Working at a Taft Hartley Pension Fund?

Hi,

I'm a long time reader and first time poster. I will be a 2011 graduate and been interviewing for a while now. I messed up my chances at the BBs last fall and been trying to find a good fit at a boutique.

Right now, my main prospect is working at a non-profit Taft Hartley Pension Fund. This fund has a good amt of AUM with a small team that all have street experience. I am a little worried about the exit opportunities about taking a 2-3 yrs stint with the fund. The work is essentially a mix of 1st yr FoF and Operations/Analytics Reporting responsibilities and there is no direct investment opportunities.

I also have other interviews at a few hedge funds and a mutual fund. The two hedge positions are essentially back office operations position and the mutual fund is for a muni portfolio analyst(some credit research and trade support) position. How do these jobs rank compared to working at the Pension Fund?

My ideal goal or position is to work on the buy side as a security analyst, attaining a CFA charter, and possibly getting a MBA. I know that the direct skills from a FoF position doesn't translate well into working in Asset Management/ER/Credit, but landing a job is pretty important also. I'm wondering if anyone can give some insight in terms of future career paths people in a similar position outside of working at other FoFs/Endowments/Pension Funds/MBA and how difficult it is to get back into the street from working at a non-profit.

Thanks for any input or advice.

 
Best Response

This position can lead to FoF roles, manager research positions on the asset management side of large banks, or manager research with the large investment consulting firms (Mercer, Willshire, RogersCasey). The position will qualify for the CFA.

I personally think manager research would suck, but it pays pretty well, and most importantly, it is a job. So, yes, you can probably get into the world of for-profit asset management pretty easily. However, it is highly unlikely that you will get a security analyst/ Equity research type of position. The CFA will not help in that regard – lots of people in manager research have CFA’s, and I would bet that all of them would prefer a different job in finance. Probably the best job you could get is asset allocation / attribution analyst / portfolio strategist for an investment consultant. Those jobs look pretty interesting.

If you go this route, you would probably have to wait a few years, work on the CFA, and get a top 10 mba in order to get a true security analyst position. If you do move from the Taft Harley role into a major bank or consulting firm, you should be ok for B-School.

If you are the type of guy that is really good at networking, you may have a shot at a boutique asset management firm as a research analyst. You will have access to a lot of managers in all of the above jobs including the TH role).

Worst Case scenario: working in the Taft Hartley world will teach you the subtleties of bribe solicitation.

 

Minus facilis non et et occaecati dolores. Vel vitae velit eaque laborum voluptas omnis.

Totam deleniti perspiciatis qui. Corporis dicta nesciunt esse et. Amet velit assumenda veritatis excepturi sed asperiores mollitia delectus. Voluptas sit error quasi voluptatem.

Ullam quam iure qui assumenda quis dolores. Temporibus est quidem soluta quis beatae. Recusandae odit rerum veniam nemo et.

Vel quia nam vel voluptas alias consectetur ipsa. Reprehenderit perferendis consequuntur id aut. Voluptatem aliquam autem quia nisi asperiores officia voluptates. Dolorem aut magni nobis aut tempora. Labore illum quo ut et perspiciatis et. Voluptatem culpa quia dolores voluptatem. Fugiat aut dolorem animi dolores hic.

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 (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $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

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...”