Investment Analyst Internship @ RIA
Hey everyone,
I recently accepted an offer for an investment analyst role at a mid sized RIA (~$6bn). I've primarily been recruiting for IB but unfortunately struck out for 2022 roles (non-target). I'm in the mid west and there aren't a lot of "high finance" opportunities local to my area so I kind of saw this as my best option apart from interning in pwm, tax, fp&a or audit (what most kids at my school end up with)
I actually start this upcoming week but was hoping I could get some advice on what to expect and what the career trajectory would be like if I ultimately wanted to stay in this role, along with any potential exit opportunities for the future.
As of right now, I'm still recruiting for summer towards banking or transactions/deals since I plan on applying to MSF programs in the fall to get a second chance at IB.
Thanks
On what to expect: It depends on if they manage their own strategies or if they use external investment managers.
If they are running their own equity/debt strategies you will likely get some good public buy-side investment experience doing research on individual names. If they use external managers, you will be doing fairly boring diligence on another manager's strategy and picking funds for a client portfolio or model. Could actually turn into a good way to get to the buyside early if they run their own strategies and offer you a full time position.
Assuming they run their own strategies: RIAs get shit on but at the AUM you mentioned they tend to have low headcount on the investment team and a decent fee stream to go around so if going full time is an option, it could be a pretty cushy seat. If you change you mind and want something more exciting after a few years, you have years of buyside experience on your resume. Hours are wildly dependent on the investment team culture but are typically 50-60 hours at most. Again, it can be a pretty cushy seat.
On career trajectory: Depending on how many strategies they run, there could be opportunity for you 5-10 years down the road to take an Associate PM seat for a new strategy or take over for one of the more senior PMs that is considering retirement. Otherwise you will be progressing as an analyst to senior analyst and picking up coverage on names you get in the portfolio.
Comp can differ wildly but for a firm your size I know a buddy that made $75k plus a 40% bonus right out if undergrad in the midwest. This is a recent data point and I believe he got a 10-20k base increase after the first year but not 100%. Not sure on comp afterward but maybe someone else can chime in with some data points.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for this i really appreciate it. Finished my first day today. They run their own strategies and as you said. Very low head count on the investment team (less than 5)
Not sure if they'll offer a FT position but excited to hit the ground running and learn as much as i can since this is my first finance related internship
Could be a great opportunity to both learn the business and buy in to a book down the road. Practice succession is a big thing, especially in the independent RIA world. Lots of acquisitions going on as scale is important. Depending on the org, could be an investor or client facing role (or combination of the two) and quite lucrative.
I would suggest learning as much as you can and finding ways to add value to the process. Just try to make the lives of the other investment team members easier. Network within the team and make it difficult for them to not offer you a return offer.
Assuming good fit and performance, I would be surprised if they are not looking to offer a full time position. They are not making any money off an intern, I promise. Even if you go full time, you won't earn your keep for a couple years. The investment research learning curve is steep but there is alot to learn. Most teams I know would much rather grow talent from within rather than source experienced hires because of how much fit matters.
Again, do what you can to add value and they will recognize it. This could be a great opportunity to go straight to the buyside with good WLB and likely competitive comp down the road a few years. If compensation doesn't scale, you can always lateral to another firm after gaining a few years of experience.
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