Anyone heard of this company? I’m gonna have interview for a research associate position there. Anyone has experience to share? like what kinda questions should I expect?
It’s a cult. Oh and they have 8,000 people working there and 4,000 of those are temp
How did you get an interview there? What is your background?
They suck at naming themselves.
HQ here in LA. CG is huge company that tries to play itself off as a small firm with a collegial environment. It is my understanding that pretty much everyone gets buried in the depth chart i.e. little room for growth, almost impossible to become a PM. Nevertheless, they are well respected, and experience there can be a big plus on one’s resume. My buddy, who interviewed for a research associate role there, was asked flat out if he would stay with the firm if he was expected to be a career analyst with no chance of becoming a PM. That would be cool for me. I have no desire to be a PM. For most, however, I sense that would be too restrictive.
Well Cap Group doesn’t really have PMs in the traditional sense. Everything is team managed.
There’s a lot of turnover there at the associate level positions. From what I hear, there’s a major glass ceiling and only the way you get the PM and top investment positions is if you were recruited straight from business school. They only recruit from top MBA programs (Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, etc.). Once these guys/gals are in, I hear they never leave…they get the total royal treatment. Job candidates with the CFA designation and with a grip load of experience are not even considered from what I hear. This is what I was told by recruiters and former employees but this was at least a couple years ago, so maybe the culture has changed. But I agree with the previous post, having Cap Group on your resume does look good and gets some respect. Also, there interview process is a pain in the a**.
I heard the same thing as payingmydues. They usually only hire from top MBA programs.
Danteshek Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well Cap Group doesn’t really have PMs in the > traditional sense. Everything is team managed. Everybody says this these days. It’s become cliche. I’m bet, like most shops, everyone involved might get there 2 cents in more or less, but the trigger pulling comes down to one person and the one or two people they are closest to making the calls.
Is this the position in west LA?
Totally agreed, this is just marketing jargon so money managers can cover themselves when star/senior PM’s leave or retire. Gouman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Danteshek Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Well Cap Group doesn’t really have PMs in the > > traditional sense. Everything is team managed. > > > Everybody says this these days. It’s become > cliche. I’m bet, like most shops, everyone > involved might get there 2 cents in more or less, > but the trigger pulling comes down to one person > and the one or two people they are closest to > making the calls.
Gouman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Danteshek Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Well Cap Group doesn’t really have PMs in the > > traditional sense. Everything is team managed. > > > Everybody says this these days. It’s become > cliche. I’m bet, like most shops, everyone > involved might get there 2 cents in more or less, > but the trigger pulling comes down to one person > and the one or two people they are closest to > making the calls. The funds are actually broken up into pieces. They have separate teams managing different pieces of each “portfolio”. I agree that it has become a cliche, but for Cap group, it actually does hold true. There is no way a single person can manage a $100b+ equity portfolio.
How prestigious is it to get a research associate position at Cap Research? It’s a pretty well-known company, but I was surprised to learn that there were so many “associates” worldwide…anyway, just curious, because I know one guy at my former sell-side shop is heading there.
^ I think a research associate at a CapRe, fidelity, wellington is definitely outstanding for an entry level job
The guy had 2-3 years experience at BB sell-side – would that still make him “entry level”? What’s the comp like for these guys in their first year?
hey they’re in irvine, ca also. I applied as IT/BO and no calls yet 
good luck to u
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The guy had 2-3 years experience at BB sell-side > – would that still make him “entry level”? What’s > the comp like for these guys in their first year? Sorry didnt read that part. But first year comp (for someone who has a few years in the industry) is $70-75k but a really meager bonus. I think I was told to only expect $30-40k bonus (using midpoints of range). Then again i was coming from a top 15 buyside shop, so maybe with BB sell side experience he could get more. Out of college i think it is something like $60K with a $20k
> Out of college i think it is something like $60K > with a $20k no way jose
Danteshek Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Out of college i think it is something like > $60K > > with a $20k > > no way jose then where would it be at?
My guess would be $45K with 20-30% bonus straight out of college. Remember LA is a much smaller financial market vs. NY, Chicago, Boston, SF. Also, the research associate title may sound glamorous but this is a bottom position where you’re pretty much running numbers, models and reports for more senior guys. For an entry position, this an excellent place to start, learn and gain experience from a very strong west coast shop, but like I mentioned before, don’t expect lucrative pay and bonuses for this position. I’ve seen several of these postings for research associates at Cap Group for at least the past 3 years and my impression is people get what they want in terms of gaining research experience/learning new analytical skillsets and they move on, IMHO.