Entry level jobs in investment Banking
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
What would I be doing? Investment managers are paid to make money for their clients by managing their portfolios buying and selling securities so as to ensure diversification, and maintaining a level of risk and return that the client wants. The tools investment managers use include proprietary recommendations from their firm’s research analysts and various analytical tools as well as sheer experience, nerve, and market savvy.
What is the typical career path? If you start out at a firm that has a lot of mutual funds—a diversified investment firm like Wachovia or an insurance firm such as MetLife–you’ll basically be hired as a research analyst. Fresh college grads are hired for entry-level jobs as research analysts along with MBA’s. Their task is to focus on a segment of the market in which their firm—or their particular fund—is invested in, say technologies, airlines, or consumer goods, and make recommendations to the fund managers as to what stocks they should buy and sell.
What kind of person is successful? Someone who is self-motivated, who loves doing research and learning, and who has excellent analytical skills (yes, that means math). This job also requires excellent communications skills, as almost every day you’ll have to write a note that sums up your research and recommends a “buy” or “sell” for the financial products that you’ve been following. So, the ability to make a strong case for your recommendations, both written and verbal, is essential to success, making this a field where the kind of things you learn as a liberal arts major — doing research, organizing an argument, and supporting your case with evidence, are just as essential as being comfortable with numbers.
