Job Selection Help - Entry Level vs Graduate Program

Hi all,

I currently work as an Investment Analyst at a large Life Insurance firm and wanted some advice on how to choose between my current role and a graduate program available at a large and prestigious fund manager (~2nd tier).

The fund manager graduate program has various rotations covering Trading, Fund Accounting, Client Services, Portfolio Management & Research, so it is not purely working with their equities or fixed income team.
In my current role I am already doing fixed income research and credit analysis, but it's at an insurance firm.

Would the grad program with just one rotation in Portfolio Management & Research with no guarantees of securing a spot in that team afterwards set me up better than my current job at an insurance firm?
Or is it better staying in my current role and build experience doing actual fixed income and credit analysis work even though it is a life insurance firm?

I had some concerns whether working in the investment arm of an insurance firm is looked down upon when applying for jobs at large fund managers?

Thanks for any input

 

Hi wagsbillions, the silence is deafening, sorry about that.... Any of the threads below helpful?

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Or maybe the following users have something to say: akinwuyi bank-on-this MickeyJSV

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firstly sick username - its a great show with my favourite character!

The grad program is often a high conversion rate anyway (UK AM speaking; most FO positions available to grads are converted - can't think of any friends who got rejected - across asset classes) so chances are its a solid move.

Whats the career progression at your current firm saying? Analyst associate etc as you would be potetnially taking a pay cut at the grad programme.

Mind you , you have experience in your favour so you'd interview well and chances are would perform well. An issue of fit potentially but otherwise worth interviewing for it.

 

Thanks for your reply colonel! Nice to hear there's a good conversion rate.

From my research it seems the salary will be about equal. My current firm doesn't pay that well to entry level workers. I am not sure about how the salary progresses at insurance firm's investment team, does anyone have any insights on this?

Could you please expand on what you mean by issue of fit?

From a future opps and development pov, do you believe getting the name of a big fund manager on my resume (with one PM and Research rotation and a few in other areas) would benefit me more than doing purely actual fixed income/credit research work but at an insurance firm?

Ps, Wags is definitely brilliant!

Cheers

 

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