Currently work at big 4 bank as phone rep/financial advisor. Taking L3 in June, but feel like I am stuck in current role and am only being looked at for internal/ fin. Adviser roles at least within current company- where there is low mobility across lines of business.
Any advice on how to transition to a PM/ER/ sell-side analyst role???
Also, I am 3 years out of college.
Thanks
^Going from financial advising to a PM is pretty unlikely. For example, you’re not going to get a job as a buy side analyst with your current resume. You could look to join an RIA that’s looking to launch their own funds. Still really hard to do though.
Your best bet is probably to go back and get your MBA from a top school, network, get an internship at an asset management firm, and hope they’ll take you on as a full time employee.
That’s still a long shot and you’ll incur lots of debt trying it out.
tl;dr - short answer, no. Long answer, yeah, still probably not going to happen.
if you really want it then start preparing yourself for an MBA. Start volunteering for couple of hours a week and nail that GMAT. In my experience as buy side analyst at a hedge fund in NYC, anyone from a top20 MBA has a very good shot at landing research jobs…Of course not hedge fund or PE analyst right away unless you went to the top top MBA programs but analyst jobs as sell side or at banks or smaller firms mutual funds…From their you could stay there or try to move over to the slightly more lucrative and niche world of hedge funds and PE funds.
Yes, it is costly and takes a lot of time and effort but hey sometimes you get what you paid for - both monetarily and time wise. By the time you finish your MBA you might not want equity research but armed with top20 MBA and exposed to many different people from different industry, you will find what you want and be able to start fresh. With a top20 MBA although expensive the price alone should not shun anyone away (talking like some MBA admissions here lol). Not only you gain salary bump but MORE importantly new career, new friends, new network…You never know when and how the people you’ve met at your MBA to help you out in the future with your career…Think not only tangible gains but also intangible gains.
in the short term, NO, you will probably not land the equity research job now, but in the long run, YES, you will land that equity research job - whether it is at some mutual fund company, asset manager, bank, or even hedge fund. But you will need to study hard and put in the hours right now.
Thanks infinitybenzo- that’s real helpful. Hopefully I crush L3, and armed with CFA and a top 10 mba- I’ll be in good shape for a more pm oriented role. I’m thinking depending on GMAT score- since I went to a small public college- I may have a better shot at Booth/ Columbia then Wharton/ Harvard.
i edited top10 to top20…You can say go to USC MBA in LA and that would be plenty of fire power to land you an equity research role or some kind of front office role in the LA area at some mutual fund or some advisory firm. If you do go to either Booth or Columbia then you’d open up a lot more cities and a lot more jobs such as corporate jobs, PE funds, hedge funds, mgmt consulting right away
Makes sense- cross that bridge when I come to it. L3, then focus on GMAT, which I would imagine pales in comparison from a difficulty standpoint.
mehh i don’t man mate…See CFA is studyable…You put in your hours and literally anyone can pass the exam…However, GMAT is a different animal…It is said to be and I do agree that it is more like an IQ test, which cannot be studied…This is why many people on GMATCLUB.com says just study for 2 months and you’ll get your score…This is somewhat true in my experience.
GMAT is very study-able. I went from a 610 baseline to a 680 with 1 month of relatively light studying (like 1 hr/day for 3 weeks and 3 hrs/day for 1 week).
If you want to do this MBA thing, you should start right now. You have 3 years of experience already. As time goes by, your value will diminish to these programs. Also, you should start seriously preparing right now so you can figure out if you have a chance at being admitted to those programs, or if you should find another option.
That’s understandable Oahi.
Plan is to take L3, and then go full fledged on the GMAT, with the intent of applying first round in 2019 for top programs. Is that too long to wait?
Id be starting bus. school at 27, but if I can get into a top 10 plus cfa- I’d feel pretty good about job prospects afterwards.