgeable. In such a chat he probably figures you don't know anything (read a little about his Firm and what they do in case he asks) but the key is just to get along with the guy and be liked. The rest will take care of itself. In a first meeting I would not ask for contacts. That can come in a later meeting once you know each other better.

Building relationships never hurts. Might not pay off today. But might tomorrow. Or in the future.

Good luck.

I used to do Asia-Pacific PE (kind of like FoF). Now I do something else but happy to try and answer questions on that stuff.
 
Best Response

Definitely ask questions about how he got started, how he built his business, how to succeed in the business, advice for getting started.

I believe you have the misconception that being in pwm is all about investing, when really it's a sales job with and investing tilt. You certainly should have a passion for capital markets in order to succeed but by no means should you think that this job is more investing than it is sales.

Don't worry about showing interest through statements, use it in your questioning, he'll get the message that you're interested. Questions like: I saw the fed just tapered another 10bn, what're your thoughts on that? Or, I read in X that asset allocation provides most of the return as opposed to security selection, what do you think about that?

If you have some specific questions you'd like to ask privately, feel free to PM me.

 

echoing brofessor, on the technicals, even something like, "so I see markets are at an all time high or near it, how does that affect your ability to get clients? Do people come to you more asking for help since things are so good? Or are your clients telling you to put more money in stocks? or, hey do people lose a lot of money in the market in bad times and come to you to preserve wealth? What kinds of clients do you have? Key is to get him talking about whatever and happy.

It can be that basic with that basic language so you don't sound too pompous (ie. use of words like equities etc). No one expects you to know too much.

I used to do Asia-Pacific PE (kind of like FoF). Now I do something else but happy to try and answer questions on that stuff.
 

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